Journalism Major: Public Relations Concentration, B.A.; B.S.
B.A. and B.S. degrees
A Journalism major requires 42 hours of journalism coursework.
The Journalism Department requires that ALL graduating seniors take an exit exam prior to graduation as part of the department’s assessment efforts.
Admission Requirements, Retention & Termination Standards
Students majoring in journalism (public relations concentration) must meet the criteria established by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. That means that they must take 72 semester credit hours of their degree work outside of the major. Students may take a maximum of 52 hours under the JRN designator. They must take liberal arts and sciences courses in compliance with CMU’s University Program requirements, listed under the University Program and area requirements for the B.A. or B.S. degree. A grade of C or better is required in each course counted toward the major and an overall grade point average of 2.5 for all journalism courses counted toward the major.
The last 18 hours of journalism course work leading to a Photo-journalism major should be taken within the Journalism Department of CMU. No more than 3 credits of journalism internship can be applied toward the major.
Each student must consult with a Department of Journalism faculty advisor before registering for courses each semester to ensure orderly progress toward meeting these requirements.
Program Requirements
Required Courses I (3 hours)
Select one of the following:
| JRN 101 | Media and Society | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 102 | Introduction to Journalism | 3(3-0) |
Required Courses II (33 hours)
| JRN 202WI | Writing for the Mass Media | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 203QR | Information Gathering for the Mass Media | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 220 | Basic Media Photography | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 302 | Introduction to Graphics and Visual Communication | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 353 | Foundations of Strategic Public Relations | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 369 | Advertising and Public Relations Research | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 404 | Law of Mass Communication | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 450WI | Public Relations Writing | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 551WI | Case Studies in Public Relations | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 556 | Public Relations Seminar | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 559 | Public Relations Internship | 1-4(Spec) |
Required Courses III (3 hours)
Select one of the following:
| JRN 372 | The Asian Media and Cross-cultural Mass Communication | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 380 | Racial and Cultural Diversity: Mass Media's Role | 3(3-0) |
Required Courses IV (3 hours)
Select one of the following:
| JRN 340 | Introduction to Digital Journalism | 3(3-0) |
| JRN 402 | Advanced Media Graphics and Visual Communication | 3(3-0) |
Total: 42 semester hours