Main Office
General Academic Building, Room 102
Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #311460
Denton, TX 76203-5017
940-565-2205
Web site: www.jour.unt.edu
The reorganization of the Department of Journalism as the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism has been approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, effective fall 2009.
Roy Busby, Interim Associate Dean
Graduate Faculty: Albright, Broyles, Busby, Everbach, Fuse, Land, Mueller, Wells, Zavoina.
The School of Journalism offers graduate programs leading to the following degrees:
Main Office
General Academic Building, Room 207
Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #311460
Denton, TX 76203-5017
940-565-4564
Web site: mayborninstitute.unt.edu
Graduate work in the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism prepares students with lifetime communication and intellectual skills for successful careers in the professions represented by the school’s graduate degree programs. The institute also prepares students who wish to pursue academic careers in higher education. This nationally accredited program offers state-of-the-art technological training and support as well as research and study opportunities in news, advertising, public relations, photojournalism, publishing and multimedia news. Some web-based courses are now available.
Journalism graduate students are required to pass a written comprehensive examination over journalism courses taken. The examination should be scheduled near the end of the student’s program. Journalism graduate students who write a thesis will defend that thesis in an oral examination with thesis committee members.
Graduate programs lead to the following degrees:
Areas of research interest in the school include the impact of new technology on journalism and mass communication and the importance of ethics in media. Research also is conducted on curriculum studies for journalism education and on defining the outcomes of journalism education. Other topics of research interest are sexism and racism in media, editorial policies of student newspapers, narrative journalism, media ethics, international communication and magazine production issues.
Application for admission should originate at the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. The applicant must hold a bachelor’s degree from an approved college or university.
Applications for admission to the journalism graduate program are reviewed holistically to determine a candidate’s likelihood of success. A competitive score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) must be submitted before formal admission to the graduate program in journalism. If admitted provisionally, a student will not be permitted to enroll in any courses for credit toward the master’s degree after the first term/semester until a competitive score is submitted and accepted. A portfolio must also be submitted to the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism. Contact the institute for details. International students may substitute successful completion of the Graduate Preparation Course for the verbal portion of the GRE. Non-native speakers of English also must submit satisfactory scores on the TOEFL.
General requirements for the Master of Arts with a major in journalism are the same as those listed in the Master’s Degree Requirements section of this catalog. The MA candidate whose undergraduate degree is not in journalism may be required to take up to 12 hours of undergraduate courses in journalism as approved by the graduate program director.
The MA candidate in journalism must complete a minimum of 36 semester hours, including a thesis of 6 hours. A minor is not required, but up to 12 hours may be taken in a minor field, or the 12 hours may be divided between two minor fields. The MA requires foreign language competency. Students should meet with their advisor after completing 12 hours to select a thesis chair and committee and to register for the comprehensive exam. Comprehensive exams must be passed before registering for thesis hours.
JOUR 5040, Media Studies and Theories, should be taken in the first term/semester of study in the journalism graduate program.
Required courses for the MA follow.
The MJ candidate whose undergraduate degree is not in journalism may be required to take up to 12 hours of undergraduate courses in journalism as approved by the graduate program director. The MJ degree has no foreign language requirement, and the 6-hour thesis is optional, but the candidate must complete a minimum of 36 hours of graduate work. A minor of at least 6 hours in another field is required for those students whose undergraduate degrees are in journalism. If as many as 12 hours of minor work are done, they may be divided equally between two approved fields.
JOUR 5040, Media Studies and Theories, must be taken in the first term/semester of study in the journalism graduate program.
Required journalism courses for the MJ follow.
Recommended minor fields for the MJ are English, history, information science, political science, radio/television/film, sociology, economics and business administration.
The graduate academic certificate in narrative journalism requires completion of 15 hours from JOUR 5270, Advanced Reporting Techniques; JOUR 5700, Advanced Feature Writing; JOUR 5710, Narrative Journalism; JOUR 5720, Magazine Writing and Publishing; JOUR 5730, Writing, Editing and Publishing for the Literary Market; and JOUR 5740, Literary Journalism. These courses may also be applied to a master’s degree in journalism. Contact the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism for further information.
The award winning North Texas Daily, UNT’s student newspaper, provides practical experience for students in all sequences of the School 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 terms/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 advisor at 940-565-2205, or visit the Daily’s web site (www.ntdaily.com).
Gradute students also have the opportunity of working with Denton Live, the magazine that promotes major events in Denton. The Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism publishes this magazine for the Denton Convention and Visitor Bureau. Students write, edit and illustrate the stories as well as provide the layout and design using Adobe InDesign and other state-of-the-art software.
This nationally acclaimed annual conference offers a forum for journalists, writers, readers, students, educators and the general public to listen to, be inspired by and practice their craft at the highest possible level. The conference is incorporated into the literary journalism course offered during the second summer session.
All Courses of Instruction are located in one section at the back of this catalog.
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, 2009 — Copyright © 2008 University of North Texas
Page updated:
February 23, 2010
— Comments or corrections: catalog@unt.edu
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