Undergraduate Catalog

2006-07 Academic Year

Department of Journalism

Main Departmental Office
General Academic Building, Room 102
P.O. Box 311460
Denton, TX 76203-1460
(940) 565-2205
Fax: (940) 565-2370

Web site: www.jour.unt.edu

Susan Zavoina, Chair

Faculty

Professors: Busby, Wells. Associate Professors: Albright, Broyles, Lambiase, Land, Zavoina. Assistant Professors: An, Everbach, Gormly, Mueller.

Introduction

Journalism concentrations prepare students to work in the fields of reporting, editing, design and photography on newspapers; reporting and editing news for radio and television stations; staff and freelance writing for magazines; advertising in agencies, profit and nonprofit organizations, and media; public relations in agencies, and profit and nonprofit organizations; teaching in secondary schools; and desktop publishing.

Programs also are designed to educate students broadly; to develop their abilities to analyze, evaluate and inform; and to consider the ethical implications of mass communication and its impact in today’s world.

Some journalism concentrations require completion of course work as beat reporters on The North Texas Daily, the campus newspaper. Students in the broadcast news concentration take one course in broadcast newswriting and have the opportunity to work at KNTU, the campus radio station, and in the campus television studio and web casts on the NT Daily web site. Students in the advertising concentration must complete one course of reporting and one of advanced advertising copywriting.

Internships provide additional experience in mass media, advertising and public relations agencies, and corporate offices and media sales in the Dallas–Fort Worth region and elsewhere in the state and nation.

Programs of Study

The department offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the following areas:

• Bachelor of Arts, and
• Master of Arts, both with a major in journalism;
• Master of Journalism.

Concentrations at the undergraduate level are available in advertising, broadcast news, newswriting-editorial, photojournalism and public relations.

Teacher certification also is available in journalism.

Admission to Journalism Major

All students entering UNT and wishing to pursue the bachelor of arts degree with a major in journalism enter as pre-majors. Before applying for journalism major status, pre-majors must complete at least 45 hours of college course work including the following:

1. JOUR 1210, 2310 and two other courses, based on concentration requirements, with a 2.5 GPA or better;

2. the journalism math requirement for all concentrations, MATH 1680; and

3. the university English composition requirement with a grade of C or better.

Pre-majors who have completed the above requirements and who have a UNT GPA of at least 2.5 may file a formal application for major status. Approved majors may enroll in those advanced courses designated “journalism majors/minors only.”

Admission for Transfer Students

Students transferring to UNT from other colleges and universities may fulfill many of these requirements through transfer course work. Transfer students need to apply for journalism major status upon admission and must pass the grammar/spelling/punctuation test, administered by the University Writing Lab, during their first term/semester at UNT.

Admission for Post-baccalaureate Students

Students who have already completed a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university may be admitted to the journalism major prior to completion of the pre-major requirements provided their overall GPA in all college work attempted is at least 2.5. Post-baccalaureate majors must still abide by all course prerequisites and sequence restrictions.

Bachelor of Arts

Degree Requirements

1. Hours Required and General/College Requirements: A minimum of 128 semester hours, of which 42 must be advanced, and fulfillment of degree requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree as specified in the “General University Requirements” in the Academics section of this catalog and the College of Arts and Sciences requirements.

2. Major Requirements: At least 33 semester hours in journalism in one of the following concentrations, plus a passing grade on the Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation (GSP) exam before enrolling in JOUR 2310 (or a passing grade on the GSP exam during the first term/semester as a transfer student):

Advertising:

a. JOUR 1210, 2010, 2200 and 2310 (pre-major courses to be completed with a minimum 2.5 GPA before applying for major status); JOUR 3020, 3040, 3200, 4050, 4060, 4070, and at least 6 hours but no more than 9 hours from JOUR 2420, 4012, 4020, 4051, 4052, 4055, 4220, 4230, 4250, 4800, and 4900.

b. Students must take at least 18 hours in the College of Business Administration, including MKTG 3010, 3650 and 4120; plus 9 hours approved by the advertising faculty adviser, from the following: MKTG 3660, 4280, 4520, 4600, 4620, 4650; MGMT 3720, 3820, 3850, 3860, 3870, 4200; or BLAW 3430.

Broadcast News:

a. JOUR 1210, 2310, 2340 and 4325 (pre-major courses to be completed with a minimum 2.5 GPA before applying for major status); JOUR 4330, 4340, 4410 and 4620; plus three courses from JOUR 4210, 4250, 4800, 4900-4910; RTVF 2210, 3300, 3330, 4850 (also up to 3 hours may be taken from RTVF 3482, 3501 and 3502).

b. Also required are two upper-level courses from the following: CJUS 3210, PADM 3420, PADM 4450, or any 3000- or 4000-level course from PSCI.

Newswriting-Editorial:

a. JOUR 1210, 2310, 2320 and 2700 (pre-major courses to be completed with a minimum 2.5 GPA before applying for major status); JOUR 3310, 3320, 4410, 4510 and 4620; and two courses from JOUR 2200, 4210, 4250, 4310, 4321, 4800, 4820 and 4850.

b. Also required are 6 hours of upper-level credit from PSCI.

c. Juniors should confer with an adviser about possible newspaper internships.

Photojournalism:

a. JOUR 1210, 2310, 2320 and 2700 (pre-major courses to be completed with a minimum 2.5 GPA before applying for major status); JOUR 3320, 3700, 4620, 4700, 4720 and 4750; and one course from JOUR 2010, 2200, 2420, 3310, 4250, 4410, 4800, 4820 and 4850.

b. Also required are 6 hours of upper-level credit from PSCI.

Public Relations:

a. JOUR 1210, 2310, 2320 and 2420 (pre-major courses to be completed with a minimum 2.5 GPA before applying for major status); JOUR 2200, 3200, 3310, 4450, 4460 and 4470; and at least 3 hours but no more than 6 hours approved by public relations faculty adviser from JOUR 2010, 3320, 3410, 4220, 4230, 4250, 4310, 4800, 4820 or 4850.

b. Students must take MKTG 3650 and MGMT 3870.

3. Other Course Requirements: Listed with major courses.

4. Minor: Minor required for broadcast news, news-editorial, photojournalism and public relations concentrations; advertising requires additional business courses per degree requirements.

5. Electives: See four-year plan.

6. Other Requirements:

a. A grade of C or higher is required for all journalism courses to be applied toward the degree requirements.

b. No more than 12 semester hours of journalism credit will be accepted from a transfer student who is entering as a first-term/semester junior. For students transferring with 75 semester hours of credit or more, a maximum of 18 transfer journalism hours will be accepted for credit toward the bachelor’s degree.

c. No more than 38 hours of journalism or radio/television/film courses may be included in the major or count toward the 128-hour degree. Because JOUR 1210, Mass Communication and Society, may be used to fulfill a requirement in the University Core Curriculum, it is not counted in the 38-hour limit.

d. Students must pass grammar/spelling/punctuation test to be permitted to enroll in JOUR 2310; students who transfer credit for JOUR 2310 must take the grammar/spelling/punctuation test during their first term/semester at UNT.

e. All journalism majors are required to take MATH 1680, which meets both university core and college core requirements; see adviser for exemptions to this policy for transfer students only.

Minors in Journalism

A minor requires a minimum of 18 hours including 6 advanced hours; students must present their degree plans from their majors, showing their minor selection as journalism, to gain admittance to any upper-level journalism course. Transfer students who minor in journalism must complete a minimum of 6 advanced hours at UNT; courses must be approved by a journalism adviser. Approved minor course sequences follow.

General Minor in Journalism

The general journalism minor requires a minimum of 19 hours. A core consisting of JOUR 1210 and 2310 must be completed before taking upper-level classes. An additional 12 hours, including 6 advanced hours, should be chosen from the following list: JOUR 2010, 2200, 2320, 2340, 2420, 2700, 3020, 3310, 3320, 4055, 4210, 4250, 4310, 4321, 4325, 4330, 4360, 4370, 4380, 4410, 4620, 4720 or 4820.

Minor in Advertising

The minor in advertising requires JOUR 2010 and 3020, with at least 12 additional hours at the upper level. Choices for a creative track include: JOUR 4020, 4050, 4051, 4052, 4055, 4070, 4800 and 4900. Choices for a management track include: JOUR 3040, 3200, 4012, 4020, 4060, 4070, 4800, 4900.

Minor in Broadcast News

The minor in broadcast news requires JOUR 2310, 2340, 4325; and three courses chosen from JOUR 1210, 4330, 4340, 4410, 4620 and 4820.

Minor in Newswriting-Editorial

The minor in news-editorial requires JOUR 2310, 2320, 3310, 3320 and 4410; and one class from JOUR 1210, 4510, 4620, 4820 and 4850.

Minor in Photojournalism

The minor in photojournalism requires JOUR 2310, 2320, 2700, 3320 and 3700; plus one of the following courses: JOUR 4700, 4720 or 4750.

Minor in Public Relations

The minor in public relations requires JOUR 2310, 2320, 2420, 3200 and 4450; plus one of the following courses: JOUR 2200, 3310, 3410, 4460 or 4470.

Television News Producing Certificate

This interdepartmental certificate program is open to students majoring in RTVF or in journalism with a concentration in broadcast news. Interested students must apply and be admitted into the restricted Television News Producing Certificate program. Students must complete at least 6 hours in journalism (JOUR 2340 and 4330) and 6 hours in RTVF (RTVF 1310 and 2210) as prerequisites before taking RTVF 4850, Television News Producing, for a total of 15 credit hours. Both departments recommend an internship in a professional news operation (radio, television, newspaper, etc.) to supplement the program, although the internship is not required for completion of the certificate.

Teacher Certification

The College of Arts and Sciences encourages students to explore teaching at the secondary level as a career option. The student’s academic adviser in the Dean’s Office for Undergraduates and Student Advising in GAB, Room 220, can assist students with specific requirements for teacher certification in Journalism. Upon completion of this program, students will be prepared to sit for the certification examinations in Journalism.

Requirements: Newswriting-editorial required courses (JOUR 1210, 2310, 2320, 2700, 3310, 3320, 4410, 4510, 4620); and JOUR 2200, 4100 and 4850. See major for additional course work and GPA requirements.

Students must also complete the required 21 hours in upper-level education courses (EDSE 3800, 3830, 4060, 4070, 4108, 4118, 4840) and meet all GPA requirements to apply for state certification. In order to enroll for the first required education course, the student must make application to the certification program in the College of Education in Matthews Hall, Room 105.

All state certification requirements and information on required examinations is available on the web site of the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), www.sbec.state.tx.us.

Graduate Degrees

The department offers degree programs leading to the Master of Arts and Master of Journalism. For information, consult the Graduate Catalog and confer with the journalism graduate studies director.

NT Daily

The award-winning North Texas Daily, UNT’s student newspaper, provides practical experience for students in all sequences of the Department of Journalism. The Student Publications Committee selects the editor each term/semester, and staff jobs are open to any UNT student. The Daily is published four days a week in the fall and spring term/semesters and once a week in the summer. The Daily has been providing news and entertainment to UNT students since 1948. For more information, contact the Daily’s adviser at (940) 565-2205, or visit the Daily’s web site at www.ntdaily.com.

Courses of Instruction

All Courses of Instruction are located in one section at the back of this catalog.

Course and Subject Guide

The “Course and Subject Guide,” found in the Courses of Instruction section of this book, serves as a table of contents and provides quick access to subject areas and prefixes.

Date of initial release: July 1, 2006  —  Copyright © 2006 University of North Texas
Page updated: June 15, 2006 — Comments or corrections: catalog@unt.edu

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