Journalism, Associate in Arts Degree for Transfer (AA-T)
Financial Aid Eligible
Banner Code: 1_AAT_JOUR
Control Number: 32179
Students graduating with an Associate in Arts in Journalism for Transfer Degree are well positioned to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in a similar major within the CSU system with 60 units of upper-division coursework. Students who complete the Journalism AA-T degree are guaranteed admission to the CSU system, but not to a particular campus or major. Students must maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0 in all CSU-transferable coursework. While a minimum 2.0 is required for CSU admission, some majors may require a higher GPA. Please consult a counselor for more information.
The Department of Journalism at Orange Coast College is a comprehensive program with offerings ranging from beginning journalism instruction to state-of-the-art multimedia production. Our mission is to use theory and practice to help how journalists report and write for a variety of publications and understand the value of a free press in America. We strive to help students achieve an AA or AS or transfer to other institutions of higher learning and be prepared for the opportunities that may exist. The department also operates a weekly student newspaper, the Coast Report, the website www.coastreportonline.com, and regularly posts a variety of multimedia productions. Classes are open to students of all majors.
The Journalism AA-T degree directly aligns with many of the department’s goals and objectives: achieving an AA and transferring to an institution of higher education. It is also designed to give students a broad perspective on the options they might select at the 4-year level and help prepare them for their transfer goals. They will also be prepared to work on any campus publication or website with journalistic confidence and experience.
Program Outcomes
- Analyze a complete newspaper and understand why stories were chosen for inclusion.
- Find and pitch both news and feature stories.
- Conduct numerous interviews to obtain factual information.
- Write a complete story using proper structure, style and grammar, and have the story published in the newspaper or online.
- Assess their own strengths, weaknesses, and omissions in writing news and feature stories or taking photographs for publication and be able to adjust future performance in light of their self-assessments.
- Collaborate in developing, designing, and completing a multi-media project and post it to the web.
- Students will be eligible and prepared for admission (SB 1440 and Education Code 66746) to California State University system schools.
Associate Degree for Transfer Requirements
The following is required for all AA-T or AS-T degrees:
- Minimum of 60 CSU-transferable semester units.
- Minimum GPA of at least 2.0 in all CSU transferable coursework. While a minimum of 2.0 is required for admission, some majors require a higher GPA. Consult with a counselor for more information.
- Completion of a minimum of 18-semester units in the major as detailed in the Degree and Certificate section of this catalog. All courses in the major must be completed with a grade of C or better.
- Certified completion of the California State University General Education-Breadth pattern (CSU General Education Breadth — Option 2) OR the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC — Option 3).
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| Core Courses | ||
| CMST A180 | Introduction to Mass Communications | 3 |
| JOUR A110 | News Writing and Reporting | 3 |
| JOUR A115 | Newspaper Production Level 1 | 4 |
| List A | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Public Relations | ||
| Multi-Media Reporting and Producing | ||
| Narrative Journalism | ||
| Photojournalism | ||
| List B | ||
| Select two of the following not taken from List A: | 6-8 | |
| Essentials of Argumentation | ||
| Microeconomics | ||
or ECON A175 | Macroeconomics | |
| Critical Reasoning: Fiction | ||
| Critical Reasoning: Nonfiction | ||
| Narrative Journalism 1 | ||
| Photojournalism 1 | ||
| Introduction to Statistics | ||
| Introduction to Photography | ||
| American Government | ||
| Comparative Politics | ||
| Critical Reasoning & Writing | ||
| Total Major Units | 19-21 | |
| CSU or IGETC for CSU | 37-39 | |
| Transferable electives as needed to satisfy unit requirement | Varies | |
| Total Units | 60 | |
| 1 | Course may not be used to fulfill List B requirement if already used to fulfill List A requirement. |