Journalism and Promotional Communication, B.A.

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Minimum hours required for degree: 120

Minimum hours required for major: 43

Admission: Students must complete COM 225 - Media Writing with a minimum grade of B-.

Special tracks: Two areas of concentration are available within the Journalism and Promotional Communication major: Journalism and Integrated Promotional Communication (a combination of Public Relations and Advertising).

Major-Field Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 43 credits and maintain a 2.25 GPA to graduate with a major in Journalism and Promotional Communication. All School of Communication Majors are required to successfully complete

COM 101 - Principles Of Communication

and COM 303 - Communication Inquiry with a minimum grade of C. Students should be aware that professionally oriented courses require considerable commitment of time and effort in addition to traditional class meeting times. Transfer students must obtain at least 20 credit hours from Communication courses at Cleveland State University.

Required Communications Core (seven courses)

Journalism Sequence

Required Journalism Sequence Courses (six courses)

COM 326 - Advanced Reporting and Editing
COM 347 - Political Communication
COM 358 - Media Law, Economics & Ethics
COM 363 - Journalism and Media Laboratory
COM 427 - News Media Laboratory
*COM 427 is taken twice spread over two semesters to fulfill the capstone requirement. In the second semester, students also enroll in COM 363 (1-credit Lab).

Journalism Elective Courses (choose two of the following)

Integrated Promotional Communication Sequence

Required Integrated Promotional Communication Courses: Part 1 (six courses)

COM 257 - Principles of Public Relations
COM 260 - Principles of Advertising
COM 350 - Persuasive Communication & Attitude Change
COM 363 - Journalism and Media Laboratory
COM 447 - Promotional Production
COM 455 - Communication Campaigns
*COM 447 (Capstone Course) and COM 363 (1-credit Lab) are taken together in the student’s final semester.

Required Integrated Promotional Communication Courses: Part 2 (choose one of the following)

Integrated Promotional Communication Elective Courses (choose one of the following)

Internships in Journalism & Promotional Communication

Students in the Journalism sequence may qualify for a 3-credit internship (COM 490) that counts as an elective by achieving an overall GPA of 3.0 in the major, completion of the required courses, and junior or senior standing. Students who qualify must arrange an internship with the departmental coordinator (call 216-687-4630). Internships may be for up to 6 credit hours. However, only 3 of these hours may be applied toward the requirements for this sequence in the major.