Journalism Degree
Bachelor of Science in Journalism Degree (45 units)
All Medill students pursue a major in journalism.
Students must also complete the Undergraduate Registration Requirement and the degree requirements of their home school.
Arts and Sciences Requirements (17 units)
Foundational Discipline Requirements (12 units)
- 2 units in the social and behavioral sciences
- 2 units in historical studies
- 1 unit in philosophy or religious studies
- 2 units in literature and arts
- 4 units in natural sciences or empirical and deductive reasoning; at least 1 must be in empirical and deductive reasoning
- 1 unit in Economics or Business Understanding (options below)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Business Understanding Courses | |
| ENTREP 225-0 | Principles of Entrepreneurship |
| POLI_SCI 341-0 | International Political Economy |
| POLI_SCI 348-0 | Globalization |
| POLI_SCI 352-0 | Global Development |
| POLI_SCI 363-SA | The Political Economy of the European Union |
| POLI_SCI 368-0 | Political Economy of Development |
| POLI_SCI 374-0 | Politics of Capitalism |
| PSYCH 387-0 | Consumer Psychology and Marketing Research |
| SOCIOL 215-0 | Economy and Society |
| SOCIOL 302-0 | Sociology of Organizations |
| SOCIOL 316-0 | Economic Sociology |
| SOCIOL 324-0 | Global Capitalism |
| SOCIOL 330-0 | Law, Markets, and Globalization |
| SOCIOL 331-0 | Markets, Hierarchies & Democracies |
| SOCIOL 335-0 | Sociology of Rational Decision Making |
Weinberg College Elective Concentration (5 units)
- 5 courses in any one Weinberg College department
- 1 unit may be at the 100 level
- 2 units must be at the 300 level
- Only 1 unit of field study or independent study credit may count toward the concentration
- AP/IB credits do not count toward the concentration
- A minor, a second major, or an adjunct major in Weinberg College may count toward the Weinberg College elective concentration.
Non-Medill Elective Requirement (10-14 units)
- 10 to 14 non-Medill credits to explore or extend interests
- At least 3 must be in Weinberg College
Language Requirement
- 3 units in a language other than English or demonstrated proficiency as defined by Weinberg College.
Major Requirements (14-18 units)
Core Courses (6 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| JOUR 201-1 | Fundamentals of Reporting & Writing News |
| JOUR 201-2 | Fundamentals of Video Journalism |
| JOUR 202-0 | Journalism Values, Practice & Trends |
| JOUR 301-0 | Journalism in Practice 1 |
| or JOUR 307-0 | Chicago Investigative Prep Course |
| or JOUR 327-0 | Social Justice Investigative Primer |
| or JOUR 384-0 | Covering Washington, D.C. as a Mobile Journalist |
| or JOUR 390-0 | Special Topics |
| A history, representation, or business understanding course 1 | |
| JOUR 302-0 | Media History |
| or JOUR 303-0 | Framed: Media and the Marginalized |
| or JOUR 304-0 | Global Journalism History |
| or JOUR 354-0 | Sports and Society |
| or JOUR 358-0 | Evolution of Sports Media |
| or JOUR 390-0 | Special Topics |
| JOUR 370-0 | Media Law & Ethics |
- 1
Special topics courses that count toward specific requirements will be emailed to students ahead of registration each term.
Two 300-level Advanced Journalism in Practice courses (2 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| JOUR 307-0 | Chicago Investigative Prep Course |
| JOUR 310-0 | Media Presentation: Newspaper/Online |
| JOUR 311-0 | Editing & Producing: Magazine |
| JOUR 312-0 | Editing & Producing: Video |
| JOUR 316-0 | Local & State Political Reporting |
| JOUR 318-0 | Social Justice Reporting in Chicago |
| JOUR 320-0 | Storytelling: Interactive News |
| JOUR 321-0 | Storytelling: Magazine & Feature Writing |
| JOUR 322-0 | Storytelling: Video Reporting, Shooting, & Editing |
| JOUR 323-0 | Reporting & Producing Social Media Video |
| JOUR 324-0 | Advanced Feature Writing |
| JOUR 325-0 | Narrative Structure |
| JOUR 327-0 | Social Justice Investigative Primer |
| JOUR 328-0 | Covering Asian American Stories |
| JOUR 329-0 | Visual Storytelling for the Web |
| JOUR 330-0 | Reading and Reporting LGBTQ Health |
| JOUR 333-0 | Bilingual Reporting and Storytelling |
| JOUR 334-0 | Chicago Investigative Project |
| JOUR 352-0 | Politics, Media and The Republic |
| JOUR 357-0 | Sports Commentary |
| JOUR 360-0 | Sports Writing & Reporting |
| JOUR 368-0 | Documentary |
| JOUR 371-0 | Journalism of Empathy |
| JOUR 373-0 | Medill Investigative Lab |
| JOUR 374-0 | Techniques of Investigative Journalism |
| JOUR 376-0 | Media Design |
| JOUR 377-0 | News by the Numbers: Intro to Data Journalism |
| JOUR 379-0 | Applied Data Reporting: Tools and Story Lab |
| JOUR 380-0 | Advanced Data Reporting: Mastering the Narrative |
| JOUR 383-0 | Health and Science Reporting |
| JOUR 384-0 | Covering Washington, D.C. as a Mobile Journalist |
| JOUR 390-0 | Special Topics 1 |
- 1
Special topics courses that count toward specific requirements will be emailed to students ahead of registration each term.
Journalism Residency or Professional Experience (4 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| JOUR 347-0 & JOUR 348-0 | Journalism Residency and Journalism Residency |
| or JOUR 345-SA & JOUR 346-SA | Journalism Residency: Argentina and Journalism Residency: Argentina |
| or JOUR 395-SA & JOUR 396-SA | Global Journalism Residency and Global Journalism Residency |
Students may complete this requirement with a preapproved noncredit professional experience. Requirements for the professional experience/internship option include 4 courses, 3 of which must be 300-level journalism courses.
Two Journalism Electives (2 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| JOUR 190-BR | Bridge Program |
| JOUR 302-0 | Media History |
| JOUR 303-0 | Framed: Media and the Marginalized |
| JOUR 304-0 | Global Journalism History |
| JOUR 305-0 | JOURneys |
| JOUR 307-0 | Chicago Investigative Prep Course |
| JOUR 310-0 | Media Presentation: Newspaper/Online |
| JOUR 311-0 | Editing & Producing: Magazine |
| JOUR 312-0 | Editing & Producing: Video |
| JOUR 316-0 | Local & State Political Reporting |
| JOUR 317-0 | Journalism Research Methods |
| JOUR 318-0 | Social Justice Reporting in Chicago |
| JOUR 319-0 | Entrepreneurial Approaches to Media Innovation |
| JOUR 320-0 | Storytelling: Interactive News |
| JOUR 321-0 | Storytelling: Magazine & Feature Writing |
| JOUR 322-0 | Storytelling: Video Reporting, Shooting, & Editing |
| JOUR 323-0 | Reporting & Producing Social Media Video |
| JOUR 324-0 | Advanced Feature Writing |
| JOUR 325-0 | Narrative Structure |
| JOUR 327-0 | Social Justice Investigative Primer |
| JOUR 328-0 | Covering Asian American Stories |
| JOUR 329-0 | Visual Storytelling for the Web |
| JOUR 330-0 | Reading and Reporting LGBTQ Health |
| JOUR 333-0 | Bilingual Reporting and Storytelling |
| JOUR 334-0 | Chicago Investigative Project |
| JOUR 342-1 | Knight Lab: Studio |
| JOUR 342-2 | Knight Lab: Artificial Intelligence in Media |
| JOUR 352-0 | Politics, Media and The Republic |
| JOUR 353-0 | Dilemmas of American Power |
| JOUR 354-0 | Sports and Society |
| JOUR 357-0 | Sports Commentary |
| JOUR 358-0 | Evolution of Sports Media |
| JOUR 360-0 | Sports Writing & Reporting |
| JOUR 368-0 | Documentary |
| JOUR 371-0 | Journalism of Empathy |
| JOUR 372-0 | International Journalism: South Africa |
| JOUR 373-0 | Medill Investigative Lab |
| JOUR 374-0 | Techniques of Investigative Journalism |
| JOUR 376-0 | Media Design |
| JOUR 377-0 | News by the Numbers: Intro to Data Journalism |
| JOUR 378-0 | Introduction to Photojournalism |
| JOUR 379-0 | Applied Data Reporting: Tools and Story Lab |
| JOUR 380-0 | Advanced Data Reporting: Mastering the Narrative |
| JOUR 383-0 | Health and Science Reporting |
| JOUR 384-0 | Covering Washington, D.C. as a Mobile Journalist |
| JOUR 390-0 | Special Topics |
| JOUR 399-0 | Undergraduate Independent Study |
Medill students must also satisfy the Diverse Cultures and Social Inequalities Requirement, which is an overlay requirement. Students must complete two of the requirements above with courses taken from a Medill-approved list.