Majors in journalism and mass communication are required to achieve a departmental GPA of 2.00; plus an overall GPA of 2.25 for 130 semester hours, including 65 hours of liberal arts and sciences; and take all the courses in the departmental common core: JMC 100, 102, 201, 310 or 451, 342, 488, and 495 or 498.

Before enrolling in JMC 102 Creating Media Messages, a student must make satisfactory scores on the Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling exam. Majors must have a SAT Verbal score of 550, an ACT English score of 24, or pass the GPS Exam with a score of 70. To schedule a time to take the GPS Exam, e-mail lorri.ware@acu.edu or call 325-674-2296.

 

Degree plans in each field include academic and practical experience. In addition to on-campus media experience, students are required to complete an internship. They have the opportunity to work in internships at the Abilene Reporter-News, local radio and television stations, local advertising agencies, or public relations departments. Summer internships have been done by recent graduates in Washington, D.C., Nashville, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Abilene, Seattle, Austin, Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles.

All majors are strongly encouraged to be active members of at least one chapter of the department's nationally affiliated professional societies or associations.

A freshman's schedule is affected by many factors: high school grades, SAT or ACT scores, other diagnostic tests, advanced placement, major field choice, work schedule, etc. Consult the department chair or adviser for help in scheduling and degree planning. Courses should be taken in the order approved by a departmental adviser.