Department of Communication

8th floor, 25 Park Place
404-413-5600
communication.gsu.edu

Greg Lisby, Chair
Jaye Atkinson, Associate Chair
Douglas Barthlow and Rasha Ramzy, Undergraduate Directors

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of collecting, evaluating, and disseminating current, relevant information and opinion. The journalism major prepares students for a variety of careers as multimedia news producers or public relations practitioners. Journalism courses are also useful electives for students planning to enter other vocations who wish to deepen and expand their media-literacy.

Credit for special projects and internships is available in all majors. Internships provide students who have already completed all other requirements to gain experience in a variety of professional sectors in the metropolitan area and to tailor programs to their specific career goals.

Academic Advisement for Undergraduate Students

Academic advisement for undergraduate students is provided through the University Advisement Center (freshman through junior status/fewer than 90 hours) and the college’s Office of Academic Assistance (senior status/90 or more hours). See Office of Academic Assistance for additional information.

Major Eligibility Requirements

Effective fall semester 2013, to be eligible for the Journalism major and to enroll in 3000-4000 level Journalism courses (i.e., JOUR courses), students must fulfill the following requirements:

Complete all courses with the JOUR prefix that are in Journalism’s Area F (with a minimum grade of “C” in the first attempt) and
Earn a 2.5 grade-point average in all Area F JOUR courses. This GPA will be calculated based on the first attempt at these JOUR courses at Georgia State University. WFs counts as an attempt. Transfer students who transfer these course(s) into Georgia State, may use the grades in the transferred course(s) to calculate the GPA or they may attempt them once at Georgia State.
Courses retaken using the university Repeat to Replace policy are not counted as first attempts.

Once a student is eligible to take 3000-4000 Journalism courses, they remain eligible to take them as long as they are eligible to enroll at Georgia State University.

In addition to the Major Eligibility Requirements for Journalism, students must fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements (see College Degree Requirements ) and the University Degree Requirements (see 1400 University Degree Requirements and Graduation ).

University Grade-Point Average and Grade Requirements

Georgia State University undergraduate students must achieve an overall institutional grade-point average of 2.0 and a major GPA of 2.0 in Areas G and H to receive a bachelor’s degree from the university. Grades of C- can be used to satisfy graduation requirements. However, some courses have prerequisites that require a grade of C or higher. (See 1460 GPA Requirement for additional information.)

Program Financial Information

Effective summer 2009, lab fees will be assessed automatically for students who register for certain courses. As a result, students will no longer be required to purchase lab fee cards. For more information, please feel free to contact the department or review the PAWS or catalog course listings to determine if a course includes a lab fee.

Graduation with Distinction in the Major

This unit offers undergraduate students with the opportunity to earn the designation of graduation with distinction in the major. Please contact the undergraduate director for the specific criteria for this honor.

Speech Communication

Speech communication explores the construction, diffusion, analysis, and impact of messages as they occur among individuals, groups, organizations, and cultures in the media age. Students begin the major with courses in interpersonal communication, argumentation, and public speaking. The core of the speech major focuses on how people develop communication skills, how we study communication phenomena, how we critically examine particular communication events, and how various persuasive tactics may influence members of diverse and globalized societies. Elective courses examine such areas as nonverbal communication, media and politics, visual communication, communication disorders, health communication, mediation and conflict resolution, and communication and aging.

The concepts and skills provided by the major in speech communication form a strong, liberal arts foundation for a wide variety of occupations (e.g., business, law, politics, teaching, the ministry, public relations, marketing, and communication campaigns).

Credit for special projects and internships is available. Internships enable students who already have completed the appropriate course work and have met departmental eligibility criteria to take advantage of expertise in a variety of professional sectors in the metropolitan area and to tailor programs to their specific career goals.