Science and technology are major and ever-growing forces in our economy, and science related issues are prominent among forefront public-policy issues regularly encountered in the mass media and in the political arena. Thus, there is a great need for journalists with training in science. The Science Journalism specialization offers a broad but rigorous background in science as well as strong journalism training.

1. Basic requirements: see the general curriculum requirements.
2. Upper-level Distributive Requirements: Beyond the basic courses, students complete 21 upper level (300-400) distributive credits. All students must complete 18 of the 21 distributive credits as physical sciences majors. The distributive credits must be divided among three areas of concentration with at least 6 credits in each area. The areas of concentration include the disciplines of chemistry, physics, mathematics (including statistics), astronomy, geology, meteorology, computer science or one of the engineering disciplines. Students who wish to select electrical engineering need the permission of the Assistant Dean in the School of Engineering.
3. In addition, students taking the Science Journalism specialization are required to complete the following lower- and upper-level courses in Journalism:
   JOUR201: News Writing and Reporting (3)-requires JOUR100: Professional Orientation (1) as a prerequisite
   JOUR202: News Editing (3)
   JOUR300: Journalism Ethics (3)
   JOUR320: News Writing and Reporting II: Print (3) Or: JOUR360: News Writing and Reporting II: Broadcast (3)
   JOUR380: Science Writing for News Media (3)
   JOUR399: Supervised Internship (1)
   JOUR400: Media Law (3)
   
4. The Physical Sciences Committee believes that good preparation for Science Journalism in today's world should include a substantial exposure to introductory biology, such as provided in BSCI 105-106: Principals of Biology I and II (both 4 credits); thus, these two courses are strongly recommended. Students should consult early with the PSCI advisor to set up a schedule of courses that includes BSCI 105-106 in a way that proceeds efficiently through the lower-level PSCI requirements while avoiding a semester with 15 credits of science courses or with several courses having time consuming labs and computer projects.
5. The regular University requirements for graduation apply.

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