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Department of Journalism » Print Journalism

Print Journalism Undergraduate Program

The department provides all undergraduates with the opportunity to study journalism in its broadest aspects: its history and literature; its laws, regulations, and ethics; its traditional role as a motivator and critic of government in a dynamic, democratic society; and its total effect as a social and economic institution. In addition, students acquire professional skill training, including reporting, feature and editorial writing, editing, producing, news selection, photography, and media management. Boston, as the state capital and a recognized cultural, financial, media, educational, and scientific center, provides special opportunities for the training of journalists.

The Department of Journalism offers programs with specializations in newspaper reporting and editing, magazine writing, photojournalism, multimedia and interactive publishing, and television and radio journalism.

At the end of the sophomore year, in consultation with an advisor, journalism majors select a liberal arts concentration in one of three areas: social sciences, humanities, or sciences. Students take five courses in the selected area, three of which must be in the same department. For example, a student with an interest in reporting urban affairs might choose a specialization in social science, and during the junior and senior years might take courses in political science, history, and economics.

Curriculum

The following courses are required of all journalism majors and are taken concurrently with those in one of the sequences.

Core Courses
  • COM CO 201 Introduction to Communication Writing (prereq for JO 307)
  • COM JO 307 Newswriting and Reporting I (prereq for JO 308 and JO 351)
  • COM JO 357 History and Principles of Journalism
  • COM JO 525 Media Law and Ethics
Sequence Requirements

In addition to the courses listed above, all journalism students complete the courses indicated for one of the following sequences:

Magazine
  • COM JO 308 Newswriting and Reporting II (prereq for JO 309)
  • COM JO 309 Feature Writing
  • COM JO 403 Magazine Writing and Editing
  • COM JO 408 Magazine Workshop

Develop remainder of program in consultation with advisor.

News-Editorial
  • COM JO 308 Newswriting and Reporting II (prereq for JO 309)
  • COM JO 309 Feature Writing
  • COM JO 415 Advanced Reporting and Research Methods, 4 cr or
  • COM JO 503 Journalism Research

A minimum of 24 Journalism credits required. Develop remainder of program with advisor.

Photojournalism
  • COM JO 305 Basic Photography
  • COM JO 308 Newswriting and Reporting II
  • COM JO 312 Photojournalism I
  • COM JO 513 Advanced Photojournalism
  • COM JO 515 Photo Editing

Develop remainder of program in consultation with advisor.

Broadcast Journalism
  • COM JO 351 Writing and Reporting for Broadcast News
  • COM JO 401 Television Documentary Production or
  • COM JO 431 Enterprise Reporting
  • COM JO 451 Television Newsroom

A minimum of two additional Journalism electives selected in consultation with advisor.

Note: Each journalism major must satisfy a concentration requirement by completing five related courses at the 300 level or higher. (Two 200-level courses are allowed in languages, science, mathematics, psychology, and economics.) Waivers for required courses may be granted to more experienced or advanced students by petition to the chairman, with the support of the student's advisor.

COM Course Maximum

The Department of Journalism requires that its students take no more than 11 courses within the College of Communication. The goal is to encourage the acquisition of a broad and deep liberal arts education. This requirement may be appealed, in special cases, to the chairman. In any case, it does not include COM CO 101/102, any 2-credit course, or those COM courses designated as non-writing-intensive.

Journalism Program Sequences

The News-Editorial Sequence prepares students for careers in the newspaper, wire service, and online fields. There are writing opportunities in the award-winning student newspaper, the Daily Free Press.

The Photojournalism Sequence couples creativity and imagination with practical professionalism. Students study photojournalism techniques as they are applied in newspapers, magazines, and, to some extent, corporate and industrial photography. Traditional and electronic darkroom methods are taught, with state-of-the-art technology. Computer skills are stressed.

The Magazine Sequence trains leaders in the many-faceted periodical field, combining news and feature writing, layout and design skills, and techniques of editing and publishing.

Washington Journalism Center

The Washington Journalism Center offers senior journalism and graduate students the chance to spend a semester in Washington, D.C., meeting newsmakers, working in the bureaus of national news organizations, reporting on Congress and the federal government for New England news outlets, and studying political reporting. In addition to a course in political reporting, additional seminars on the legislative process, money and politics, and political feature writing are offered by national journalists. Students are provided with internships in the D.C. bureaus of national print and broadcast news organizations. They also serve as the Washington correspondents for New England news outlets through the Boston University Washington News Service, which has a newsroom also equipped with state-of-the-art television and radio equipment in the Boston University Washington Center on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest Washington. Upon successful completion of the program, students earn 16 credits.

The Boston State House Program

This program offers undergraduates and graduates the same hands-on experience as the Washington program in the setting of the Massachusetts State House. Students work as correspondents for one of the major Massachusetts dailies, including the Worcester Telegram, the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, The Quincy Patriot Ledger and other newspapers. The program also offers opportunities to broadcast majors with contacts to a growing list of radio stations in the state.

Practical experience is stressed in all aspects of the program. Student work is edited and critiqued daily by their professor and the editors of their assigned newspapers. Students benefit from contacts with editors and other statehouse reporters by working in the program's Beacon Hill office.