Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Media & Journalism (B.A., B.S.)


38-41 Major Hours, 120 Degree Hours

Students in this major must also complete requirements for a degree in the College of Arts & Sciences .

Students must choose at least one of the specializations and complete all required courses in that specialization area.

Media & Journalism with Journalism specialization


Required Experiential Core (2 hours minimum, 5 credit hours maximum)


Specialization: Journalism (24 hours)


The journalism specialization prepares students to become journalists. Students learn to research, write, and present stories in a multiplatform media market. The department requires students to learn print, broadcast and online journalism skills. Later, students can concentrate in one area if they wish. USD has excellent facilities for studying journalism. It is the home of the Al Neuharth Center for Excellence in Journalism and student media including The Volante campus newspaper, Coyote News, KYOT-TV, and KAOR-FM. The department has excellent video and audio production facilities for the study of multiplatform journalism. USD sponsors a student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Media & Journalism with Strategic Communication specialization


Required Experiential Core (2 hours minimum, 5 credit hours maximum)


Specialization: Strategic Communication (Advertising/Public Relations) (27 hours)


The Department of Media & Journalism prepares individuals for successful careers in Advertising and Public Relations. There are Strategic Communication careers at AD/PR agencies, in healthcare, universities, government, and a variety of other business and non-profit organizations. Students use M&J’s state of the art facilities to create graphic materials, plan campaigns, and prepare press releases and multiplatform content. Coyote Creative is the student creative agency in which students produce commercials, public service announcements and promotional campaigns. Coyote Communication is the student Ad/PR agency. The department hosts student chapters of the American Advertising Federation and Public Relations Student Society of America, and students have the opportunity to network with practicing strategic communication professionals.

Note:


All majors must complete 72 credits outside of the Department of Media & Journalism.

Four-Year Program Guides and Costs


USD encourages students to take 15 credits per semester or 30 credits within the year in order to graduate in 4 years. To help students complete their academic degree program in four years, we provide a sample academic plan. Please work with your academic advisor to confirm your plan. 

Student Learning Outcomes


  1. M&J majors will demonstrate professional competencies appropriate to their chosen specialization. 
  2. M&J majors will demonstrate an ability to solve problems, think critically, and work ethically within the legal boundaries for their selected specialization.
  3. M&J majors will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of selected scholarly research relevant to their specialization.
  4. Students will design, evaluate, and implement a strategy to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.
  5. Students will be able to assess their own ethical values and the social context of problems, recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings, think about how different ethical perspectives might be applied to ethical dilemmas and consider the ramifications of alternative actions.
  6. Students will be able to demonstrate the cultivation of knowledge, skills, values and motivation that will enable them to make a difference in the civic life of communities and promote the quality of life in a community and engage in activities of personal and public concern that are both individually life enriching and socially beneficial to the community
  7. Students will be able to systematically explore issues, objects or works through the collection and analysis of evidence that results in informed conclusions or judgments, and break down complex topics or issues into parts to gain a better understanding of them.
  8. Students will comprehensively explore issues, ideas, artifacts and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion, and combine or synthesize existing ideas, images or expertise in original ways reflecting a high degree of innovation, divergent thinking, and risk taking.

State Authorization - It Matters Where You Live


If your learning placement course (internship, externship, clinical, rotation, practicum, independent study, study away, etc.) or your online course will be taken outside South Dakota, please reference the State Authorization webpage.

State Authorization