Journalism and Mass Communication

About this opportunity

The Cronkite School has a large contingent of Barrett students studying journalism, sports journalism, digital media and public relations, among other specialty areas. Barrett students who are considering majoring in journalism should contact Kristin Gilger, Reynolds Professor in Business Journalism and coordinator of the Cronkite-Barrett honors program, at kristin.gilger@asu.edu.

Journalism honors majors are assigned Cronkite Faculty Honors Advisors as follows. Students should contact their assigned advisor or Professor Gilger no later than the second semester of their sophomore year to begin planning their thesis work.

Thesis

Cronkite students may complete a thesis on a topic that interests them or a creative project that employs and stretches their journalism and communication skills. Examples of creative projects include reporting projects, web sites, podcasts, radio or television productions, visual projects, and documentaries. Along with a creative project, students must submit a paper that addresses the history/context of their topic and explains the development of the project and what they learned. The purpose is to provide context, methodology and reflection.

Thesis Directors may be full-time members of the Cronkite faculty, a qualified member of the adjunct faculty, or a faculty member from another department or school at ASU. Regarding second committee members, students may choose another Cronkite faculty member, a faculty member who teaches elsewhere at ASU, or a professional with expertise in the area a student will be exploring to serve on their committee. Keep in mind that the committee should include at least one full-time Cronkite faculty member and the topic of the paper or project needs to be relevant to journalism or mass communication. For more information visit the following page: https://cronkite.asu.edu/students/advising/honors/ 

Academic Preparation

To successfully complete a thesis or creative project through the Cronkite School, students must take the courses MCO 492 and then MCO 493, each of which are worth 3 credit hours. Students usually take these courses in their junior and/or senior years after completing Cronkite coursework relevant to the topic and the skills required for completion of the project or thesis. Students work closely with their directors to determine the scope and specifics of the work required during the two courses, but, typically, research and/or reporting take place during the first course and writing/production in the second semester.

Recommended Timeline

Students typically begin work on their theses or creative projects in their junior year and complete the work in their senior year.

Other Honors Opportunities

The Cronkite School offers several honors sections of required courses each semester. Most often, these include JMC 201 Beginning News Writing and Reporting, JMC 301 Intermediate Reporting and Writing, JMC 305 Multimedia Journalism and JMC 366 Ethics and Diversity. Occasionally, an elective course, such as a seminar, also will be offered exclusively for honors students. We strongly encourage honors students to enroll in these sections; they are designed to both challenge and inspire.

When an honors section of a course is not available, students may be able to complete an honors enrichment contract to earn honors credit. Individual work is determined by the professor in consultation with the student and may range from papers and presentations to creative projects. Honors work must be related to the learning objectives of the course and extend the student’s learning.