Journalism

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Associate in Arts for Transfer Program Map
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This program map from the 2024-2025 catalog year represents one possible pathway to complete this program. Your pathway may vary depending on your transfer plans and also previous college credit, including AP Test scores, concurrent enrollment courses and high school articulated courses.

I'm ready to get started. What do I do next?

  1. Review this program map to get an overview of the required courses
  2. Meet with a counselor to develop your customized student education plan www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling
  3. Use DegreeWorks, an online student education planning tool, to track your progress toward graduation www.chabotcollege.edu / admissions / degreeworks
Program Description

Journalism courses at Chabot College offer degree preparation with exciting hands-on media training for students interested in journalism or other mass communication career options. Our courses are not just for reporters, however!

Courses within the AA-T in Journalism feature writing and prepare students to become strong researchers, information gatherers, vital communicators and advocates that are needed today in industries such as journalism, reporting, news production, advertising, media relations, public information and other forms of mass communications.These skills will also help people in numerous other careers that require public interaction, information gathering and research.

Chabot College students work with qualified instructors in hands-on learning environments that promote advanced development of research, writing, leadership, oral and written communication skills. Students also develop important technical skills in industry software and learn vital production processes while building social skills.


What can I do with this major?

Here are some of the jobs that this degree will prepare you for:

  • Journalists
  • News reporters
  • Sports reporters
  • News editors
  • Copy editors
  • Designers
  • Multimedia reporters
  • Photojournalists
  • Public information officers
  • Public Relations practitioners
  • Advertising

Learning and Career Pathway
  • Communication, Language & Media

Icon Key

= Critical Course = Prerequisite for Other Courses = Prerequisite Required = Required for Major GE = General Education

Semester 1

14 units

MCOM 20
Journalism: Newswriting and Information Gathering

3 units
Fundamentals of reporting and newswriting to develop ability to identify a compelling story, gather information, organize, write, rewrite and deliver in the chosen format, according to professional standards of traditional print journalism and online journalism, supported by multimedia. Analysis of exemplary journalistic models. Conceive, research, and write stories using traditional news values. Requires source interviews or original research. (May not receive credit if MCOM 1 has been completed.)

English 1- Critical Reading and Composition

4 units
GE

General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

3 units
GE

Math Course for General Education: see a counselor to choose the appropriate course.

4 units
GE
MTH 43 or PSY 5 recommended

Semester 2

15-17 units

MCOM 21
Newspaper Production I

3 units
This course focuses on writing and producing student news publications using the school newspaper, the Spectator and its online version, thechabotspectator.com, as a practical laboratory that produces a journalistic product for distribution to a college-­wide audience. Students will work primarily in one of the following areas: researching, writing, and editing articles for the two publications; taking photographs and creating graphic illustrations; developing multimedia stories; or designing pages. Ethics and legal aspects of communication are also covered.

General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

3-4 units
GE

General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

3-4 units
GE

General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

3 units
GE

General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

3 units
GE

Semester 3

15-16 units

MCOM 41
Introduction to Mass Communications

3 units
Survey of the interrelationships of media with society including history, structure and trends in a digital age. Discussion of theories and effects, economics, technology, law and ethics, global media, media literacy, and social issues, including gender and cultural diversity.
Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU

    • List A Course

    3 units
    Choose one course from List A below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3-4 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    Semester 4

    16 units

    List B Course #1

    3 units
    Choose one course from List B below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    List B Course #2

    3 units
    Choose one course from List B below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    Elective- see a counselor to choose a course that counts for elective units (can be any credit course).

    1 unit

    List A

    Choose one course from List A below.

    MCOM 22
    Newspaper Production II

    3 units
    This course focuses on intermediate writing and producing student news publications using the school newspaper, the Spectator and its online version, thechabotspectator.com, as a practical laboratory that produces a journalistic product for distribution to a college-­wide audience. Students will work primarily in two or three of the following areas: researching, writing, and editing articles for the two publications; taking photographs and creating graphic illustrations; developing multimedia stories; or designing pages. Ethics and legal aspects of communication and media leadership/management are also covered.

    MCOM 26
    Beginning Photojournalism

    3 units
    Beginning photojournalism focuses on the technical, aesthetic, journalistic and interpersonal skills needed to produce images that tell stories for newspapers, magazines, books and the Internet. Assignments will introduce students to specific areas of photojournalism including current technology and tools for preparing images. Students may be assigned to cover protests, demonstrations, political campaigns, live performances, campus events, press conferences, sporting events and feature stories that explore contemporary social issues. Journalistic ethics will be the subject of ongoing discussions throughout the semester, as will applicable business practices.

    List B

    COMM 50
    Introduction to Communication Studies

    3 units
    A survey of the discipline of Communication Studies with emphasis on multiple epistemological, theoretical, and methodological issues relevant to the systematic inquiry and pursuit of knowledge about human communication. This course explores basic history, assumptions, principles, processes, variables, methods, and specializations of human communication as an academic field of study.

    COMM 46
    Argumentation and Debate

    3 units
    Analysis of contemporary questions through written and spoken discourse. Analysis, criticism, and synthesis of contemporary moral, political, economic and philosophical issues of a diverse, multicultural society, using traditional and modern models of argumentation.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: ENGL 1A

    Economics Course

    3 units

    ECN 1
    Principles of Microeconomics

    3 units
    Economic analysis of market systems, price theory, including supply and demand analysis, marginal utility, elasticity, cost and revenue concepts, perfect and imperfect competition, international trade theory, pricing of the factors of production, poverty and income inequalities.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: ENGL C1000
    2. Prerequisite: MTH 53
    3. Prerequisite: MTH 53B
  • Transfers to CSU
    • or

    ECN 2
    Principles of Macroeconomics

    3 units
    Economic analysis of the theory of income determination, including national income analysis, business cycles, the consumption function, the multiplier, fiscal policy, monetary policy, money and banking, the public debt, economic growth and development, comparative economic systems and international trade.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: ENGL C1000
    2. Prerequisite: MTH 53
      3. or
    3. Prerequisite: MTH 53B
      4. or
  • Transfers to CSU

    • ENGL 7A
    Critical Thinking and Writing across Disciplines

    4 units
    Develops critical thinking, reading, and writing skills as they apply to the analysis of primary and secondary non-fiction books, articles, and essays from a range of academic and cultural contexts. Primary texts will showcase diverse writers, including marginalized voices. Theme based units will emphasize the techniques and principles of effective written argument in research-based writing across disciplines.
    Course Details:
    1. Prerequisite: ENGL 1
      2. or
    2. Prerequisite: ENGL 1A
  • Transfers to CSU

    • MTH 43
    Introduction to Probability and Statistics

    4 units
    Descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency and dispersion; elements of probability; tests of statistical hypotheses (one and two populations); correlation and regression; ANOVA; applications in various fields. Introduction to the use of computer software package to complete both descriptive and inferential statistics problems. May not receive credit if Mathematics 35 has been completed.

    PHOT 50
    Introduction to Photography

    3 units
    Introduction to the processes, principles, and tools of photography. Topics include the development of technical and aesthetic skills, elements of design and composition, camera technology, materials and equipment, and contemporary trends in photography.
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU

    • POSC 1
    Introduction to American Government

    3 units
    Introduction to the historical development and current structure of American political ideals and institutions, including the Federal and California Constitutions, civil liberties and civil rights, political parties, campaigns and elections, and citizenship duties.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: ENGL 1

    POSC 20
    Comparative Politics

    3 units
    Introduces the diverse domestic politics of countries around the world. The politics and problems in democratic, semi-democratic, and authoritarian states will be covered through an investigation of institutions, identity (race, gender, class, nationalism, religion, culture), social movements, political economy, political violence, and globalization. Students will be introduced to the diverse decision-making regimes that exist throughout the globe, such as parliamentary, semi-presidential, presidential, unitary, federal, and confederal systems.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: POSC 1
      2. and
    2. Strongly Recommended: ENGL 1
    Total Units: 60-63 units
    This program map is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.