Journalism A.S.

School: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Academic Dept: Arts and Communications
HEGIS: 5008

Important Note about Program Requirements

The requirements listed below are for students entering into this program from Fall 2022 to Summer 2023. Students who entered the program during a prior semester will find their specific requirements listed in the Catalog under which they entered. Archived Catalogs are accessible through the dropdown menu above.

Program Description

The Associate of Science Degree in Journalism at Westchester Community College prepares students to transfer to four-year degree programs in journalism. Students enrolled in the program acquire a solid basis in the liberal arts, journalism history and theory, news literacy, newsgathering, reporting, editing, ethics, multimedia storytelling, digital news production, and social media literacy. Students may also choose from a wide range of electives, including courses in communications, entrepreneurship, radio and television announcing, radio and television production, digital video camera operation, digital audio and video editing, website development, management, and data-analytics.

Our program provides students opportunities to apply journalistic techniques in storytelling using emerging multimedia technology across multiple-platform news delivery systems.The main campus in Valhalla features two state-of-the-art, cross-platform Communications & Journalism Innovation labs with the latest audio-visual equipment for full multimedia production.

Transfer agreements have been secured with SUNY Purchase, Mercy and Lehman College and proposed with City College, Pace University, New York University, and SUNY Stony Brook.

Westchester Community College’s proximity to the media capital of the world provides unique opportunities for students to study and intern both in Westchester and New York City. Students in the journalism program gain valuable experience and internship credits as news staff for student media on campus including the award-winning student newspaper The Viking News, vikingnews.com, WARY 88.1FM, and WCC-TV.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, a student will:

Demonstrate performance in journalistic roles of news gathering, writing, and reporting across traditional and digital platforms.
Apply theories and principles of communication to making ethical decisions in the practice of journalism.
Demonstrate understanding of the various roles and responsibilities of news media in a democratic society.
Demonstrate the ability to communicate in a way that recognizes the legal, ethical, personal and social responsibilities of communicators.
Demonstrate professionally sound and ethical news judgment.

Program Map

The academic map below presents the recommended plan of study and will guide you through your program in a timely manner. Click the course abbreviations for full course descriptions. A course may be critical because it is a pre-requisite, requires a minimum grade, or because it is only offered once a year. Missing a critical course may push back your graduation date. Meet with an Academic Counselor or Faculty Advisor to ensure you are on track to complete your program.

Critical Courses should be taken in the order shown to stay on track and graduate on time.

Semester 1

Course (click for more information)	Critical Course	Pre-reqs or Co-reqs	Credits	Notes
COMM 101	✔		3
ENG 101	✔	✔	3
Mathematics Gen Ed Elective	✔	✔	3
Communications Elective	✔		3	✹
COMM 109			3
Semester Total Credits			15

Notes:

✹ COMM 125 strongly suggested. Choose one: COMM 111 , COMM 115 , COMM 116 , COMM 117 , COMM 118 , COMM 119 , COMM 121 , COMM 125 , COMM 205

Semester 2

Course (click for more information)	Critical Course	Pre-reqs or Co-reqs	Credits	Notes
ENG 102			3
COMM 103	✔	✔	3
COMM 104	✔		3
Natural Sciences with Lab Gen Ed Elective			4
Gen Ed Elective			3
Semester Total Credits			15

Semester 3

Course (click for more information)	Critical Course	Pre-reqs or Co-reqs	Credits	Notes
Management Elective			3	✹
Visual Arts Elective			3	✹✹
COMM 106	✔		3
American History or Western Civilization Gen Ed Elective			3
Communications, Management or Visual Arts Elective			3	✹✹✹
Semester Total Credits			15

Notes:

✹ Choose one: MGT 101 , MGT 103 , MKT 101

✹✹ Choose one: ART 129 , ART 265 , FILM 140 , FILM 142 , FILM 143 , FILM 145 , FILM 160

✹✹✹ Choose one: Communications: COMM 111 , COMM 115 , COMM 116 , COMM 117 , COMM 118 , COMM 119 , COMM 121 , COMM 125 , COMM 205 ; Management: MGT 101 , MGT 103 , MKT 101 ; Visual Arts: ART 129 , ART 265 , FILM 140 , FILM 142 , FILM 143 , FILM 145 , FILM 160

Semester 4

Course (click for more information)	Critical Course	Pre-reqs or Co-reqs	Credits	Notes
Communications Elective			3	✹
The Arts, Foreign Language, or Other World Civilizations Gen Ed Elective			3
Social Sciences Gen Ed Elective			3
Gen Ed Elective			3
Free Elective			3
Semester Total Credits			15

✹ Choose one: COMM 111 , COMM 115 , COMM 116 , COMM 117 , COMM 118 , COMM 119 , COMM 121 , COMM 125 , COMM 205

Minimum Total Credits: 61

Transfer Opportunities

Westchester Community College is committed to facilitating a smooth transfer process to ensure that graduates of the college are prepared to transfer with junior status, and are able to complete a bachelor’s degree within two years of full-time study upon transfer. View 4-year institutions’ transfer agreement information by program here.

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