Accelerated Bachelor of Arts in Journalism/Master of Arts in Journalism
Admission Requirements
Applicants must be Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media majors and have an overall GPA of 3.0 and a GPA of 3.4 or higher in the major prior to applying for the program. During their junior year (year 3) of the Journalism program, applicants must discuss with the Journalism program director the possibility of being considered for entry into the BA/MA accelerated degree program. The GRE is not required for this accelerated degree program. However, other requirements for MA program applicants will be required for the accelerated degree program.
Application and admission to the program is a 2-step process.
- During their junior year, with permission from the graduate director, the student submits a provisional application to the graduate school. If accepted, they are awarded provisional status in the accelerated program.
- During their senior year, with permission from both directors (BA and MA), the student submits a formal application for full admission into the MA program.
The BA degree will be awarded with the MA upon completion of all degree requirements. Students who decide to withdraw or who do not maintain a 3.2 will be allowed to finish the BA but will have admission to the graduate MA degree program canceled, and any graduate work completed will appear on the undergraduate transcript and will count on the bachelor’s degree. These students will not be allowed to re-enter the accelerated degree program at a later date.
Undergraduate vs Graduate Student Designations
Students in this accelerated degree program are categorized in the Baylor system as undergraduate students during their senior year (year 4) regardless of any combination of UG- and GR-level courses completed that year. These students are designated as graduate students in year 5 (final year of program) after being accepted into the graduate school for that final year.
These distinctions (undergraduate student versus graduate student) will be linked to financial aid and scholarship eligibility for each level. In year 4, these accelerated degree students are eligible for any financial aid or scholarships for which they qualify as an undergraduate student. When these students become graduate students in year 5, though they lose their eligibility for undergraduate-level support, they are eligible to apply for graduate-level scholarships and financial aid.
Requirements for the Accelerated Journalism (BA) >> Journalism (MA) Program
To earn the BA and MA in Journalism via this accelerated pathway, a student must complete all basic requirements for the Journalism BA degree as well as the Journalism MA degree.
A maximum of 6 credits of graduate-level coursework will count towards both the BA and MA degrees. Options for these 6 credit hours include:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Statistical Methods | ||
| Gender, Race & Media | ||
| Strategic Communications Research | ||
| Advertising Management | ||
| Editorial Strategies and Design for Multimedia Journalism | ||
| Writing and Editing for On-Line Media | ||
| Mass Media and Popular Culture | ||
| History of Photography | ||
| Advanced Advertising and Public Relations | ||
| Advertising and Public Relations Campaigns | ||
| Law and Ethics of Journalism | ||
| Advertising and Public Relations Leadership | ||
| Public Affairs Reporting | ||
| Radford Seminar | ||
| Special Studies | ||
| Research Methods in Mass Communication | ||
| Theory of Mass Communication | ||
| Seminar in Mass Communication | ||
| Practicum in Journalism | ||
| Crisis & Issues Management | ||
| Independent Study in Mass Communication |