School of Journalism and Communication

Undergraduate degrees: B.A., B.S.
Undergraduate minor: Communication studies

News Junkies, Word Nerds, and Film Fanatics Unite

In the field of journalism, the convergence of new media forms with time-honored traditional media is bringing about unprecedented employment opportunities in a cutting-edge profession. Online news outlets and literary journals join traditional print media, creating new vistas of professional opportunity for beat reporters, editorial types, and experts in crafting streaming video.

Can you imagine yourself designing dazzling magazine layouts, or writing a Pulitzer prize-winning news feature? Would you like to direct and produce a breathtaking documentary, or dream up innovative advertising campaigns? No matter which of our specialties grabs your interest, the UO’s School of Journalism and Communication has a program that will help you launch your career.

As a pre-journalism major, you’ll start with core classes that will prepare you for academic success. You’ll learn about the roles of communication media in society, the history of journalism, research and writing for mass media, visual communication techniques, and the ethical, legal, and social responsibilities of the media in modern society.

If you want to pursue an undergraduate degree in journalism at the UO, the first step is to apply to the university through the Office of Admissions and select "pre-journalism" as your major on your application. Once admitted, you will receive advising from the SOJC’s professional staff as you work toward full major status. Admission to the SOJC is competitive and the coursework is intense. You'll be able to apply for full major status during your junior year, after completing the school's pre-major requirements.

Points of Interest

• The School of Journalism and Communications' advising office offers Quick Question, an advising podcast series designed to answer questions about majoring in the School
• Choose a major in one of six accredited areas: advertising, communication studies, electronic media, magazine journalism, news-editorial, or public relations
• Earn UO credits and expand your horizons by joining one of our overseas study programs: Media in Ghana, or Environmental Writing in the Galápagos
• The Carolyn S. Chambers Electronic Media Center contains two television studios, a control room, several editing bays, and an audio production suite
• For fifteen years, UO’s student magazine FLUX has won top national honors for collegiate publications
• Allen Hall Public Relations, a student-managed public relations agency, designs and implements PR campaigns for local and regional clients
• Allen Hall Advertising offers a range of advertising services to businesses and nonprofit organizations. It is one of the few successful student-run advertising agencies in the nation

Sample Courses

• Advertising Media Planning focuses on objectives and strategy for determining effective methods of reaching a designated target audience. The class provides instruction on use of media measurement tools
• Documentary TV Production is a workshop in preparation, shooting, and postproduction of the short television documentary
• Introduction to Electronic Media provides an introduction to aesthetic and technical elements, as well as professional issues, involved in communication through video and audio
• Magazine Feature Editing focuses on principles and problems of magazine editing, and working with professionally written manuscripts. Copyediting, caption and headline writing, and content selection are included topics
• Public Relations Planning and Problems presents the uses of research, decision processes, ehtics, and program design in the solution of public relations problems for profit and nonprofit institutions
• Communication and Democracy explores the role of communication in democratic theory. The course emphasizes the implications on contemporary democratic practices resulting from the changes in communication systems and technology
• Cyberjournalism critically examines components of online journalism and explores various aspects of web publishing. Students gain professional experience by creating a class website

Interdisciplinary Opportunities

A good journalist is one who is broadly educated. You are encouraged to enhance your education by pursuing a major or minor in another discipline outside the SOJC. For example, learning a foreign language might be the key to your career success. Do you want to pursue photojournalism or advertising layout? You should explore classes in the digital arts department. Are you deeply concerned about environmental issues? You might consider a minor in environmental studies. With an outside focus on economics or political science, your career opportunities would expand in those areas. As an SOJC student, your academic and professional horizons are limited only by your imagination.

Hands-on Learning

By immersing yourself in one of our award-winning student publications, you will hone your skills and build your portfolio. Here are just a few of the possibilities open to you:

• The Oregon Daily Emerald is the UO’s independent student newspaper. Students may apply for reporting, design, photography, editorial, or advertising positions
• FLUX is the SOJC’s own award winning student-produced and -edited magazine that operates like a professional magazine. Since its launch in 1994, FLUX has won top national honors for collegiate publications
• Duck U and UO News are weekly newscasts—just two of the many hands-on projects produced by students in the School’s electronic media program
• Mosaic, the SOJC’s award-winning newspaper capstone publication, offers students the opportunity to produce a professional quality news project

Internship Options

Internships are another great way to gain the real-world experience for securing that first job.  At the SOJC, we have an internship coordinator who will keep you up to date on internship opportunities. Recent internship assignments include:

• Advertising: Wieden + Kennedy, Funk & Associates, Sasquatch
• In-house advertising: Nike, Columbia Sportswear, adidas america
• Electronic Media: ABC, CBS, CNN, NPR, OPB, Dateline NBC
• Magazine: Harper's Bazaar, Mother Jones, Conde Nast publications
• News-editorial: The Oregonian, San Francisco Chronicle, The Seattle Times, The Register-Guard
• Public Relations: American Cancer Society, Lane Memorial Blood Bank, Krupp Group NYC, PMK/HBH Public Relations (Hollywood), Waggener Edstrom. Edelman, Koopman Ostbo

Student Work

Logan Juve has always been intrigued by the media, and the opportunities available to journalists. “I want to be one of those reporters who is in the Middle East in the midst of chaos,” she says, “and bring the story home to my peers.”

Juve already put her magazine skills to work as associate editor of KD Magazine, a local publication that features articles on international cuisine, dance, film, pop culture, and all things related to international studies. Outstanding classes and professors are great, says Juve, “but your work takes on a whole new purpose and meaning when you put your heart and soul into a publication and then are able to see it in print.”

Ryan Knutson enrolled at the UO’s SOJC because of the school’s high-ranking reputation and central Oregon location. He has picked up many useful tools in his journalism classes, which he applies to his reporting and editorial duties at the UO’s independent student newspaper, the Oregon Daily Emerald.

“I’ve always been fascinated by journalism,” says Knutson. “I love learning, and there’s nothing better than doing it for a living through reporting. I also think journalism is of great public importance. Our democracy needs a sturdy press to keep it in check, and that obligation inspires me.”

Rebecca Purice chose journalism as her major because “I truly believe that journalists can use their influence to help individuals and to move people into action,” she says. “My goal is to find a path that will help me put this belief into practice.”

Purice polished the writing and reporting skills she acquired in her SOJC classes during a summer internship at station KATU in Portland. “For example, it used to take me up to an hour to write a VO/SAT [a 45 to 60 second story accompanied by video and a video bite],” she says. After getting some practice at KATU and writing a few of these stories for some of the newscasts, Purice was able to increase her writing speed considerably. “I can now write a VO/SAT in under ten minutes.”

Selected Faculty Work

Associate Professor Carol Ann Bassett teaches magazine writing and environmental writing courses. She has lectured and conducted journalism workshops in developing countries such as Nepal, Bolivia, and Botswana, and has written about the environment and indigenous cultures on four continents. Bassett is program director for Environmental Writing in the Galápagos, an ongoing summer course taught on the archipelago.

Associate Professor Scott Maier is founder of CAR Northwest, an industry-academic partnership providing training in computer-assisted reporting to newsrooms and journalism classrooms. Maier’s research interests include newsroom numeracy, media accuracy, diffusion of new technology, and managing newsrooms for technological change. He teaches writing, reporting, research, and information gathering courses.

Debra Merskin, associate professor, is interested in the representation of women and minorities in media. Her theoretical focus is media dependency theory. Merskin teaches courses in mass media, communication studies, and special focus courses on topics including the influence of media on sex, love, and romance.

Professor Julianne Newton teaches courses in photojournalism, visual communication and design, and communication ethics. Her research explores the impact of visual culture on society, on our ways of knowing, and on the integrity of the self.

Jon Palfreman is an Emmy, Dupont, and Peabody Award-winning journalist whose work has appeared on NOVA and FRONTLINE. His recent focus has been in-depth investigative reports centered on the intersection of science and technology, policy, and law. Palfreman teaches courses in electronic media, documentary film and video production, and science and environmental journalism.

Career Opportunities

With a journalism degree, your career options are limited only by your imagination. Depending on your chosen focus, you might:

• Write, design, or edit newspapers, magazines, or other publications
• Create and launch advertising campaigns
• Teach language, grammar, or writing skills
• Direct, film, or compose documentaries or movies
• Work in any field that involves social communications
• Promote a business, nonprofit, or educational institution

Combining your SOJC focus with a minor in another field will expand your horizons even further. 

Contact Information
(541) 346-3738