Required journalism courses
18 hours
     Each required course carries 3 semester hours' credit. 

• Journalism 101 -- Basic Newswriting 
• Journalism 102 -- Advanced Newswriting 
• Journalism 210 -- Feature Writing 
• Journalism 220 -- Copy Editing 
• Journalism 311 -- Layout and Design 
• Journalism 400 -- Mass Media Law 

Required practical newspaper courses
At least 8 hours 
     Each course carries 2 semester hours' credit and can be taken twice. Four quarters' work on The Tech Talk is required; more quarters are recommended. 

• Journalism 350, 353, 355 -- Writing/Editing for The Tech Talk 

Journalism electives
5 hours needed
     Each journalism elective carries three semester hours' credit. 

• Journalism 222 -- Using the Internet for Research
• Journalism 230 -- Editorial Writing 
• Journalism 260 -- Advertising 
• Journalism 275 -- People and Events 
• Journalism 420 -- Civic Journalism
• Journalism 440 -- Media and Culture
• Journalism 450 -- Public Relations 
• Journalism 451 -- Internship (Strongly recommended.) 

Minor
     Usually 21 hours in a discipline selected by the student. Specific requirements for each minor are determined by the department in which the minor is taken. Some required courses -- other than those in journalism -- may apply to the minor. The university requires that a student make at least a C in each course in his or her minor.

Other required courses

• Any one of the following appreciation courses 
  • Art 290 -- Art Appreciation 
  • Music 290 -- Music Appreciation 
  • Speech 290 -- Theater Appreciation 
• Economics 215 -- Fundamentals of Economics 
• English 101, 102 -- Freshman Composition I, II 
• English 201, 202 -- Introduction to British and American Literature 
• Foreign Language (12 hours of one language) 
• One of the following geography courses 
  • Geography 205 -- Cultural Geography 
  • Geography 210 -- World Regional Geography 
• History 201, 202 -- American History 
• Mathematics -- One of the following designated pairs of courses: 
  • Math 101 (or Math 100) -- College Algebra; and Math 125 -- Algebra for Management and Social Sciences 
  • Math 111 -- Precalculus Algebra; and Math 112 -- Trigonometry 
• Natural Science (9 hours) -- Credits must include classes in both physical and biological sciences; at least six hours must come from a defined two-quarter sequence. (Physical sciences include chemistry, physics and geology.) 
• Political Science 201 -- National Government in the United States 
• Speech 110 -- Principles of Speech 
• University Seminar 100 -- Orientation and Study Skills  

General electives

• Any courses taught at the university (11 hours) 

TOTAL SEMESTER HOURS -- 124
 
 
Schedule of Courses to Be Offered

Louisiana Tech's Journalism Courses

Journalism 101: Beginning News Writing. This is a foundation course for all areas of journalism. You will learn to write leads, organize stories in the inverted pyramid structure and develop other skills necessary to writing journalistically. Typing ability required. (3 hours)

Journalism 102: Advanced News Writing (Prerequisite, Journalism 101.) You will refine the skills you learned in Journalism 101 and delve into specialized areas of reporting such as police reporting, consumer reporting and coverage of public affairs. (3 hours)

Journalism 210: Feature Writing (Prerequisites, Journalism 101 and 102.) If you are interested in a career in magazines or as a feature writer at a newspaper, you should especially enjoy this class. It features instruction in gathering material and in writing techniques for human interest and feature articles of various types for magazines and newspapers. (3 hours).

Journalism 220: Copy Editing (Prerequisite, Journalism 101.) Learn the view from the other side of the copy desk as you edit copy and write headlines. This course includes an in-depth approach to journalistic style. (3 hours)

Journalism 222: Using the Internet for Research. Learn to use the Internet to conduct research. The emphasis of the course is on journalistic research, but the techniques involved will work well for other purposes, too. This course is offered only via the World Wide Web. (3 hours)

Journalism 230: Editorial Writing (Prerequisite, Journalism 101.) How do newspapers come up with hard-hitting, incisive editorials? Take this course and find out. You will study fundamentals of writing editorials and then put them into practice. The course includes units on recent history and current events. (3 hours).

Journalism 260: Advertising (No prerequisites.) This course provides a study of fundamental advertising principles, including information on major media. (3 hours)

Journalism 275: People and Events (No prerequisites.) If you yearn to write interesting, insightful columns, this course is for you. You will study creative writing as it applies to magazines and newspapers. The course includes a how-to-get published primer, with oral and written critiques of your work. (3 hours)

Journalism 311: Layout and Design (Prerequisite, Journalism 220.) Venture into the world of design as you learn techniques of newspaper makeup and layout. A primary feature of this course is hands-on experience in design using QuarkXPress. Other elements include cropping and sizing photographs, basic principles of design, dummying of pages and use of information graphics. (3 hours)

Journalism 350, 353 and 355: Practical Reporting and General Newspaper Work (Prerequisites, Journalism 101, 102, 220 and 311.) After you have finished your core of journalism courses, you will be ready to put your knowledge to work in real-life reporting. That opportunity comes in these three courses, all of which involve work on The Tech Talk, the university's weekly newspaper. You will begin as a beat reporter, and you can move up the ladder into the editorial ranks as your ability leads you. Each of these courses carries two semester hours' credit, and each may be repeated once.

Journalism 400: Mass Media Law (Prerequisite, nine hours of journalism.) Anyone working in journalism today needs to know laws as they apply to the media. What rights do journalists have? What restrictions apply to them? You'll go beyond the textbook to study up-to-date recent court cases. (3 hours)

Journalism 420: Civic Journalism (No prerequisites.) Hands-on experience -- including reporting, writing, data collection and analysis -- will help you learn how to engage the public in civic discussions through the media. (3 hours)

Journalism 440: Media and Culture (No prerequisites.) Through lectures and discussions you'll learn how mass media affect culture. (3 hours)

Journalism 450: Public Relations (No prerequisites.) Take a comprehensive look into diverse functions of the public relations practitioner as a specialist, analyst and counselor involving the monitoring of public opinion. (3 hours)

Journalism 451: Internship (Open only to junior and senior journalism majors and minors, and by permission of instructor.) Complement your courses in journalism with practical experience in a professional setting. You will work with professionals at a newspaper, in television, in public relations or in some other journalism-related medium. (3 hours)

For more information, call 318-257-4427 or contact Judith Roberts, senior writing associate.