Program Mission
As readers and writers we are concerned with stories–who tells them about whom, how they are told, how they arrive at an audience, and what happens to them when they become “public.” Journalism at LMU connects the educational values of the Jesuit and Marymount traditions and the core creative and critical practices of the English Department to the rapidly changing future of global communication. Our program directly engages LMU’s mission of the promotion of justice by critiquing media representations and their immediate social and political impact, and also by exploring the history of community journalism. Journalism at LMU is not merely theoretical; we offer hands-on instruction in the reporting, writing, editing, and technological skills across multiple platforms that students need to become professional journalists. The journalism program has as its pedagogical foundation the hands-on approach pf project-based learning, which connects our students to communities and lives whose stories transmit issues of social, political, cultural, and moral import. It is also rigorously interdisciplinary, incorporating instruction in film, television, photography, and radio production; communication studies; digital media; social media; and modalities not yet known or articulated. Ethical discussions suffuse the entire curriculum, first in the traditional sense of a basic professional ethics and also in the larger frame of an ethics of representation; who is reporting about whom, and why and how. Telling people’s stories is our mission. Learning Outcomes
- To acquire fluency in journalism’s fundamental reporting and writing skills
- To instill information and media literacy
- To practice and critique digital modes of journalism
- To employ an interdisciplinary lens to critique the journalist’s role in the media and the media’s role in society
- To produce journalistic narratives through project-based learning; e.g., Los Angeles as subject
- To understand the ethical guidelines and laws that govern journalism
- To understand the history of literary practices and the history of journalism as a unique field of writing
- The ability to analyze and create within one or more literary and journalistic modes or genres
For more information about the Journalism program, please contact Director Evelyn McDonnell, Evelyn.McDonnell@lmu.edu. Major Requirements
Students can begin their Major their first year or declare it later. They learn the foundations of reporting and writing journalism in their first two years, and explore journalism as a literary practice through foundational English courses. In their third and fourth year students learn new technological tools for storytelling, explore the ethical and critical issues that affect journalism, and begin their specialization in modes of practice or content focus. They also begin to develop specific projects drawing on LA-based subjects, culminating in a long-form capstone project their senior year. The Major also requires hands-on experience via either an off-campus internship or work with campus media. A student wishing to declare the Journalism major must be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of C (2.0). Lower Division Requirements (16 semester hours):
Upper Division Requirements (25 to 28 semester hours):
- JOUR 3300 Critical and Ethical Issues in Journalism 4 semester hours
- Experience: JOUR 4402 Internship in Media , JOUR 4469 Practicum in Journalism 1 , JOUR 4470 Practicum in Journalism 2 , or ASPA 3610 Asian Media Practicum (can take twice for 4 semester hours each) 4 semester hours
- JOUR 4468 Journalism: Capstone 4 semester hours
- One Reporting in a Genre course: JOUR 3303 Reviewing the Arts , JOUR 3310 The Human Condition: A Long-form Journalism Practicum , JOUR 4405 Literary Non-Fiction: Workshop , JOUR 4407 Investigative Reporting , JOUR 4463 The Art of the Essay , JOUR 4465 Arts and Culture Journalism , JOUR 4471 Sports Journalism , JOUR 4998 Special Studies , JOUR 5511 Political Journalism , JOUR 5590 Journalism: The Feminist Critique , JOUR 5591 Literary Journalism , or JOUR 5592 Pazz and Jop: Writing Music Criticism 4 semester hours
- One Specialization Elective: ENGL 3374 RoadWrite , ENGL 3376 StreetWrite , ENGL 5582 Poetry of Witness ; JOUR 4400 Photojournalism , JOUR 4401 Telling Stories with Sound , JOUR 4406 Journalism: Interview: Workshop , JOUR 4408 Journalism: Editing Workshop , JOUR 4409 The Reporter in the Story , JOUR 4460 From Hard News to Blogs: Post-1800 Journalism , JOUR 4464 Publishing Journalism , JOUR 4467 Journalism and Law , JOUR 4472 Video Journalism , JOUR 4473 Mobile Media Magazine , JOUR 5501 Journalism: Telling LA’s Story , JOUR 5567 Style in Writing , JOUR 5574 Rhetoric and the Media ; ASPA 3600 Introduction to Asian Media ; IDAP 400 Introduction to Social Media ; PHIL 3125 Media Ethics ; CMST 2500 Media Studies , CMST 3410 Political Communication , CMST 3440 Media Criticism , CMST 3455 Public Advocacy and Activism , CMST 3460 Gender, Sexuality, and the Media , CMST 3480 Visual Communication , CMST 3510 Wires and Empires , CMST 3520 Digital Self , CMST 3530 Digital Rhetoric , CMST 3540 Environmental Communication , CMST 3590 Advanced Topics in Media Studies ; FTVS 1020 Art of Screen Media , FTVS 2130 Documentary Film/Media , FTVS 2137 Global Documentary Film/Media , FTVS 3310 Film/Media and Social Justice , FTVS 3320 Introduction to Film/Media Theory ; PROD 398 Special Studies (Euro Culture and Media, Documentary for Non-Majors, and Editing for Non-Majors) or approved courses to fit student interest 3 or 4 semester hours
- JOUR UD Elective or either FFYS 1000 First Year Seminar (when taken as Writing in L.A.) or RHET 1000 Rhetorical Arts (when taken as Speaking Out) 4 semester hours
- Production/Media Skills Courses: Four one semester hour; offerings include JOUR 3100 Shooting and Editing Photos for Journalism , JOUR 3101 Shooting and Editing Video for Journalism , JOUR 3102 Recording and Editing Audio for Journalism , JOUR 3104 Computing for Journalism , JOUR 3105 Designing for Journalism , JOUR 3106 Data Visualization for Journalism , JOUR 3107 Programming for Journalism 4 semester hours
Total lower division and upper division: 41-44 semester hours (3-4 hours double-counted with Core)
A minimum grade of C (2.0) must be obtained in each course in the major. Journalism Model Four-Year Plan
The normal course load is 16 semester hours (4 classes). By following the model below, a student will complete all lower division core requirements by the end of the sophomore year as well as most major prerequisites. Note that core areas are suggested to provide a distribution of various disciplines every semester. Please be flexible implementing these suggestions, given your own interests and course availability. In four years, this plan meets all common graduation requirements. Fall Semester
- FFYS 1000 First Year Seminar 4 semester hours (Recommended: Writing Los Angeles)
- University Core 3-4 semester hours
- University Core 3-4 semester hours
- Elective 3-4 semester hours
Total: 12-16 semester hours
Spring Semester
- RHET 1000 Rhetorical Arts 4 semester hours (Recommended: Speaking Out)
- University Core 3-4 semester hours
- University Core 3-4 semester hours
- Elective 3-4 semester hours
Total: 12-16 semester hours
Total: 14-16 semester hours
Total: 14-16 semester hours
Total: 14-16 semester hours
Spring Semester
- Reporting in a Genre 4 semester hours
- JOUR UD Elective or either FFYS 1000 Writing in LA or RHET 1000 Speaking Out 4 semester hours
- University Core 3-4 semester hours
- University Core 3-4 semester hours
Total: 14-16 semester hours
Total: 14-16 semester hours
Spring Semester
- JOUR 4468 Journalism: Capstone 4 semester hours
- Upper Division Elective 3-4 semester hours
- Upper Division Elective 3-4 semester hours
- Upper Division Elective 3-4 semester hours
Total: 13-16 semester hours
Note:
Upper division courses are open to juniors and seniors only. With the permission of the Chairperson or the Director, upper division courses may be open to sophomores who have taken or are concurrently enrolled in the required lower division, pre-major English courses. Students who wish to double major in English and Journalism may double-count up to three courses. Students who wish to major in Journalism and minor in English may double-count one course. |