Current Students

Requirements for the BSJ

A Bachelor of Science in Journalism requires students to complete a core of journalism courses (four courses), a track made of journalism courses (four courses), journalism electives (four courses), a wide variety of courses in the liberal arts, and a specialization in one or two areas of study outside of journalism.

Journalism core courses provide all journalism majors an overview of the future of journalism, as well as fundamental skills in news writing, legal issues and ethics. Two undergraduate tracks provide journalism students the specialized education necessary to pursue specific journalism careers. The customizable Carr Van Anda program of study offers journalism students at Ohio University the option of developing their own track.

Students must earn a minimum of 120 semester hour credits for a BSJ. To ensure the liberal arts emphasis of the journalism degree, non-professional coursework must total at least 72 semester hour credits. Professional hours, which can total no more than 48 semester hour credits out of 120, are defined as credits earned in Journalism, Media Arts & Studies, or Visual Communication.

A current check sheet detailing all requirements is available to download.

Earning a Minor

The School of Journalism offers two minors: an Advertising and Public Relations minor [PDF]  and a Journalism minor [PDF].

Earning a Double Major

Students who plan to earn two bachelors degrees may meet the requirements either simultaneously or successively:

To complete requirements for two baccalaureate degrees, students must meet the requirements for both degrees and must have completed a total of 135 semester hours of college work, with a minimum of 45 semester hours of residence, or the equivalent, at Ohio University. When the two degrees are offered by different colleges, you must declare a major program in both colleges and meet the residence requirement the semester in which the degrees are to be conferred.

Students who have met the requirements for two degrees, as stated above, and want to have the degrees conferred in successive semesters, they may do so without further credit or residence. For example, one degree may be conferred at the end of one semester and application made for the second degree in a subsequent semester.