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

Print this page

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 110 or STAT 112 or STAT 201 or STAT 205 or STAT 206	Intro. to Statistical Reasoning or Statistics and the Media or Elementary Statistics or Elem. Statistics for the Bio. & Life Sci. or Elem. Statistics for Business (CC-ARP)	3			See Bulletin Listing
	JOUR 101	Media & Society (MR)	3	C
	JOUR 391	Sports Media and Society (MR)	3	C
	UNIV 101	The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement3 (PR/CC)	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 291	Writing for Mass Communications (MR)	3	C
		Sports Media Literacy & Context (JOUR 242, 343, 344, 394, 428) (MR)	3	C
		Foreign language4 or other Carolina Core Req.3 (CC-GFL)	3-4

Semester Three (15-17 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		Sports Media Skills5 (MR)	3	C
		Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC)	3-4
		Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC)	3-4
		Carolina Core CMS (CC-CMS)	3
		Foreign language4 or other Carolina Core Req.3 (CC-GFL)	3

Semester Four (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		Diversity & Social Issues in Sports Media (JOUR 243, 307, or 345) (MR)	3	C
		Carolina Core GHS Requirement3 (HIST 111, 112, 201, 214, or SOST 202) (CC-GHS)	3
		Carolina Core3 or Elective6 (CC/PR)	3
		Law Course7 (PR)	3
		Carolina Core3 or Elective6 (CC/PR)	3

Semester Five (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 445	Team Media for Sports Media (MR)	3	C
		Business/Finance/Management Course8 (PR)	3
		Professional Course9 (PR)	3
		Carolina Core3 or Elective6 (CC/PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3

Semester Six (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		Data Analytics Course (ISCI 434 or 560) (PR)	3			C or better in CSCE 104 or 106 (ISCI 434)
		Sports Media Literacy & Context (JOUR 242, 343, 344, 394, 428) (MR)	3	C
		Business/Finance/Management Course8 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3

Semester Seven (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		Sports Media Major Elective (any JOUR or SPTE) (MR)	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3

Semester Eight (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 470	Sports Media Capstone (MR, CC-INT)	3	C		C or better in JOUR 391
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	3
		Elective6 (PR)	2

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	College and Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	30	47-59	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 College of Information and Communications are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the 110/121 course through course credit or the corresponding foreign language placement score.
5. Sports Media Skills Course (3 hours): JOUR 245, 316, 317, 346, 347, 421, 436, 438, 443, 444, 461, 534.
6. Electives: The Sports Media curriculum includes 32-44 hours of electives, depending on how students fulfill the Carolina Core requirements. Courses used to satisfy the elective requirement, which may include additional JOUR Major Electives, must be approved by the Sports Media advisor.
7. Law Course (3 hours): JOUR 303, 304; SPTE 240, 320.
8. Business/Finance/Management Courses (6 hours): ACCT 222 (or 225); ECON 224 (or 221, 222, or 221 & 222); FINA 333 (or 363); MKTG 350; MGMT 371; ISCI 402, 435; SPTE 380, 440, 450, 550.
9. Professional Course (3 hours): Select one course from Data Analytics, Business/Finance/Management, Law that was not already taken.

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