Learning Outcomes

Jour371 Gender and Media | Jour372 Diversity and the Media
Prerequisite: completion of lower-division writing requirement
Journalism Majors: Upper-division electives
Non-Majors: Upper-division GE Comparative Cultural Studies | IC and WI
Course Requirement: writing assignments totaling a minimum of 2500 words
Jour371 GE Paths: Health and Wellness
Jour372 GE Paths: Arts, Media, and Culture | Health and Wellness

Jour100 Introduction to Mass Communication
Journalism Majors: lower-division requirement
Non-Majors: GE Lifelong Learning requirement
NOTE: not open to students with CTVA 100 credit

Jour365 News Literacy
Prerequisite: completion of lower-division writing requirement
Recommended preparatory course: J1our 100 or equivalent
Journalism Majors: Upper-division elective
Non-Majors: Upper-division GE Social Sciences and Informat8ion Competence
Course Requirement: writing assignments totaling a minimum of 2500 words
Service Learning: provides experience that connects theory and practice to solve a real-world problem

Scroll down for a description of the specific Student Learning Outcomes

Journalism Department Mission
The Department of Journalism strives to prepare its students to become well-educated, principled citizens who are capable of initiating careers as skilled journalists, public relations practitioners and other related communication professionals.

Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will be able to report and write for diverse publics, using proper grammar and punctuation, word usage and spelling, sentence and storytelling structures across multiple journalistic formats.
2. Students will be able to gather and analyze information, including basic numerical concepts, using reporting techniques, such as interviewing, observation, and researching primary and secondary sources.
3. Students will be able to think critically, creatively and independently.
4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness, and diversity, Students will apply tools and technologies appropriate for the news media professions in which they work to communicate for and with diverse publics.
5. Students will be able to understand and apply the historical, theoretical, legal and societal contexts for producing and consuming news media for consumers, ranging from local to global publics.

Jour371 Gender and Media | Jour372 Diversity and the Media | Jour365 News Literacy
Non-Majors: Designated General Education (GE) Information Competence (IC) Writing Intensive (WI) Requirement

General Education (GE):
Jour371 | Jour372: Comparative Cultural Studies/Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity Studies and Foreign Languages
Goal: Students will understand the diversity and multiplicity of cultural forces that shape the world through the study of cultures, gender, sexuality, race, religion, class, ethnicities and languages with special focus on the contributions, differences and global perspectives of diverse cultures and societies.

General Education (GE):
Jour365: Social Sciences
Goal: Students will understand the complexities of social relations and human experiences and the ways in which they have changed over time, as well as the nature, scope and the systematic study of human behaviors and societies.
Social Science coursework will give students an understanding of the behavior of humans as we relate to each other, to ourselves and to our environments as we create the structures and values that govern our lives in the present and through time. These courses will give students an appreciation of the areas of learning concerned with human thought and an understanding of the nature, scope and limits of social-scientific study.
 
GE Student Learning Outcomes. Students will:
1. Explain how social scientists conduct the systematic study of social relations, human experiences and patterns of change over time.
2. Analyze and explain the multiple perspectives found in the social sciences that underlie debates on important historical and contemporary issues.
3. Apply appropriate social scientific methods to collect data, analyze, evaluate, explain and/or solve problems in social relations and human behavior.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of how social problems impact individuals, communities and societies.

Information Competency (IC) Subject Exploration:
Comparative Cultural Studies/Gender, Race, Class, Ethnicity Studies and Foreign Languages
Students will progressively acquire information competence skills by developing an understanding of information retrieval tools and practices as well as improving their ability to evaluate and synthesize information ethically.

IC Student Learning Outcomes.  Students will:
1. Determine the nature and extent of information needed;
2. Demonstrate effective search strategies for finding information using a variety of courses and methods;
3. Locate, retrieve, and evaluate a variety of relevant information including print and electronic formats;
4. Organize and synthesize information in order to communicate effectively;
5. Explain the legal and ethical dimensions of the use of information. 

Writing Intensive (WI) Upper-division GE course:
Students will develop their abilities to express themselves and the knowledge they have obtained through practicing various forms of writing within different disciplinary contexts. Writing intensive courses will build upon the skills gained in the Analytical Reading and Expository Writing section of Basic Skills. In each WI course students will be required to complete writing assignments totaling a minimum of 2500 words.

WI Student Learning Outcomes.  Students will:
1. Develop and clearly define their ideas through writing;
2. Ethically integrate sources of various kinds into their writing;
3. Compose texts through drafting, revising, and completing a finished product;
4. Express themselves through their writing by posing questions, making original claims, and coherently structuring complex ideas;
5. Revise their writing for greater cogency and clarity;
6. Utilize adopted communication modes and documentation styles of specific disciplines (MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE, etc.) where appropriate.

J372 GE Path: Arts, Media, and Culture
The goal of the Arts, Media and Culture Path is to empower students to think, read, and write critically and creatively about the transformative power of art, media and culture across diverse range of forms and practices. This Path encourages students to formulate their own criteria for responsible aesthetic judgments attuned to the differences of class, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexuality, ability, and national identity and to create and compose their own artistic works. Through interdisciplinary and comparative studies of a wide range of artistic, literary and cultural works including media and performance, students will rigorously explore, analyze, and evaluate cultural expression. This Path also enriches students’ appreciation of culture by engaging them both in the history of various aesthetic theories and material practices, and in contemporary public life with its variety of popular and independent forms. Thus, this Path will enable students to be informed and critical citizens of public culture.

GE Path Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will be able to define aesthetics, media, culture and their interconnections.
2. Students will explain the rich and varied genres of aesthetic expression across a diverse range of cultural forms.
3. Students will be able to analyze and write about various artistic, literary, intellectual, and other works of culture with appropriate theoretical concepts.
4. Students will be able to evaluate various forms and practices of art, media, and culture and demonstrate an understanding of historical and contemporary debates in the critical discourses about various art, media, and cultural practices.

J372 | J371 GE Path: Health and Wellness
The Health and Wellness Path provides students with opportunities to explore personal, community, and societal health and wellness across the life cycle. Courses in the path encompass the seven dimensions of wellness - social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, occupational, intellectual, and physical. Through interdisciplinary coursework, students will gain an awareness of how lifestyle choices support personal and public health and develop critical thinking strategies that actively promote physical, mental, and social well-being.

GE Path Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will gain an understanding of the political, economic, social, and cultural perspectives influencing personal and public health and wellness in society.
2. Students will analyze the impact of media and the digital culture on health-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
3. Students will identify strategies that positively impact health across cultures and communities through media, dietary practices, physical activity, and environment.
4. Students will examine societal barriers to maintaining personal health and wellness.

Jour100 Introduction to Mass Communication
Designated General Education (GE) Requirement: Lifelong Learning
Majors and Non-Majors (not open to students with credit in CTVA 100)

Lifelong Learning coursework encourages students to develop an appreciation for the importance of the continued acquisition of new and diverse knowledge and skills, and offers opportunities to integrate personal. professional, and social aspects of life

Goal:  Students will develop cognitive, physical and affective skills which will allow them to become more integrated and well-rounded individuals within various physical, social, cultural and technological environments and communities.communities.

Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will identify and actively engage in behaviors conducive to individual health, wellbeing, or development, and understand the value of maintaining these behaviors throughout their lifespan. 
2. Students will identify and apply strategies leading to health, wellbeing, or development for community members of diverse populations. 
3. Students will apply the knowledge and skills of science and technology and evaluate how they impact individuals, the community, and/or society.
For further information, check the University Catalog.