Academics»Undergraduate Journalism

Program Information

Application Information

Curriculum

Building upon Annenberg’s record of innovation in journalism education, the BA in Journalism offers a forward-thinking curriculum that encourages students to embrace technology, assess it critically, and employ it in the service of powerful and effective journalism. Team-taught courses leverage faculty expertise in video, audio, text and digital journalism to help students establish their reporting and writing expertise across multiple platforms. Through a newly integrated Media Center experience, students will acquire the editing, production and digital storytelling skills to produce journalism across a range of media. At the conclusion of the degree program, students will complete an advanced reporting project that showcases their abilities.

Students are required to complete 46 units for the major, including 32 units required core courses.

Required Courses, Lower Division

  • JOUR 201 Culture of Journalism: Past, Present and Future (4 units)
  • JOUR 206 Reporting and Writing Practicum (1 unit, 2 units required)
  • JOUR 207 Reporting and Writing I (4 units)

Required Courses, Upper Division

  • JOUR 307 Reporting and Writing II (3 units)
  • JOUR 320 Introduction to Coding for Storytelling (2 units)
  • JOUR 321 Visual Journalism (3 units)
  • JOUR 322 Introduction to Investigative and Data Journalism (2 units)
  • JOUR 372 Engaging Diverse Communities (2 units)
  • JOUR 414 Advanced Digital Media Storytelling (2 units)
  • JOUR 462 Law of Mass Communication (4 units)

Annenberg Experience

Choose one of the following required core courses (4 units total):

  • ASCJ 200 Navigating Media and News in the Digital Age (4 units)
  • JOUR 300 Journalism and Society (4 units)

Advanced Reporting Elective

Choose one course:

  • JOUR 310 - Investigative Reporting (4 units)
  • JOUR 320 - Introduction to Coding for Storytelling (2 units)
  • JOUR 402 – Advanced Video Reporting (6 units)
  • JOUR 403 – Television News and Sports Production (6 units)
  • JOUR 405 – Non-Fiction Television (4 units)
  • JOUR 409 – Radio Storytelling and Podcasts (4 units)
  • JOUR 435 - Writing Magazine Non-Fiction (4 units)
  • JOUR 441 - Sports Reporting (2 units)
  • JOUR 446 - Entertainment Reporting (2 units)
  • JOUR 447 - Arts Reporting (2 units)
  • JOUR 448 – Government and Public Affairs Reporting (4 units)
  • JOUR 458 - Media, Food and Culture (4 units)
  • JOUR 488 - Data-Driven Storytelling About Los Angeles (4 units)

  • Upper-Division Electives

Complete 14 units of upper-division journalism electives, including one Advanced Reporting Elective, chosen in consultation with your adviser. Students who choose JOUR 320 must complete 12 additional units of upper-division journalism electives; those who choose a 6-unit Advanced Reporting Elective must complete 8 additional units; and those who choose a 4-unit Advanced Reporting Elective must complete 10 additional units.

This page is based on the current 2025-2026 USC Catalogue. The 2026-2027 USC Catalogue will be published in summer 2026.