Journalism
Transfer Major
Decisions on the transferability of courses are made by the four-year colleges and differ from school to school. Students enrolled in this major should contact the Transfer Services Office early in their academic program to determine which courses will transfer to the college of their choice.
Department of Language & Literature
Penn105 • Phone (215) 968-8150
Curriculum Code No. 1045
The Journalism major prepares students for news reporting, writing, copy editing, and page layout in both print and online journalism. The courses parallel the offerings in the first two years of most four-year journalism programs. The weekly campus newspaper provides practical workshop experience. Students gain computer skills by writing stories in computer labs and by using the Internet and electronic databases to gather information.
The Journalism Program of Study is for students who
- intend to transfer to four-year colleges in journalism or a communication major;
- want to gain employment in entry-level news reporting or editing;
- want to use the most current layout software in publishing or a newspaper position; and
- desire experience in both print and online journalism.
Journalism Program of Study Learning Outcomes:
Graduates of this program are able to
- demonstrate the competencies described in the BCCC Core Curriculum;
- recognize the complexities of media and society studies;
- practice the skills and knowledge necessary for jobs in print and online journalism, including the fundamentals of news reporting, writing, editing, and page layout; and
- demonstrate their understanding of journalism ethics, press freedom, the First Amendment, and libel law.
Degree Course Requirements
| COMM110 | Effective Speaking A,E | 3 |
| COMM111 | Media and Society | 3 |
| COMP110 | English Composition I A,E,1 | 3 |
| COMP111 | English Composition II G,2 | 3 |
| ECON111 | Principles of Economics - Macro | 3 |
| HIST151 | U.S. History: Young America 3 | 3 |
| HIST152 | U.S. History: Modern America 3 | 3 |
| JOUR175 | News Reporting and Writing G | 3 |
| JOUR275 | Newspaper Editing and Page Layout H | 3 |
| JOUR276 | Feature Writing for Newspapers and Magazines H | 3 |
| JOUR277 | Public Affairs Reporting H | 3 |
| JOUR278 | Webcast News Production H | 3 |
| LITR232 | American Literature from 1865 | |
| or | ||
| LITR277 | Introduction to Short Fiction | 3 |
| POLI120 | American State and Local Government | 3 |
| College Level Mathematics A,E or Science E | 3 | |
| Creative Expression B | 3 | |
| Electives I | 4 | |
| INTG285 | Integration of Knowledge E,F,4 | 3 |
| Personal Health D | 2 | |
| Social Perspectives C | 3 | |
| 60 |
Recommended Semester Sequence
The recommended course sequence is designed for full-time students who average 15 credit hours per semester. Students may need more time to complete major requirements based on placement testing. This additional time will entail some adjustments to the sequence recommended.
First Semester |
||
| COMM111 | Media and Society | 3 |
| COMP110 | English Composition I A,E,1 | 3 |
| JOUR175 | News Reporting and Writing G | 3 |
| POLI120 | American State and Local Government | 3 |
| HIST151 | U.S. History: Young America 3 | 3 |
| 15 | ||
Second Semester |
||
| COMP111 | English Composition II G,2 | 3 |
| College Level Mathemaitcs A,E or Science E | 3 | |
| COMM110 | Effective Speaking A,E | 3 |
| ECON111 | Principles of Economics - Macro | 3 |
| JOUR276 | Feature Writing for Newspapers and Magazines H | 3 |
| 15 | ||
Third Semester |
||
| LITR232 | American Literature from 1865 | |
| or | ||
| LITR277 | Introduction to Short Fiction | 3 |
| Electives I | 4 | |
| Personal Health D | 2 | |
| JOUR275 | Newspaper Editing and Page Layout H | 3 |
| JOUR278 | Webcast News Production H | 3 |
| 15 | ||
Fourth Semester |
||
| HIST152 | U.S. History: Modern America 3 | 3 |
| Creative Expression B | 3 | |
| Social Perspectives C | 3 | |
| INTG285 | Integration of Knowledge E,F,4 | 3 |
| JOUR277 | Public Affairs Reporting H | 3 |
| 16 | ||
A Placement testing required.
B Choose from COMP115, COMP116.
C Choose from GEOG110, POLI111, PSYC110, SOCI110, WMST110.
D Consult the list of courses approved for this subcategory. Any course may be chosen.
E Requires a prerequisite
F Any INTG course may be chosen.
G Corequisite or prerequisite: COMP107 or COMP110.
H Prerequisite: JOUR175.
I Choose from VAMM110, VAMM209 (this course has a pre-requisite).
1 Satisfies College Writing Level I.
2 Satisfies College Writing Level II.
3 Satisfies Cultural Perspectives.
4 Satisfies Writing Intensive requirement.
Students who do not seek the Associate of Arts Degree may earn the legend, "Major Requirements Satisfied", on their transcripts by successfully completing all the courses listed in the major except three credits in mathematics or science, six credits in U.S. History, three credits in literature, two credits in personal health, three credits in integration of knowledge and fifteen credits of undesignated electives.
Credits exceeding the required minimum cannot be used to satisfy required credits in other course requirements.
