Important Things to Note about Journalism Courses

• Students enrolled in a Journalism course must attend the first class meeting or risk being DROPPED from the course.
• Journalism students may not register for more than 9 hours of Journalism courses during one semester.
• All students must have a UT GPA of 2.25 to take upper-division courses in the College of Communication.

You also may visit the Official Course Schedule for the most up-to-date information on Journalism courses.

Please note the descriptions are excerpts from the course syllabi. Course requirements can change at the instructor's discretion.

Undergraduate Syllabi

Past and present Undergraduate Course Syllabi are available here.

J379 Journalism Research Project Course Info and Syllabus

J379P Photojournalism Research Project Course Info and Syllabus

Non-Major Courses

There are limited non-major seats available in J310, J316, J360, and J363.

There are no pre-requisites on these courses and non-majors can enroll in these courses on their own. Students wishing to transfer into the Journalism major are encouraged to attempt J310, but J310 is not required to submit an internal transfer application.
Please see the Office of Student Affairs Internal Transfer website for more information.

Journalism Minors

Communication majors cannot minor within the College of Communication. There are limited non-major seats available in J310, J316, J360, and J363.  These are the only courses available to non-Journalism majors.

There are no prerequisites on these courses and non-majors can enroll in these courses on their own. Students wishing to transfer into the Journalism major are encouraged to attempt J310, but J310 is not required to submit an internal transfer application.

Please see the Office of Student Affairs Internal Transfer website for more information.

Recommended Communication/Journalism Courses

First Year

J310 Critical Issues in Journalism: Introduction to major issues facing news media in a democratic society, including ethics, institutions, effects and standards of press performance. No prerequisites.

One (1) Communication course outside journalism. Select from Radio/Television/Film, Communication Studies, Communication Sciences & Disorders, and Advertising.

Second Year

J315 News Media Writing & Editing: Introduction to the fundamental journalistic writing skills for the media and to fundamental copy editing, including selection, processing and display of news and other information; studies in news audience interests; readability, clarity, verification, and style. Prerequisite: J310 with a grade of at least C; a score of at least 45 on the Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Test; and a score of at least 29 on the Word Processing Test. J315 is a prerequisite for all other journalism skills courses. Once you are in J315, you may need to apply for upper-division standing. This process will allow you to make the move from pre-journalism to journalism major.

One (1) Communication course outside journalism. Select from Radio/Television/Film, Communication Studies, Communication Sciences & Disorders, and Advertising .

J316 Photographic Communication (may be taken first or second year) for students interested in the photojournalism area of study. Introduction to photographic technique and recent trends, evaluation, visual design, and use of images in the media. Students must provide their own 35mm single-lens reflex camera that can be operated under manual mode and with off-camera flash. No prerequisite. J316 is a prerequisite for all other photojournalism courses. J316 and J315 are prerequisites for applying for upper-division standing in the photojournalism area. Note: This class is not necessarily recommended for non-photojournalism majors as it can be costly.

Other Course Information

All courses within the Bachelor of Journalism degree plan have prerequisites appropriate to their skill level; prerequisites may include testing, an interview, or other procedures in conjunction with an application process. The application process for upper-division standing, separate from the university admissions application, occurs when the student has met all requirements necessary to move from a pre-journalism major to a journalism major (normally during the semester in which the student will complete 60 hours). Information about these additional requirements and the application process is available from Theresa Thomas, the journalism undergraduate academic advisor.

Courses are divided into the school's four areas of professional concentration: print journalism, broadcast journalism, photojournalism and multimedia journalism. Students are asked to select one of the four areas of study as part of the upper-division application.