Communication Arts - Journalism Emphasis (BA CA)

Core Requirements:

The degree of Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts requires the successful completion of 120 semester hours, including (1) the General Education Program ; (2) completion of the Communication Core; and (3) an area of emphasis in at least one of the six Communication Arts areas.

General Education Requirements:

Within the General Education curriculum provided by the University, communication students are required to take COMM 101  and THEA 102 .  Taking one year of modern language is strongly recommended.  Substitutions of the other general education courses may be taken as per the modern language substitution policy.

Communication Arts Core Requirements (21 hours):

Foundations:
COMM 201 Advanced Public Speaking  (3)
COMM 204 Interpersonal Communication  (3)
JOUR 211 Fundamentals of Journalistic Writing  (3)

Theory -choose three courses from the following:  (Broadcasting, Meteorology, and Journalism must take MCOM 142: Public Relations must take COMM 249; Theatre must take THEA 316)
COMM 249 Introduction to Public Relations  (3)
COMM 269 Organizational Communication  (3)
COMM 301 Persuasion  (3)
MCOM 142 Introduction to Mass Communication  (3)
THEA 316 Acting I  (3)

Capstone Experience:
COMM 450 Internship  or COMM 460 Practicum   (3)
*For Meteorology students, COMM 460 and GEOG 465, Geography Capstone , are interchangeable.

Journalism Emphasis Requirements:

• COMM 359 Communication Law (3)
• JOUR 2201 Special Topics (1) (Total of 3 credit  hours required.)
• JOUR 329 Copy Editing and Design (3)
• JOUR 334 Feature Writing (3)
• JOUR 421 Digital Journalism (3)
• MCOM 218 Writing for Electronic Media (3)
• MCOM 321 Media Criticism (3)

• 
  Four credit hours from the following.  It is recommended that students complete MCOM 140  and MCOM 141  prior to MCOM 260, Practicum: WVCU Radio or MCOM 260, Practicum: Mt. Lion Television.  It is recommended students complete COMM 349  prior to COMM 260, Practicum: Public Relations Workshop; and JOUR 211  prior to JOUR 260, Practicum: Concordian.

• JOUR 260 Practicum: Concordian (1-3)
• COMM 260 Practicum: Public Relations Workshop (1-3)
• MCOM 260 Practicum: WVCU Radio (1-3)
• MCOM 260 Practicum: Mt. Lion Television (1-3)

• 
  Two (2) courses from the following:

• ART 216 Photography I (3)
• COMM 304 Intercultural Communication (3)
• COMM 315 Integrated Strategic Communication (3)
• COMM 420 Special Topics: Communication (3)
• COMM 411 Rhetorical Theory & History (3)
• COMM 422 Rhetorical Criticism (3)
• ENGL 311 Study of the English Language (3)
• MCOM 318 Electronic News Gathering (3)
• Or any/all of the remaining Communication Arts core courses.