Undergraduate Programs

The School of Journalism & Broadcasting offers majors in advertising, broadcasting, mass communication, photojournalism, news/editorial print journalism and public relations. Students are admitted to the school as majors seeking admission to one of the six majors and are admitted to the major when prerequisites are met.

The school also offers minors in advertising for graphic design majors, advertising for marketing majors, broadcasting, mass communication and journalism education as well as graduate courses for journalism teachers; see the Graduate Studies Catalog for details.

The school holds as its ultimate aim the encouragement of students to be active participants in today's society, with the hope and expectation that some will assume leadership roles in advertising, broadcasting, graphic design, photojournalism, print journalism, public relations and other communication areas.

The school embraces the concept that broad-based liberal arts and natural sciences curriculum is essential for a well-rounded understanding of society. It upholds the ideal that the American press system should be free, independent and responsible. Through its course work and extracurricular activities, the school and its faculty encourage students to be critical thinkers and competent communicators, to be aware of ethical values and historical perspectives, and to gain insight into the functions and responsibilities of contemporary communications institutions. A high priority is the encouragement of students to be able to adapt, both intellectually and creatively, to the realities and challenges of an increasingly diverse and complex information society.

Students are encouraged to seek practical experience through work on student publications and broadcasting outlets, other campus publications, local media, and internships at newspapers, magazines, advertising firms, radio and television stations, businesses, public relations agencies and other institutions. Students may gain experience by working on the College Heights Herald, the campus newspaper; the Talisman, the yearbook; WWHR, a licensed non-commercial FM station managed and staffed by students; the student advertising and public relations agency Imagewest; and the Newschannel 12 newscast, a 30-minute live campus cablecast. Qualified students may gain additional experience on campus through staff work at the National Public Radio station, WKYU-FM, or crew employment at the Public Broadcasting System associate member station, WKYU-TV24.

In addition, membership is available in campus chapters of the American Advertising Federation, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, the Public Relations Student Society of America, Radio-Television News Directors Association, Kappa Tau Alpha national society honoring scholarship in journalism, Western Kentucky Minority Communicators, which is affiliated with the National Association of Black Journalists, Mass Communication Club, and the WKU Storm Team. Students may become involved in school committees and the policy and operating board of student publications. Those experiences help students develop a competency that better enables them to perform in the journalism/mass communication professions.

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