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 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 203	Principles of Visual Communications (MR)	3	C
	UNIV 101	The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement (PR/CC)3	3

Semester Two (15 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 346 or JOUR 347	Graphics for Visual Communications or Photography for Visual Communications (MR)	3	C		C or better in JOUR 203 (JOUR 346)
	JOUR 291	Writing for Mass Communications (MR)	3	C
		Foreign Language4 or other Carolina Core Requirement (CC-GFL)3	3

Semester Three (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 303 or JOUR 304	Law & Ethics of Mass Communications or Internet and Social Media Law (MR)	3	C
!	JOUR 346 or JOUR 347	Graphics for Visual Communications or Photography for Visual Communications (MR)	3	C		C or better in JOUR 203 (JOUR 346)
		Carolina Core Requirement (CC)3	3
		Carolina Core Requirement (CC)3	3-4
		Foreign Language4 or Carolina Core Requirement (CR/CC)3	3

Semester Four (15-17 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		JOUR Major Elective (MR)5	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
	JOUR 442 or JOUR 447 or JOUR 449	Advanced Graphics for Visual Communications or  Video for Visual Communications or Design for Online Content (MR/CC-INT)	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Carolina Core GHS Requirement (HIST 111, 112, 201, 214, or SOST 202) (CC-GHS)3	3
		Carolina Core Requirement (CC)3	3-4
		Foreign Language4 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 442 or JOUR 447 or JOUR 449	Advanced Graphics for Visual Communications or Video for Visual Communications or Design for Online Content (MR/CC-INT)	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		JOUR Major Elective (MR)5	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
	ECON 224 or MKTG 350 or MGMT 371	Introduction to Economics or Principles of Marketing or Principles of Management (CR)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement3 or Elective (CC/PR)6	3
		Carolina Core Requirement3 or Elective (CC/PR)6	3

Semester Six (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 442 or JOUR 447 or JOUR 449	Advanced Graphics for Visual Communications or Video for Visual Communications or Design for Online Content (MR/CC-INT)	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		JOUR Major Elective5 / Concentration Course (MR)7	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Social Science (CR)8	3
		History (CR)9	3
		Elective (PR)6	3

Semester Seven (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		JOUR Major Elective5 / Concentration Course (MR)7	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		JOUR Major Elective5 / Concentration Course (MR)7	3	C		See Bulletin listing.
		Social or Behavioral Science (300-level or above) (CR)10	3
		Elective (PR)6	3
		Elective (PR)6	3

Semester Eight (14 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	JOUR 460	Capstone Portfolio Development (MR, CC-INT)	3	C		C or better in JOUR 442 & 447; C or better in JOUR 449
		Elective (PR)6	3
		Elective (PR)6	3
		Elective (PR)6	3
		Elective (PR)6	2

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	College and Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	45	32-44	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 Visual Communications 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 (15 hours) include: 1) a Visual Communications Special Topics course (3 hours); 2) a JOUR concept/lecture course (3 hours); and 3) three JOUR electives (9 hours) of the student’s choice.
   1. Visual Communications Special Topics Course (3 hours): JOUR 245, 249, 316, 317, 348, 393, 416, 444, 446, 448, 450, 451, 452, 455, 461, 471, 472, 475, 518, 534, 537, 538, 553, 595, 596, 597.
   2. JOUR Concept/Lecture Course (3 hours): JOUR 201, 202, 204, 205, 219, 242, 243, 249, 285, 286, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 311, 312, 331, 332, 333, 343, 344, 345, 348, 382, 385, 391, 394, 398, 400, 421, 428, 440, 445, 451, 480, 491, 501, 506, 507, 508, 509, 527, 530, 536, 539, 542, 563, 595, 596.
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. 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.
9. History Course (3 hours): HIST 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110; ARTH 107; FAMS 300; GERM 280.
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