JOURNALISM
College of Arts and Letters

BACHELOR OF ARTS
MINOR
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The Sacramento State Journalism program provides both a general academic experience and professional preparation. Sacramento's program emphasizes writing, editing, writing for interactive media, and other courses necessary to prepare students for success in media-related jobs; it also includes courses that critically examine media as an institution.

Journalism majors are the core of students who write for the State Hornet and the Hornet Online, a version of the campus paper located at www.csus.StateHornet.com.

A student at Sacramento State may major either in Journalism or in Government-Journalism. A minor in Journalism is valuable to the student entering a career field in which journalism plays a role.

The Journalism graduate who wants to work for a newspaper should expect to serve an apprenticeship with a small newspaper before moving up to a metropolitan daily. Journalism graduates also work as magazine editors and writers, as publications employees in government agencies and associations, in broadcast journalism and in public affairs.

• The location of Sacramento State in the state's capital provides uncommon advantages for the student interested in journalism. Many students take internships with state agencies or news operations that provide both experience and opportunities unlikely to be found elsewhere.
• Sacramento State offers the only Government-Journalism degree program in the nation, tailored to take advantage of the Department's location at the hub of state politics. The Department has more than 100 internships available to upper-division journalism majors.
• Journalism majors have the opportunity to take classes from both Department faculty and community journalists. The full-time faculty are practicing professionals who contribute regularly to publications on a freelance basis. Good use is also made of professionals from the area media both as guest lecturers and as part-time instructors.
• The University's association with the Washington Center makes it possible for CSU Sacramento students to undertake internships in Washington, D.C. There are many opportunities for Government/Journalism majors to do an internship to meet their unique interests through this program.
  

REQUIREMENTS - BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE

Units required for Major: 37 plus a required minor
Minimum total units required for the BA: 120
Courses in parentheses are prerequisites.

Majors must complete each required lower and upper division course with a grade of "C-" or better.

Pre-major to Journalism

Prior to acceptance as a Journalism major, students must first complete a pre-major consisting of all required lower division courses plus JOUR 130A and JOUR 130B . Students must successfully complete each pre-major course with a grade of "C-" or better. Students with a Sacramento State grade point average of 2.3 or better may request early admission to the major.

A. Required Lower Division Courses (7 units)

(1)	JOUR 20	Grammar for Media Writers
(3)	JOUR 30	News Writing (Corequisite: JOUR 20)
(3)	JOUR 50	Mass Media and Critical Thinking OR
	JOUR 55	Media Communication and Society

B. Required Upper Division Courses (18 units)

(3)	JOUR 128	Copy Editing and Ethics (JOUR 20, JOUR 30)
(3)	JOUR 130A	News Reporting I (JOUR 20, JOUR 30; corequisite: JOUR 130B)
(3)	JOUR 130B	News Reporting II (JOUR 20, JOUR 30; corequisite JOUR 130A)
(3)	JOUR 135	Public Affairs Reporting (JOUR 130A, JOUR 130B)
(3)	JOUR 153/COMS 153	Mass Media Law and Regulation
(3) Select one of the following:
	JOUR 195	Internship in Journalism (JOUR 130A, JOUR 130B and Minimum 2.3 overall GPA)
	JOUR 197A	Journalism Laboratory (JOUR 30)
	JOUR 197B	Journalism Laboratory (JOUR 30, instructor permission)

C. Electives (12 units)

(12) Elective units chosen in consultation with an advisor from among journalism faculty. At least 9 of the 12 units must be upper division. No more than a total of nine units in JOUR 195 / JOUR 197A / JOUR 197B / JOUR 198 / OR JOUR 199 combined may be counted toward the Journalism or Government-Journalism major, and no more than 6 units of any one of these courses is counted toward the major.

D. Required Minor

The Journalism major requires a minor. Consult advisor for selection of an appropriate minor.

Note: Up to 6 units of course work from photography or graphic design may be applied toward a major or minor in Journalism with approval of a journalism advisor.

A. Required Lower Division Courses (9 units)

(3)	GOVT 1*	Essentials of Government
(3)	JOUR 30	News Writing (Corequisite: JOUR 20)
(3)	JOUR 55	Media Communication and Society OR
	JOUR 50	Mass Media and Critical Thinking

* If a student has not taken GOVT 1 or its equivalent, then GOVT 150 may count as the prerequisite for the major; however, students are cautioned that if they must direct GOVT 150 to fulfilling the GE requirement in American institutions, they may not also then count GOVT 150 toward the major.

B. Required Upper Division Courses (33 units)

Government

(3)	GOVT 170*	Public Policy Development (Passing score on the WPE)
(3)	GOVT 180*	California State and Local Government
(3) Select one of the following:
	GOVT 151*	Bureaucracy
	GOVT 153*	The American Presidency
	GOVT 154*	Political Parties and Campaigning
	GOVT 155*	The Legislative Process
	GOVT 156*	Pressure Groups and Lobbying
	GOVT 157*	Politics, Opinion and Participation
	GOVT 184*	Introduction to Urban Politics
(3) Select one of the following:
	GOVT 120A*	Constitutional Law
	GOVT 120B*	Constitutional Rights and Liberties
	GOVT 125*	Politics of Justice
(3) Select one of the following:
	GOVT 130	International Politics
	GOVT 131*	International Organization
	GOVT 135*	American Foreign Policy

Journalism

(3)	JOUR 130A	News Reporting I (JOUR 20, JOUR 30; Corequisite: JOUR 130B)
(3)	JOUR 130B	News Reporting II (JOUR 20, JOUR 30; Corequisite: JOUR 130A)
(3)	JOUR 134/GOVT 134	War, Peace and the Mass Media
(3)	JOUR 135	Public Affairs Reporting (JOUR 130A, JOUR 130B)
(3)	JOUR 153	Mass Media Law and Regulation

Internship

(3)	GOVT 195 series	Government Internship (GOVT 180 or GOVT 182A) OR
	JOUR 195	Internship in Journalism (JOUR 130A, JOUR 130B and Minimum 2.3 overall GPA)

C. Electives (9 units)

(6)	Select 6 units of upper division courses in Government. (The Department particularly recommends at least one course in political theory.) GOVT 150 may not be used as an elective.
(3)	Select one upper division course in Journalism.

*Course prerequisite: GOVT 1 or equivalent.

Note: Government/Journalism majors should have both an advisor in the Government Department and a Journalism Advisor in the Communication Studies Department.

Note: Up to 6 units of course work from Photography or Graphic Design may be applied toward a major or minor in Journalism with approval of a Journalism advisor.

Reporter · Copy Editor · Columnist · Editorial Writer · Magazine Writer · Speech Writer · Correspondent · Public Affairs Manager · Legislative Assistant · Press Relations Officer · Public Information Specialist · Technical Writer/Editor · Broadcast Journalist · News Director · Disc Jockey · News Producer

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