FUNDAMENTALS

Advisory for Print Journalism Majors

As soon as you decide that you would like to be a print journalism major you should begin planning how you will schedule the courses. If you delay too long, you may end up taking required courses when you are a senior. That won't leave you much time for other electives.

The print journalism sequence is set up so that classes build on each other. Advanced classes are more comprehensive than the beginning and intermediate classes. Taking the classes in the right order can result in your getting the most out of your experience at the University of Houston. Taking them out of order can create a number of problems, one of which is enrolling in a course for which you are not prepared.

• All communication majors must take certain required courses outside the School of Communication to be eligible to continue as communication majors in any sequence. The required courses are English 1304, History 1376 and 1378 and Political Science 1336 and 1337. You must have at least a C in each of those classes, and you must have at least a 2.33 average in the classes combined.
• The required courses in communication are Comm 1301, Media and Society; Comm 1302, Introduction to Comm Theory; Comm 2300, Communication Research Methods; and Comm 4303, Communication Law and Ethics, which you should take as a senior.

  You may enroll in Comm 1301 and/or Comm 1302 before you complete the courses outside the School of Communication.

• You must complete 1301 and 1302 with a grade of C or better and the required courses outside the School of Communication (with the required grade point average) before you may enroll in the next required course for print journalism majors – Comm 2310, Writing for Print and Digital Media.
• You cannot take other writing and editing courses in the sequence until you have completed Comm 2310. You may take Comm 2300 at the same time that you take Comm 2310.
• After Comm 2310, the next required courses in the sequence are Comm 3311, Editing for Print and Digital Media and Comm 3314, Advanced Writing and Reporting. You should take Comm 3311 before you take Comm 3314.

  Note: you must make at least a C plus in Comm 2310 before you can take Comm 3311, and you must make at least a C plus in Comm 3311 before you can take Comm 3314.

  Comm 3311 and Comm 3314 are essential building blocks in the print journalism sequence. You should delay taking other advanced writing courses until you have completed them.

• After completing Comm 3311 and Comm 3314, you must take at least one of the following higher-level writing courses: COMM 4310, Opinion Writing; COMM 4312, Feature Writing; Comm 4313, Public Affairs/Urban Problems.

  Because of the changing nature of journalism, you will need to have other skills to complement the writing courses.

• Therefore, you are required to take at least one of the following production courses: Comm 3323, Multi-Media Production; Comm 3324, Photojournalism; or Comm 3326, Graphics Application.

You will find you will be more successful in the job market if you acquire additional skills related to the Internet and audio and video production.

• Courses available in those areas include Comm 2322, Television Production; Comm 3320, Audio Production; Comm 3323, Multi-Media Production; COMM 3353, Web Technologies I; COMM 4353, Web Technologies II; and COMM 3323, Multimedia Production I.

Keep in mind that a C is required in all communication classes that you want to count toward your degree.

If you need further guidance as to what to take, talk with an adviser or with a faculty member.

BEYOND THE BASICS