Bachelor of Arts in Journalism

Lead Faculty: Dr. Sara-Ellen L. Amster

The Bachelor of Arts in Journalism is a pre-professional program that provides students with a solid foundation in traditional journalistic practices and theories as well as new forms of journalism that are emerging as a consequence of digital technologies and networks that are rapidly reinventing the field. The course of study includes the theory and methods of gathering information and writing for beat reporting, investigative and features stories.

The program introduces students to the professional responsibilities faced by journalists and news organizations with in-depth studies of the ethical and legal ramifications of news gathering and dissemination.

Students become versed in writing for different media outlets ranging from print to broadcast and web-based formats such as multimedia pages, blogs and podcasts. Students will actively engage in reporting and writing assignments in order to produce a professional portfolio that is tailored to their goals and enables them to compete for employment in the field of 21st century journalism. Graduates of the program will be prepared to embark on varied journalism career paths, including at newspapers and magazines, broadcast outlets, convergent newsrooms and new media entities.

Upon completion of the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, students will be able to:

• Function in a newsroom setting by reporting, writing and producing stories.
• Work in groups to publish an online or print news product.
• Write in a variety of story forms, including news, feature, opinion and sports.
• Write for a variety of news formats, including online media outlets, print newspapers, broadcast news and documentaries.
• Identify the elements of style and structure in news stories.
• Apply copyediting rules and techniques for fact-checking.
• Identify what constitutes news.
• Write focused news stories on deadline for publication.
• Gather information with accuracy and fairness.
• Write stories that are eloquent and hold the interest of the audience.
• Apply ethical principals of journalism during reporting.
• Recognize the legal boundaries of the First Amendment that balance the freedom and responsibility of the press

Requirements

To receive a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Major in Journalism, students must complete at least 180 quarter units as articulated below. Forty-five (45) quarter units must be completed in residence at National University and 76.5 must be completed at the upper-division level. In the absence of transfer credit, students may need to take additional general electives to satisfy the total units for the degree.

The following courses are the specific core courses required for the journalism major. Students are encouraged to consider their overall career plan as writers and reporters and take upper-division elective courses in liberal arts, such as politics, economics, criminal justice or education, to prepare them for careers as professional writers and communicators.

Preparation for the Major (4 courses, 18 quarter units):
COM 100 -  Introduction to Communication
COM 220 - Media Literacy
MUL 200 - Communication Tools
MUL 245 - Principles of Web Design

Requirements for the Major: Core Courses (11 courses: 49.5 quarter units):
JRN 300 - News Reports and Writing Across Platforms (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 301 - Copy Editing (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 305 - The Art of the Interview (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 310 - Covergent Journalism
  (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101, COM 100 or COM 220)
JRN 335 - Beat Reporting (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 340 - Feature Writing (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 330 - Investigative Reporting (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 350 - Youth and the News (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 420 - Journalism Ethics (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 421 - Legal Issues in Journalism (Prerequisites: ENG 100/101)
JRN 495-- Capstone Project in Journalism
  (Prerequisites: Core courses JRN 310, JRN 330, JRN 335, JRN 340 and concentration courses MUL 335, or JRN 430, JRN 431, BRO 330, BRO 340)

BA in Journalism Concentrations (4 courses: 18 quarter units):
Concentrations enable students to gain expertise in a professional specialization. The BA In Journalism program offers two concentrations Online/Print News and Broadcast Journalism. At least two of the elective courses must be in the journalism program and selected from the list below.

Concentration in Online/Print News Journalism:
MUL 335 - Desktop Publishing (Prerequisite: COM200 or equivalent)
JRN 355 - Writing at the Margins (Prerequisites: JRN330; JRN335)
COM 360 - Representation and Diversity in the Media
  (Prerequisites: ENG100/101)
COM 380 - Democracy in the Information Age (Prerequisites: ENG100/101)

Concentration in Broadcast Journalism:
JRN 430 - Reporting for TV News
  (Prerequisites: JRN300, 310, 320, 321, 330, 335)
JRN 431 - Writing the TV News Script (Prerequisites: JRN430)
BRO 330 - Field Production I (Prerequisite: BRO305 or JRN310)
BRO 340 - Studio Production I (Prerequisite: BRO305 or JRN310)

Upper-division Elective Courses (3 courses: 13.5 quarter units):
To complete the requirements for the major in journalism students must take three elective courses at the 300 and/or 400 level. Elective courses should be chosen based on student career plans and may be taken in any subject that provides the student with an expertise in a particular area or field of journalism: business, health, economics, ecology, etc. All journalism majors should seek the advice of the faculty advisor before selecting electives.

Program Information

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