Journalism, Culture and Society Curriculum

B.A. in Journalism, Culture and Society

The Journalism, Culture and Society major at The King’s College builds upon the required Core Curriculum to prepare intellectually well-rounded graduates for careers in the news media and related industries. It also requires training in reporting, writing and editing skills taught by seasoned journalists who have worked in the news media at high levels.

Within the Core Curriculum in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, students read the literature, sacred texts, laws, and philosophical inquiries that have come to shape our civilization. Within the social context of these developments, students learn the religious, historical, philosophical, political, and economic components that have brought us to where we are today. The Core consists of 18 courses—nearly half of the courses students need to graduate—spaced throughout all four years of study.

The interdisciplinary JCS major builds upon this foundation with intensive courses in reporting as well as the history, ethics, legal issues, and theory related to journalism. The major requires an internship at a media or news outlet and encourages students to obtain several internships. JCS majors choose a specialization for their remaining electives, which gives them deeper and more integrative knowledge of content areas such as history, the arts, business, economics, politics, ethics and religion and the cultural relationships between these areas. This approach offers a distinct advantage over more narrow professional training in journalism alone: many of the world’s most accomplished journalists studied liberal arts and humanities in college while developing journalism expertise in the classroom and in the field.

In addition, the JCS program is offered in conjunction with the significant resources of the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute at The King’s College, which has connections to many other professional journalism enterprises. Faculty members regularly write and edit for outlets such as Forbes.com, Vox.com, and Universal Press syndicate, and our New York City location gives students access to the nation’s biggest and best media market.

Journalism, Culture and Society Course List

On top of all courses within the Core Curriculum, JCS majors will take the following courses:

  • Introduction to Journalism
  • Advanced Reporting (Business, Religion, Criminal Justice and Sports/Entertainment)
  • History of Journalism
  • Narrative Non-Fiction Workshop (literary journalism)
  • Media Law and Ethics
  • Principles of Cultural Interpretation
  • Media, Culture and Society or Enterprise of Mass Communication
  • Journalism Internship
  • Entrepreneurial Journalism and the Future

Journalism, Culture and Society majors will additionally choose from among courses such as Documentary Filmmaking, Business Journalism, Sports and Entertainment Journalism, Graphic Design, and Special Topics in Journalism (i.e. Copyediting, Photojournalism, Podcasting), and will take two or three courses on Arts and Ideas throughout human history. Students take another two to three courses from among a wide variety of offerings in a chosen area of study:

  • Arts and Culture
  • Business and Economics
  • Politics
  • Religion and Theology

This extra subject matter training helps students become better reporters in given areas of media. Course descriptions, codes, prerequisites, and a full course map are available in the college catalog.