Degree Program

The University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism offers programs that prepare students to enter the increasingly complex world of mass media communication.

To be awarded a Bachelor of Journalism, the candidate must complete 120 semester hours of coursework including general academic requirements, major requirements and electives. Please keep the following in mind when working on your requirements:

• 36 upper-division hours are required.

• You may not take more than 15 hours Pass/Fail. (Only electives may be taken P/F.)

• 24 of your last 30 hours must be in residence.

• You must have a 2.0 University GPA and 2.0 College of Communication GPA in order to graduate.

• Only 12 hours of transfer credit in the major will count.

• You may not take any general education requirement or College of Communication course Pass/Fail unless it is offered only on a Pass/Fail basis.

Learn more about Journalism's Major Requirements.

Graduating seniors must apply to graduate through the Office of Student Affairs. See its “Apply to Graduate” page for more information.

The School of Journalism Advising Checklist (PDF format) for the 2006-2008 Undergraduate Catalogs will serve as one of your best degree planning aids.

A score of at least 45 on the College of Communication Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Test and a score of at least 29 on the School of Journalism Word Processing Test are required for admission to most journalism courses. Students who do not fulfill this requirement will be dropped from these courses, normally before the twelfth class day.

To become a journalism major, a student must apply for Upper-Division Standing and must indicate his or her primary interest in one of the four areas of concentration within the school: print journalism, photojournalism, broadcast journalism and multimedia journalism. The student should apply for admission while taking or upon completing J315. Admission decisions are made by the Journalism Undergraduate Selection Committee. Information about the application process is available from Theresa Thomas, the School of Journalism advisor, in CMA A6.146.