Advisors

When a student is accepted into the major, a faculty advisor is assigned.

All majors should complete a detailed preliminary plan of study with their advisor before the fifth semester. Majors are encouraged to meet with their advisors to make changes in the plan or for other advice as the need arises. Students who are facing academic or personal difficulties are urged to seek assistance from their advisor as soon as possible.

All majors must attend one of several group advising sessions held during the registration period each semester. Questions concerning courses for the next semester are answered at that time. Advisors do not schedule individual appointments for that purpose. For more information read about Course Selection.

Broadcast Journalism

Students planning to pursue a career in broadcast journalism need the same training in reporting, writing, ethics and law that all journalists require. Those areas are covered by the major's required courses. In addition, broadcast-journalism students should take Journalism 240W (Radio and Television Newswriting), Journalism 241 (Reporting and Editing TV News) and Journalism 297 (Supervised Field Internship). They should also consider taking Communication Sciences 105 (Principles of Public Speaking). Students are urged to work for the campus radio and television stations, WHUS-FM and UCTV.

Course Selection

The department holds group counseling sessions each semester to advise majors about selecting courses for the next semester. The times and dates of those sessions are posted in the department and announced in classes. Faculty members do not counsel students individually at that time. Pre-majors are advised by the departmental advisor.

Computer Labs

The Journalism Department has two computer labs, Arjona 437 and 433. Arjona 437 is designed primarily for word processing. Arjona 433 is equipped for computer-assisted reporting, page design, and digital video and audio editing. The labs are intended for teaching purposes and generally not available for personal use.

Although both labs use Macintosh equipment, journalism students use many brands of computers elsewhere on campus and at home. Students should buy whatever brand they prefer. (Incoming students may want to consider the educational-pricing discounts available through the UConn Co-op, www.bookstore.uconn.edu. ) All students should be familiar with Microsoft Word and Excel software (Mac or Windows).

To protect against viruses, students are restricted from bringing personal media into the labs, removing media from the labs, or downloading material without faculty consent.

Dual Majors (one of which is outside the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

A student who wishes to complete a second major in another of UConn's schools (such as Business, Agriculture or Fine Arts), must pursue a dual degree, not a double major. The student receives two bachelors' degrees. (Double majors receive one degree.) A student may complete a dual-degree program in five years. Students should contact their faculty advisor for detailed advice.

Double Majors (within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

The Journalism Department strongly urges its students to complete a second major in addition to journalism. A thorough knowledge of an additional field, such as political science or economics, is invaluable for a journalist. This type of preparation now can make a significant difference in future opportunities and success. Students should match their second major to their interests -- urban studies, computer science, a foreign language, or an individualized major in environmental science are all excellent choices for the right student.

A student can complete a double major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in four years.

Students who have two majors must have an advisor in each department and must fulfill all of the requirements of each department. After a student has an advisor in both departments, he or she must also register as a double major at the Liberal Arts and Sciences Academic Services Center at 423 Whitney Road .

In many cases, each department will accept the courses in the other major to fulfill the related-courses requirement .

Magazine Journalism

Students planning to pursue a career in magazine journalism need the same training in reporting, writing, ethics and law that all journalists require. Those areas are covered by the major's required courses. In addition, students should take Journalism 212W (Feature Writing), Journalism 213W (Magazine Writing), and Journalism 297 (Supervised Field Internship).

Preliminary Plan of Study

After students have been accepted as majors, they must complete a Preliminary Plan of Study. This should be with their advisor as soon as possible. The plan reviews the courses that have been completed and helps chart the courses for the junior and senior years.

To fill out a preliminary plan of study, make an appointment with your advisor.

Prerequisites

Many of our courses are sequential. Because of that, rules regarding prerequisites are strictly enforced. J200W (Newswriting I) and J201W (Newswriting II) are the fundamental reporting and writing courses. J200W is required for all advanced writing and reporting courses. J201W is required for all advanced reporting and writing courses except J240W (Newswriting for Radio and Television).

The following courses have prerequisites:

All W courses prereq:	English 105
J201W prereq:	J200W
J202 prereq:	J102
J212W prereq:	J201W
J213W prereq:	J201W; J212W is strongly recommended but not required;
J230 prereq:	J201W
J231C prereq:	J230W
J235 prereq:	J201W
J240 prereq:	J200W
J245 prereq:	J201W
J250 prereq:	J200W, which may be taken concurrently
J297 prereqs:	J200W, J201W, J220

Q Requirement

Students should begin to work on fulfilling their Q requirement in their freshman year, while their high school course work is still relatively fresh in their minds. Students who had difficulty in math in high school sometimes choose to delay these courses, which often makes the transition to college-level mathematics more difficult.

Related Courses

In addition to 24 credits (at the 200s-level) in the major field, students must complete 12 credits (at the 200s-level) in a related field. The field should be something that will provide useful background for a journalist. Obvious choices are political science, history and economics. Students who have a special interest may wish to pursue other fields, such as art, music, marine biology, computer science, African American studies or dozens of others. The courses do not all have to be in the same department, but they must compose one field of knowledge. For example, if a student is interested in someday writing about urban problems, he or she might find related courses in sociology, political science, economics and history. The choice of courses should be discussed with the faculty advisor. They become part of a student's plan of study. For more information, read about Double Majors.

Required Courses, Competencies

All majors must complete:

* J200W, Newswriting I
* J201W, Newswriting II
* J202, Journalism Ethics (J102, The Press in America, is a prerequisite.)
* J220, Law of Libel and Communications
* J230, Copy Editing I
* Nine additional credits in journalism at the 200 level

Competency requirements:

A journalism education is, by definition, an education in writing and information literacy. A journalism major will fulfill the university's writing in the major requirement and the information literacy competency by completing the department's core courses (JOUR 200W , 201W , 202 , 220 and 230).

Students will fulfill the computer technology competency by (a) meeting the university's expectations in computer operation basics, word processing, presentation software, spreadsheets, database basics, graphics and multimedia, Internet basics and electronic communication, and (b) completing Journalism 230.

Journalism majors are advised to consult with their advisors about additional computer skills that may be helpful to them, based on individual career plans.