Undergraduate Degree Requirements

Graduation requirements are in three parts. You must fulfill all requirements of all the parts to receive a Journalism Bachelor of Arts (JBA) or Journalism Bachelor of Science (JBS) degree:

1. journalism coursework
2. nonjournalism courses required by the School
3. degree requirements imposed by the College of Letters and Science

1. Journalism Coursework

• A JBA or JBS degree program requires a minimum of 30 journalism credits. At least 80 credits must be taken outside journalism per College of Letters and Science regulations, so students who take more than 40 credits in journalism will need additional credits over 120 to graduate.

• Students must complete at least one track of coursework in Journalism or Strategic Communication (download a PDF detailing course requirements for each track).

• Students must earn 15 credits in advanced journalism courses while in residence at UW-Madison. Journalism courses taken in non-UW-Madison study abroad programs or transferred from other universities will not count toward this requirement. These are courses numbered 400 or above, except J697.

• Graduation requires a minimum 2.0 GPA in each of the following: all journalism, all advanced journalism, all UW-Madison courses and all intermediate/advanced UW-Madison courses.

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2. Nonjournalism Courses Required by the School

a) Introductory Social Science

Three courses from the approved list below, each from different departments. One must be an economics or political science course. Equivalent upper-level social science courses may be substituted if necessary (see adviser for approved list).

• Anthropology 100, 102, 104, 204

• Economics, 101, 102, 111

• Geography 101, 102, 139, 140

• ILS, 205, 206

• Philosophy 101, 102, 103, 181

• Political Science 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 181, 182

• Psychology 201, 202

• Sociology 125, 130, 134, 138, 140, 170, 181, 210

b) Upper-Level Social Science or Humanities
12 credits of courses with an H,S or Z breadth designation and an I, A or D difficulty designation in the timetable. One of those courses must be in the History Department or cross-listed with History. Please note: History courses cross-listed with Journalism (such as J560) will not count toward this requirement.

A course may be used to satisfy the Introductory Social Science requirement OR the Upper-Level Social Science/Humanities requirement, but not both. Journalism courses or courses cross-listed into Journalism cannot apply toward either requirement. Courses taken pass/fail may not be used to fulfill either requirement – students must take these courses on a letter-grade basis.

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3. College of Letters and Science Degree Requirements

In addition to the School of Journalism degree requirements listed here, students must fulfill degree requirements for a Bachelors of Arts or Bachelors of Science degree in the College of Letters & Science. Refer to the current Undergraduate Catalog for those requirements.

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