If you are accepted to the journalism program, you will also be admitted to the School of Communications. The mission of the School of Communications is to become “a consecrated community of disciples, scholars, and mentors who strive to walk in the meekness of Christ’s spirit, as we inspire learning through love, faith, and service that prepares each Child of God to share light and hope with the world.”
Being part of a consecrated community means there are expectations that apply to everyone: faculty, staff, and students (see Elder Paul Pieper’s recent devotional titled BYU: Building a Community of Trust and Respect). Please note, that if you accept an invitation to join the School of Communications you are indicating your willingness to abide by the expectations and standards of our School of Communications community. Your standing in the program will be contingent on your willingness to comply with these policies. You will be expected to be in compliance with all three policies throughout your time in the program.
- The School of Communications Professionalism Policy: https://comms-old.byu.edu/professionalism/
- The BYU Honor Code: https://policy.byu.edu/view/church-educational-system-honor-code
- BYU Dress and Grooming Standards: https://policy.byu.edu/view/dress-and-grooming-standards
The School of Communications is governed by certain resource realities, such as number of instructors, classroom space, computer laboratories, and class size requirements. Additionally, these professional emphases require hands-on learning and smaller class sizes. Students in these emphases produce media content in the form of newspapers, broadcasts, advertising, and public relations campaigns. To ensure the quality of learning and to sustain the quality of content in our public outlets, the university has allowed the faculty to limit the number of majors admitted into the program. Because the demand on the school’s programs exceeds the available resources, the school has implemented an admission process that limits enrollment on those programs.
Students may apply to more than one emphasis at the same time; however a separate application must be submitted for each emphasis. Students must rank the applications to indicate their first, second, or third choice. Students may apply to the Communications major a total of two times. This means that you can apply to more than one emphasis during one application period but may only apply to the major twice.
The emphases allow some flexibility in your course schedule. However, where prerequisite courses are involved, accreditation rules preclude us from waiving prerequisites or allowing courses to be taken out of sequence. These courses represent what we consider to be important preparation for more-advanced classes.
APPLYING TO THE JOURNALISM PROGRAM
Each student must complete the steps listed below in order to apply to the Journalism program in the School of Communications. When you are ready to apply, click the “Click Here to Apply Online” button at the bottom of the page and you will be directed to the online application site.
Applications to the journalism sequence are weighted as follows:
Contact the CFAC Advisement Center in D-444 HFAC (801-422-3777) and declare your status as a Pre-Communications student. Students MUST be declared Pre-Communications to apply to the major.
You MUST also be an admitted BYU continuing day student in order to apply to the program. Please be advised that according to University policy, students must select and declare a major by the time they have 60 earned BYU credit hours (excluding language exam credits). Once a student has 75 earned BYU credit hours (excluding language exam credits), they will not be allowed to change their major unless special permission is granted.
Students must take the following courses and receive a B or higher in each (a B- will not meet this standard). Typically, there are no exceptions to this rule. Under normal circumstances, students may repeat each course only once to earn a higher grade. However, students who took one of the prerequisite courses during the Winter 2020 semester that was disrupted by the novel coronavirus pandemic had the option of taking a pass/fail grade instead of a letter grade at the end of the semester. Because of these unique circumstances, students who opted to take a passing grade for any prerequisite class in which they were enrolled during Winter 2020 will be allowed to apply. Meeting the minimum standard requirements does not guarantee admission to any school emphasis.
- WRTG 150 or Advanced Writing Requirement**
- Communications 101: Mass Communication and Society
- Communications 239: Intro to Video Storytelling
** Our WRTG 150 requirement must be fulfilled by WRTG 150, ELANG 150, M COM 320, an Advanced Written and Oral Communication GE course (ENG 311, ENG 312, ENG 313, ENG 315 or ENG 316) or an equivalent transfer course (Transfer classes from other universities must be cleared by the advisement center prior to applying to the program). We do not accept AP English credits or English 115.
These courses are typically offered each semester and term. Some courses are also offered through BYU Independent Study and at the Salt Lake Center. Prerequisite courses from other universities or colleges, other than Comms 101 or an advanced writing course, are not transferable.
Students MUST upload a PDF of their Full Progress (ABC) Report, including the Academic Summary (the last page of the report), as part of the application process. The Academic Summary by itself, or an official transcript, will not be accepted and will cause your application to be invalidated. For information on how to find this report, please click here.
Credit Information
Preference for admission will be given to all students with fewer than 75 BYU earned credit hours (excluding language exam credits.) Pre-Comms students with more than 75 BYU earned credit hours (excluding language exam credits) may apply to the major but may not be admitted.
Please direct any inquiries regarding your credits to the advisement center.
As part of your application, you should submit a sample of your best work. This can come in the form of a final project created as part of Comms 239 or as a self-profile story. . Your sample will be weighted as 50% of your application score.
If you choose To create a profile story about yourself, do so using a medium of your choice and demonstrate your communication skills, giving the journalism faculty insight into your background, interests and goals in journalism and communications. While we are more interested in passion than perfection at this point, your story will be judged on this criteria:
- Creativity: How creative is your storytelling and use of technology (text, video, photos, design, music, etc.)?
- Communication: How well do you tell your unique story about your background and interest in media?
- Detail: No matter the medium, is it well-written and constructed? Does it use the appropriate grammar, punctuation and flow for that medium?
- Focus: Do you show a passion for journalism and have a clear understanding of where you want to go in a career (sports, traditional broadcast, traditional print, magazines, broadcast producing, social media, visual design, etc.)? In other words, how well do you articulate where you want to go?
Important Note: Part of good communication is being brief and focused. Videos MUST NOT exceed two minutes in length. Other story forms should take about this same amount of time to read/scan/experience.
Possible ideas and platform to get your started;
- Create a video using your mobile phone and editing software like iMovie, then post it to YouTube. (Videos cannot exceed two minutes in length.)
- Write and publish a blog post with photos, links, etc., via a free account at wordpress.com, or use a blog that you already have.
- Create and publish a visually driven story using a free account at adobe.slate.com
- Post your story as a basic web page using a free account at wix.com
- Design your profile as a magazine layout in Photoshop/InDesign (or a free account at Canva.com) using text, photos, etc. Export to PDF and post on a free Dropbox.com account
- Create and publish a “motion graphic” using a site like prezi.com
- Create and publish an info-graphic telling your story using a free account at a site like infogr.am
- Create and publish a voice-over-driven video using a free account at wochit.com
Applications are due on the second Friday of each Fall and Winter semester.
The Fall 2022 online application will be active on June 6, 2022 and there is a $6 fee for each application submitted. The Fall 2022 application deadline is September 9, 2022, at 11:59 pm MST. Students who are admitted during the Fall application cycle will begin their coursework in Winter 2023.
If you have technical issues while submitting your online application, please email support@slideroom.com between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm CST. You may also consult the FAQ page on their website. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION EARLY IN ORDER TO AVOID ANY POSSIBLE WEBSITE DIFFICULTIES.
