This is an archived copy of the 2020-2021 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.ufl.edu.
Established
1925
The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications is driving innovation and engagement across the disciplines of advertising, journalism, public relations and telecommunication. The strength of its programs, faculty, students and alumni — in research and in practice — has earned the college ongoing recognition as one of the best in the nation among its peers.
The college offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, a mass communication minor, and certificates, both online and on campus. The college’s strength is drawn from both academic rigor and experiential learning. CJC students gain practical experience in the Innovation News Center, which generates content across multiple platforms, and The Agency, a strategic communication agency that began operation in 2015.
The college includes seven
Accredited
Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC)
Academic Divisions
- Department of Advertising
- Department of Journalism
- Department of Public Relations
- Department of Telecommunication
- Division of Graduate Studies and Research
Degrees
Bachelor’s degrees in advertising, journalism, public relations and telecommunication, Master of Arts and a Ph.D.
Academic Advising
Professional Advising and Teaching Hub (PATH), 1060 Weimer Hall, maintains student records and offers undergraduate academic advising.
Internships
Students can earn credits by completing professional internships. Grades for internships must be S/U. Internship credit can be repeated with change of assignment for a maximum of six credits. Any internship credit beyond the six, such as through the Honors office, will not count toward a student's 124-credit total needed for the degree.
Learning/Training Tools
The college is home to PBS affiliate (WUFT-TV), NPR affiliates (WUFT-FM, WJUF-FM) for North Central Florida, two commercial radio stations (WRUF-AM/FM), a low-power television station (WLUF-TV), the student magazine Orange and Blue, the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, the Innovation News Center (INC), Brechner Project, The Agency, Center for Public Interest Communications, and STEM Translational Communication Research Program.
Scholarships
The College’s Knight Division for Scholarships, Career Services and Multicultural Affairs provides undergraduates with information about scholarships and assistantships, internships, placement services, and the college’s minority recruitment and retention activities.
The College awards more than $400,000 annually in undergraduate scholarships and assistantships. The application deadline is February 1. For more information, write to:
College of Journalism and Communications
P.O. Box 118400
Gainesville, FL 32611-8400
Helpful Links
- College
Website - Combination Degrees
- Computer Requirement
- Requirements for students majoring in telecommunication may differ from those of other students in the college.
- Dean's List
- Student Organizations
Freshman Information
The university's Office of Admissions coordinates freshman admission.
Transfer Information
The College of Journalism and Communications evaluates applicants on a space-available basis. A 2.5 grade point average (on all work attempted) and 60 credits of acceptable credit are generally required for admission at the junior year.
"An AA graduate from a Florida public postsecondary institution shall receive priority for admission to a state university over out-of-state transfer students." - Florida Board of Governors articulation agreement
To be eligible for admission, a transfer student from a Florida public college must have an Associate of Arts degree, including all prerequisite tracking courses. Transfer students from other universities and non-Florida public colleges should complete the first two years' requirements for the major before transferring.
Students denied admissions may petition. Petitions are available from PATH: Professional Advising and Teaching Hub, 1060 Weimer Hall.
Double Major/Dual Degrees
Students who want to specialize in more than one field can earn one of the bachelor’s degrees in this college and a second outside the college. Individuals who want to earn dual bachelor’s degrees must complete the required form, including approval signatures from each department/college. Students are expected to complete all undergraduate coursework in 4 years, or two if transferring. Journalism and Communications majors cannot double major or minor within the college.
Combination Degrees
A combination-degree program allows interested undergraduates to take up to four graduate classes. These classes fulfill undergraduate college requirements and can then be used a second time to satisfy the requirements for a Master's degree if graded B or higher. Undergraduates from all four departments may apply to participate in one of the combination-degree programs in the college.
Transfer Credit
Transfer students may transfer up to 60 semester credits from a state of Florida public university or community college. Credits taken beyond 60 may meet certain requirements but will not count toward the 124 credits needed to graduate. After 60 credits, credit taken with permission as a transient student at another university can be transferred to UF, but the last 31 credits needed must be UF courses. Professional courses required for a student’s major generally cannot be taken at other schools.
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Option
Undergraduate students in the college may not take courses designated ADV, JOU, MMC, PUR, RTV or VIC under the satisfactory-unsatisfactory (S/U) option, except courses which are offered only for an S/U grade.
More Info
Students are permitted to take elective courses outside the college on an S/U basis, subject to university rules published in the Academic Regulations section of this catalog.
After the S/U option is approved, students may not elect to convert to a letter-grade. Writing requirement courses cannot be taken S/U.
Courses for the outside concentration may be taken S/U with the following restrictions (in addition to university restrictions):
- The option may not be applied to any course below the 3000 level.
- Not more than three credits of S/U work may be taken to fulfill the outside concentration requirement.
- No beginning-level course may be offered for outside concentration credit under S/U.
- 9 credits of English required by the college may not be taken S/U.
- Courses used for the quantitative option may not be taken S/U.
- Refer to the university calendar for deadlines to apply for the S/U option.
Probation and Suspension
A student will be placed on college probation if they fail to maintain a 2.0 overall average and a 2.0 professional average. A student will be flagged if either or both of these averages falls below a 2.0 GPA for two consecutive terms. Students on college suspension must successfully petition the college for reinstatement.
Dropping Courses
Petitions to drop courses beyond the first two may be approved only when documented circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent the satisfactory completion of a course.
In all cases, students must file the petition with the PATH: Professional Advising and Teaching Hub, 1060 Weimer Hall. Consideration of petitions normally takes 1-2 weeks. All petitions must be submitted before the semester deadline. After these dates, all petitions are processed through the University Petitions Committee in 222 Criser Hall.
Flexible Learning
No CJC student can receive credit for a required professional course in the major through flexible learning study. No more than six semester credits of flexible learning coursework can be used to fulfill undergraduate degree requirements.
Please note: Concurrent enrollment at another institution is not allowed by the College of Journalism and Communications while enrolled in UF courses.
Outside Concentration
The College of Journalism and Communications requires that all students complete 12 credits of coursework in a department outside of the college or 12 hours in an approved area of study recommended by the department to meet specific career goals. Nine of the twelve credits should be at the 3000 level or above. In lieu of an outside concentration, a student may complete an approved UF minor that is offered outside of the college.
Professional Limit
The college stresses a broad background in liberal arts and sciences. Students spend most of their time on general background courses. The remaining time involves development of professional techniques in relation to this general knowledge.
Because the college insists on a general education background, the number of professional credits (ADV, JOU, MMC, PUR, RTV and VIC) applied toward graduation is limited to 52.
Professional courses as defined by the college and accepted by transfer are counted toward the 52 credits. A student must earn a minimum of 72 credits of non-college courses as part of the 124 credits required.
Dean’s List
Students cannot qualify for dean's list if they have grades of I, N or U. Certificates of recognition are issued by request from the PATH: Professional Advising and Teaching Hub in 1060 Weimer Hall.
To earn a bachelor’s degree, a student must satisfy these requirements:
- Earn at least 124 credits, up to 60 credits of which may be accepted by transfer from another college or university. The last 31 of these credits must be earned while the student is enrolled in classes in this college. A minimum of 72 credits must come from courses outside the college and a minimum of 52 credits must come from inside the college.
- Earn a minimum 2.0 in all work attempted while an upper-division student and a minimum 2.0 in all work attempted in courses with prefixes ADV, JOU, MMC, PUR, RTV, and VIC.
- Earn a minimum grade of C in required English, speech and foreign language courses. Advertising majors also must earn minimum grades of C in MAR 3023 and STA 2023. Public relations majors must earn a minimum grade of C in STA 2023.
According to the student's major, minimum grades of C are also required in:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ADV Courses | ||
| ADV 3001 | Advertising Strategy | 3 |
| ADV 3008 | Principles of Advertising | 3 |
| ADV 3500 | Digital Insights | 3 |
| ADV 4101 | Copywriting and Visualization | 3 |
| ADV 4300 | Media Planning | 3 |
| ADV 4800 | Advertising Campaigns | 3 |
| ADV 4940 | Advertising Internship 1 | 1-4 |
| All JOU and MMC courses 2 | ||
| PUR Courses | ||
| PUR 3000 | Principles of Public Relations | 3 |
| PUR 3500 | Public Relations Research | 3 |
| PUR 3801 | Public Relations Strategy | 3 |
| PUR 4100 | Public Relations Writing | 4 |
| PUR 4103 | Public Relations Visual Communication | 3 |
| PUR 4404C | International Public Relations | 3 |
| PUR 4800 | Public Relations Campaigns | 3 |
| PUR 4905 | Individual Problems | 1-3 |
| PUR 4940 | Public Relations Internship 1 | 1-3 |
| RTV Courses | ||
| RTV 2100 | Writing for Electronic Media | 3 |
| RTV 3001 | Introduction to Media Industries and Professions | 3 |
| RTV 3101 | Advanced Writing for Electronic Media | 3 |
| RTV 3106 | Writing and Reporting for Interactive Media | 3 |
| RTV 3303 | Audio News and Reporting | 3 |
| RTV 3320 | Electronic Field Production | 3 |
| RTV 3516 | Electronic Field Production II | 4 |
| RTV 4301 | TV News Reporting | 3 |
| RTV 4929C | Senior Advanced Workshop in Telecommunication Production | 3 |
| RTV 3305 | In-Depth Broadcast Reporting | 3 |
| RTV 3511 | Fundamentals of Production | 3 |
| RTV 4420 | New Media Systems | 3 |
| RTV 4432 | Ethics and Problems in Telecommunication | 3 |
| RTV 4506 | Telecommunication Research | 3 |
| RTV 4905 | Individual Projects in Telecommunication | 1-3 |
| RTV 4910 | Telecommunication Undergraduate Research | 3 |
| RTV 4940 | Telecommunication Internship 1 | 1-4 |
| VIC Course | ||
| VIC 3001 | Sight, Sound and Motion (all majors) | 4 |
| Students earning grades below C must retake the course or its equivalent. | ||
| 1 | Graded S/U; S grade required. |
| 2 | D grade allowed in MMC 4200. |
Foreign Language Proficiency or Quantitative Option
This requirement is satisfied by demonstrating proficiency or completing college-level credits in a single foreign language, or by taking 8 credits of classes in accounting, computers, and/or statistics
Foreign Language Proficiency
Students who elect the foreign language option may meet the requirement by successfully completing the second or third beginning-level course in one foreign language. Or, students can complete two college semesters of American Sign Language. Note: Proficiency in Latin requires three semesters of the beginning language sequence.
This is not a credit requirement, but a proficiency requirement, and it is satisfied by earning a minimum grade of C or S.
From the UF catalog: “UF students may use the FLPE (Foreign Language Proficiency Examinations) to prove proficiency in a foreign language and thus achieve an exemption from a foreign language requirement.”
CLEP
Students may also take the corresponding CLEP test for foreign language. From the university catalog: "Students beginning in the fall or spring term must have taken the exams...and have their scores reported to the university before the end of their first term of enrollment at UF."
For other languages not listed above, students should consult an advisor to discuss acceptable options for demonstrating proficiency. Students who wish to demonstrate proficiency must do so before earning 90 credits.
Quantitative Option
Students who don't want to complete the college foreign language requirements need to take 8 credits of the quantitative options listed below.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ACG 2021 | Introduction to Financial Accounting | 4 |
| ACG 2071 | Introduction to Managerial Accounting | 4 |
| CGS 2531 | Problem Solving Using Computer Software | 3 |
| CGS 3063 | Computers and Modern Society | 3 |
| COP 3275 | Computer Programming Using C | 3 |
| EME 2040 | Introduction to Educational Technology | 3 |
| ISM 3004 | Computing in the Business Environment | 4 |
| STA 2023 | Introduction to Statistics 1 | 3 |
| STA 3024 | Introduction to Statistics 2 | 3 |
| STA 4222 | Sample Survey Design | 3 |
Outside Concentration
The College of Journalism and Communications requires that all students complete 12 credits of coursework in a department outside of the college. Nine of the twelve credits should be at the 3000 level or above. In lieu of an outside concentration, a student may complete an approved UF minor that is offered outside of the college.
Policy for Unsuccessful Completion of Required Courses
Students who complete a course and do not earn at least the minimum grade required for satisfying a degree requirement may repeat the course once. If they are not successful the second time they may not retake the course. Students may petition this restriction if there are extenuating circumstances.