College of Information and Communications
School of Journalism and Mass Communications
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

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Semester One (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	ENGL 101	Critical Reading and Composition (CC-CMW)	3	C
	STAT Course	STAT 110 Intro. to Statistical Reasoning or STAT 112 Statistics and the Media or STAT 201 Elementary Statistics or STAT 205 Elem. Statistics for the Bio. & Life Sci. or STAT 206 Elem. Statistics for Business (CC-ARP)	3			See Bulletin Listing
	JOUR 101	Media & Society (MR)	3	C
!	JOUR 202	Principles of Advertising & Brand Comm. (MR)	3	C
	UNIV 101	The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement (PR/CC)3	3

Semester Two (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	ENGL 102	Rhetoric and Composition (CC-CMW, CC-INF)	3	C		C or better in ENGL 101
		Carolina Core ARP (CC-ARP)	3
	JOUR 220	Brand Strategy: Understanding Consumers (MR)	3	C		C or better in JOUR 101
	JOUR 291	Writing for Mass Communications (MR)	3	C
		Foreign Language or other Carolina Core Requirement (CC-GFL)3	3-4

Semester Three (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 303	Law & Ethics of Mass Communications or JOUR 304 Internet and Social Media Law (MR)	3	C
		JOUR Elective (MR)56	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Carolina Core Requirement (CC)	3-4
		Carolina Core Requirement (CC)	3
		Foreign Language or Carolina Core Requirement (CR/CC)3	3

Semester Four (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 317	Toolkit for Brand Communication: Creative Execution (MR)	3	C		C or better in JOUR 202 & 291
		JOUR Elective (MR)56	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Carolina Core GHS Requirement (HIST 111, 112, 201, 214, or SOST 202) (CC-GHS)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement (CC)	3
		Foreign Language or other Carolina Core Requirement (CC-GFL)3	3-4

Semester Five (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 421	Media Analysis (MR)	3	C		JOUR 202 & Junior standing
	JOUR 416	Advertising: Creative, Strategy, and Execution (MR)	3	C		C or better in JOUR 220 and 317
	ECON 224  or MKTG 350 or MGMT 371	Introduction to Economics or Principles of Marketing or Principles of Management (CR)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement or Elective (CC/PR)6	3
		Elective (PR)	3

Semester Six (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		JOUR Elective / Concentration Course (MR)7	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		JOUR Elective / Concentration Course (MR)7	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Carolina Core Requirement or Elective (CC/PR)6	3
		History (CR)8	3
		Social Science (CR)9	3

Semester Seven (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 422	Advertising Campaigns: From Development to Pitch (MR, CC-INT)	3	C		C or better in JOUR 416
		JOUR Elective / Concentration Course (MR)7	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Social or Behavioral Science (CR)10	3
		Elective (PR)	3
		Elective (PR)	3

Semester Eight (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		JOUR Elective (MR)56	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		JOUR Elective / Concentration Course (MR)7	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Elective (PR)	3
		Elective (PR)	3
		Elective (PR)	2

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	College and Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	48	29-41	31-43	2.5

1. Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA.
2. Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses. Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study.
3. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.
4. Students in the Advertising major are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the 122 course through course credit or the corresponding foreign language placement score.
5. Journalism Major Electives (18 hours) include: 1) two JOUR concept/lecture course (6 hours); 2) two directed capstone electives (6 hours); and 3) nine hours of JOUR electives. a. JOUR concept/lecture course (3 hours): JOUR 201, 203, 204, 205, 219, 242, 243, 249, 285, 286, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 311, 312, 316, 331, 332, 333, 343, 344, 345, 348, 382, 385, 391, 394, 398, 400, 428, 440, 445, 451, 480, 491, 501, 506, 507, 508, 509, 527, 536, 539, 542, 563, 595, 596. b. Directed Capstone Electives (6 hours): JOUR 516, 518, 521, 528, 530, 537, 538, 597.
6. Electives cannot include courses of a remedial or developmental nature.
7. Sports Media Concentration Courses (12 hours): JOUR 391 (required) and 9 hours from: JOUR 242, 243, 244, 245, 307, 343, 344, 345, 394, 428, 443, 444, 461, 472, 472L.
8. History Course (3 hours): HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110; ARTH 107; FAMS 300; GERM 280.
9. Social Science (3 hours): any CC-GSS course or one of the following JOUR courses: JOUR 243, 285, 303, 304, 307, 308, 309, 311, 345, 391, 394, 398, 596.
10. Social or Behavioral Sciences (3 hours): any course from AFAM (African American Studies); ANTH (Anthropology); COLA (College of Liberal Arts); CRJU (Criminal Justice); GEOG (Geography – except GEOG 545 & 546); HIST (History); LASP (Latin American Studies); POLI (Political Science); PSYC (Psychology); SOCY (Sociology); SOST (Southern Studies); WGST (Women’s & Gender Studies) or any one of the following JOUR courses: JOUR 243, 285, 303, 304, 307, 308, 309, 311, 345, 391, 394, 398, 596.

Program Notes

• Courses identified as “critical” may affect time to graduation due to prerequisite requirements for subsequent required courses.
• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin.
• All majors within the school will be expected to pass all journalism and mass communications courses used toward the major with a minimum grade of C.
• The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina.

Code Definitions

University Requirements: Bachelor’s degree-seeking students must meet Carolina Core (general education) requirements.

Code	Definition
CC	Carolina Core
CC-AIU	Carolina Core – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding
CC-ARP	Carolina Core – Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving
CC-CMS	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component
CC-CMW	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written Component
CC-GFL	Carolina Core – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language
CC-GHS	Carolina Core – Historical Thinking
CC-GSS	Carolina Core – Social Sciences
CC-INF	Carolina Core – Information Literacy
CC-INT	Carolina Core – Integrative Course
CC-SCI	Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy
CC-VSR	Carolina Core – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
CR	College Requirement
MR	Major Requirement
PR	Program Requirement