The Major in Journalism

As innovative, digital technology accelerates the dissemination of news, information, and disinformation around the clock and around the world, the need for well-trained and independent-minded journalists has never been greater.

The journalism major program at Stony Brook is designed to prepare the next generation of journalists for careers in broadcast journalism, print journalism, and online journalism.

The course of study will emphasize both traditional journalistic values and skills, and the ability to succeed in a rapidly-evolving, multi-media landscape. Students will study news reporting, writing, editing, and producing. They will develop an appreciation for the mission of the press in a democratic society, standards of ethical and responsible journalism, and will be expected to leave the program with a passion for the public interest and the courage do the right thing in the face of unprecedented competition.

To prepare for the future, all students will be required to take courses in broadcast, print, and online journalism, learning to work and think across multiple media platforms, before concentrating in an area during their final year of study. Students will have the opportunity to do reporting assignments both on Long Island and in New York City.

In addition, students will be required to dual major or earn 18 credits in one of four multidisciplinary areas outside the journalism major to help prepare them to report insightfully in the future. The multidisciplinary concentrations are: Public Affairs, Diversity and Society, Science and the Environment, Global Issues and Perspectives.

The journalism minor (18 credits) is designed for students who want an appreciation for the mission of the press, an understanding of journalistic principles, and a desire to improve critical-thinking and writing skills. All students should consult with the undergraduate director to design and approve an acceptable course of study, starting when they declare a major.

• Courses Offered in Journalism (See the Course Descriptions for complete information.)
• Requirements for the Major In Journalism
  • Phase I
  • Phase II
  • Phase III
  • Required JRN Electives
• Multi-Disciplinary Concentrations
• Upper-Division Writing Requirement
• Transfer Students

Courses offered in Journalism

Courses Offered in Journalism
JRN 101-B	News Literacy
JRN 102	Colloquium on the News
JRN 108-F	The History and Future of the American Press
JRN 110	News I: Intro to Reporting & Writing
JRN 201	Journalism That Changed The World
JRN 210	News II: Beat Reporting
JRN 220	Media Law and Ethics
JRN 288	On-Campus Internship
JRN 301	Journalism 24/7
JRN 310	News III: Reporting & Writing for Broadcast
JRN 320	The Promise and Perils of Online Journalism
JRN 330	Investigative & In-Depth Reporting
JRN 331	Specialized Beat Reporting (Government)
JRN 332	Specialized Beat Reporting (Culture and Lifestyle)
JRN 333	Business Reporting
JRN 334	Science and Health Reporting
JRN 335	Reporting in New York City
JRN 336	Sports Reporting
JRN 337	Intro to Narrative Journalism
JRN 345	The Global and Ethnic Press
JRN 350	The Principles of Editing (for all media)
JRN 360	Advanced Reporting and Writing/Print
JRN 361	News Editing and Presentation/Print
JRN 362	Magazine Journalism
JRN 363	Advanced Narrative Journalism/Print
JRN 370	Advanced Reporting and Writing/Broadcast
JRN 371	TV Production
JRN 379	Radio News (same as THR 379)
JRN 380	Advanced Editing and Presentation/Web
JRN 381	Advanced Digital Storytelling and Graphics (same as THR 317)
JRN 382	Desktop Publishing
JRN 410	Web/Print Practicum
JRN 411	TV Practicum
JRN 488	Off-Campus Internship
JRN 490	Senior Project
Note: Not all courses are offered each semester.

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Requirements for the Major in Journalism (JRN)
The major in journalism leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. Students must complete each course with a letter grade of C or higher within required JRN courses. Students must also satisfy the upper division writing requirement. Completion of the major requires 65 credits, including 47 credits in journalism and 18 credits in a multidisciplinary concentration. To satisfy all requirements, a student must earn a minimum of 127 credits to graduate with a degree in journalism.

Students need to complete three developmental phases, with core requirements in each phase. In Phase I, Values and Skills, students will study basic skills and ethics, including news reporting and writing for print and broadcast. In Phase II, New Challenges, students will explore the changes sweeping the journalistic landscape, including journalism on the Internet, and choose from a menu of upper-division reporting and writing courses. In Phase III, Finding an Entry Point into the Profession, students will specialize in broadcast, print, or online journalism, taking advanced courses. In addition, students will complete a senior project in their area of specialty and then adapt it for two other media.

Writing Immersion: To progress in the major program, students must pass a proficiency test as part of JRN 110. The course includes a 6-week immersion lab in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. Students who pass the proficiency test will be exempt from the lab. All other students will be required to take the lab and pass the test.

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Phase I: Values and Skills (19 credits)

A. Students must complete the following six courses

A. Students must complete the following six courses:
JRN 101-B	News Literacy
JRN 110	News I: (Reporting & Writing)
JRN 210	News II: (Beat Reporting)
JRN 220	Media Law and Ethics
JRN 288	On-Campus Internship
JRN 310	News III: (Broadcast)
B. Students must complete one of the following two courses:
JRN 108-F	The History and Future of the American Press
JRN 201	Journalism That Changed The World

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Phase II: New Challenges (15 credits)
Requirement: Completion of three courses in A plus two electives in B.

A. Students must complete the following six courses

A. Students must complete the following three courses:
JRN 301	Journalism 24/7
JRN 320	The Promise and Perils of Online Journalism
JRN 350	The Principles of Editing (for all media)
B. Electives. Students may choose two from group A, or one from A and one from group B.
A. Students may choose up to two courses from this list:
JRN 330	Investigative and In-depth Journalism
JRN 335	Reporting in New York City
JRN 337	Intro to Narrative Journalism
B. If students have chosen one course from A, they may choose a course from this list:
JRN 331	Specialized Beat Reporting (Government)
JRN 332	Specialized Beat Reporting (Culture and Lifestyle)
JRN 333	Business Reporting
JRN 334	Science and Health Reporting
JRN 336	Sports Reporting

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Phase III: An Entry Point into the Profession (9 credits)
Requirement: completion of the two courses in A, B, or C; plus D.

A. Students must complete the following six courses

A. For Print:
JRN 360	Advanced Reporting and Writing for Print
JRN 361	News Editing and Presentation
B. For Broadcast:
JRN 370	Advanced Reporting and Writing for Broadcast
JRN 371	Television Production
C. For Online:
JRN 380	Advanced Editing and Presentation for the Web
JRN 381	Advanced Digital Storytelling (same as THR 317)
D. All Students
JRN 490	Senior Project

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Required JRN Electives (4 credits)
Students are required to select a minimum of four elective credits in Journalism courses as part their major.

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Multidisciplinary Concentrations (18 credits)
Majors must earn a minimum of 18 credits, including nine upper-division credits, in one of the following four multidisciplinary concentrations. Students may add a course to a concentration or propose a new concentration with the permission of the undergraduate director.

Courses offered in Journalism

Science and the Environment Students study trends, acquire foundation knowledge and get multiple perspectives on science and environmental issues that will help them report insightfully in the future. (Note: Not all courses will be offered each semester.) See Bulletin course descriptions for details and prerequisites.
ATM 102-E	Weather and Climate
BIO 103-E	Intro to Biotechnology
BIO 113-E	General Ecology
BIO 115-E	Evolution and Society
ECO 373-H	Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources
ENS 101-E	Prospects for Planet Earth
ENS 201-H	Contemporary Environmental Issues and Policies
ENS 312-H	Population, Technology, and the Environment
ENS 333	Environmental Law
EST 291-H	Energy, Environment, and People
EST 303	Crisis Communications
EST 330-H	Natural Disasters: Impacts and Solutions
GEO 101-E	Environmental Geology
GEO 311-H	Geoscience and Global Concerns
HIS 365-K	Environmental History of North America
HIS 399	Disease in American History
MAR 104-E	Oceanography
MAR 340-H	Environmental Problems and Solutions
SOC 344-F	Environmental Sociology
Diversity and Society Students study trends and acquire knowledge, insights, historical context, and multiple perspectives on important societal issues that will help them report insightfully in the future. (Note: Not all courses will be offered each semester.) See Bulletin course descriptions for details and prerequisites.
AAS 250-K	Languages and Cultures of Asian Americans
AFS 310-K	American Attitudes Toward Race
AFS 319-F	The Politics of Race
AFS 363-F	Blacks and Mass Media
AMR 102-G	Making American Identities
AMR 301-K	Ethnicity and Race in American History
CLT 235-K	American Pluralism in Film and Literature
HIS 277-K	The Modern Color Line
HIS 325-K	The Civil Rights Movement
HIS 327-K	Origins of American Society
HIS 374-F	Historical Perspectives on Gender Orientation
SOC 105-F	Introduction to Sociology
SOC 302-K	American Society
SOC 303-F	Social Inequality
SOC 310-K	Ethnic and Race Relations
SOC 330-F	Media and Society
Public Affairs Students study trends, acquire knowledge and historical context, and gain multiple perspectives on public policy issues that will help them report insightfully in the future. (Note: Not all courses will be offered each semester.) See Bulletin course descriptions for details and prerequisites.
ECO 108-F	Introduction to Economics
ECO 305-F	Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
ECO 316-K	U.S. Class Structure and its Implications
ECO 360	Money and Banking
HIS 104-F	United States Since 1877
HIS 335-K	The Civil Rights Movement
HIS 378-F	War and the Military
POL 102-F	Intro to American Government
POL 317-F	American Election Campaigns
POL 318-F	Voters and Elections
POL 322-F	Law and Politics
POL 325-F	Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
POL 332	Politics of Criminal Due Process
POL 359	Public Policy Analysis
POL 367-F	Mass Media in American Politics
SOC 200	Medicine and Society
SOC 338-F	The Sociology of Crime
CFS 405	Seminar in Children, Law, and Social Policy
Global Issues and Perspectives Students study trends, acquire knowledge and historical context, and gain multiple perspectives on global issues that will help them report insightfully in the future. (Note: Not all courses will be offered each semester). See Bulletin course descriptions for details and prerequisites.
AAS 201-J	Introduction to the Civilization of the Indian Subcontinent
AFS 346-J	Political and Social History of Africa
AMR 101-F	Local and Global: National Boundaries and World Systems
GEO 311-H	Geoscience and Global Concerns
HIS 227-J	Islamic Civilization
HIS 281-H	Global History and Geography
HIS 341-J	20th Century China
POL 101-F	World Politics
POL 214-J	Modern Latin America (also HIS 214)
POL 313-F	Problems of International Relations
POL 337-J	The Politics of Africa (also AFS 337)
POL 374-F	Global Issues in the United Nations
SOC 248-F	Social Problems in Global Perspective
SOC 348-F	Global Sociology
SOC 365-J	Introduction to African Society
SOC 364-J	Sociology of Latin America
SOC 386-J	State and Society in the Middle East

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Upper-Division Writing Requirement
All students majoring in Journalism must submit two samples of their journalism course work (longer
articles, term papers, or independent research projects) along with the instructor’s written confirmation
that the work demonstrates suitably advanced writing proficiency, to the director of undergraduate
studies for evaluation by the end of the junior year. If this evaluation is satisfactory, the student will have
fulfilled the upper-division writing requirement. If it is not, the student must fulfill the requirement before
graduation.

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Transfer Students
Transfer students may transfer up to 9 credits of equivalent journalism courses in which they have earned a C or better. Transfer courses will be evaluated individually for equivalency by the undergraduate director.

Sample Course Sequence for the Major in Journalism     (Rev: 3/03/06)

Freshman / Fall	Credits		Spring	Credits
FYS 101	1		FYS 102	1
D.E.C. - A	3		D.E.C. - A	3
D.E.C.	3		D.E.C.	3
D.E.C.	3		D.E.C.	3
D.E.C.	3		JRN 108	3
D.E.C (JRN 101-B)	3		JRN 110 *	3
Total	16		Total	16
Sophomore / Fall	Credits		Spring	Credits
JRN 210	3		JRN 201	3
JRN 220	3		JRN 310	3
D.E.C.	3		Outside concentration	3
D.E.C.	3		D.E.C.	3
D.E.C.	3		D.E.C.	3
			JRN 288	1
Total	15		Total	16
Junior / Fall	Credits		Spring	Credits
JRN 301	3		JRN 350	3
JRN 320	3		JRN 332 or 334 or 336	3
JRN 330 or 331 or 333 or 337	3		D.E.C.	3
Outside concentration	3		Outside concentration	3
Elective	3		Outside concentration	3
D.E.C.	3		JRN Elective	1
Total	18		Total	16
Senior / Fall	Credits		Spring	Credits
Elective	3		Elective	3
JRN 360 or 370 or 380 **	3		JRN 490	3
JRN 361 or 371 or 381 **	3		Outside concentration	3
Outside concentration	3		Elective	3
Elective	3		JRN elective	3
Total	15		Total	15

* Students who are deemed deficient in basic writing skills will be required to pass a writing immersion laboratory to progress further in the program.

** These courses follow a sequence (e.g. JRN 370 and JRN 371). See Bulletin for specifics.

For more information call the School of Journalism Office at (631) 632-7403.

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