How To Choose Major Electives
Major elective courses allow you to choose your own adventure within your major. All CIC majors require electives, but the specific number you'll need depends on which program you're in, your Bulletin year, and what you've already taken. Talk with your academic advisor about this.
A good rule of thumb for CIC majors is that any class from your School (either the School of Information Science or the School of Journalism & Mass Communications) that is not specifically required in your major can potentially be used as a major elective. So, if you're an SJMC major, any JOUR class not specifically required in your major can be used as a major elective. And if you're an Information Science major, any ISCI class not specifically required in your major can be a major elective.
Check out the complete JOUR and iSchool course descriptions in the Academic Bulletin to get an idea of what elective courses you might be interested in taking in future semesters and what pre-requisites you'll need to take now in order to make that possible.
Information Science Majors
The Information Science major allows students to choose any ISCI courses not specifically required elsewhere in their major for their major electives. Students should pick electives based on a track they’d like to specialize in. See recommendations on this pdf »
Use the course schedule in Self Service Carolina to see what the current options are. If you have questions, reach out to your academic advisor.
SJMC Majors
SJMC majors can choose to use their major electives towards a concentration in Sports Media. If you're interested in doing that, you should plan to take JOUR 391 plus three other Sports Media courses approved by your academic advisor.
In addition to basic JOUR major electives, SJMC majors also include some more narrowly categorized elective requirements. The courses approved to fulfill these requirements are listed below.
- JOUR 516 - Advanced Creative
- JOUR 518 - Brand Communications Practicum/Competitions
- JOUR 521 - Interactive Communication Strategies
- JOUR 530 - Creative Leadership
- JOUR 537 - The Carolina Agency (Application required.)
- JOUR 538 - The Bateman Team
- JOUR 597 - Internship in Mass Communications
- JOUR 201: Principles of Public Relations
- JOUR 202: Principles of Advertising
- JOUR 203: Principles of Visual Communications
- JOUR 204: Principles of Journalism
- JOUR 205: History and Philosophy of Mass Media
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JOUR 219: Name, Image and Likeness in Brand Promotion
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JOUR 242: Jobs in the Sports Media
- JOUR 243: Sports Activism and Media
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JOUR 249: Principles of User Experience and Design (UX/UI)
- JOUR 285: Social Media and Society
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JOUR 286: Social Media Influencer Blueprint: A Playbook for Online Fame and Fortune
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JOUR 303: Law and Ethics of Mass Communications
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JOUR 304: Internet and Social Media Law
- JOUR 306: Theories of Mass Communication
- JOUR 307: Media, Sports, and Race
- JOUR 308: Media and Youth
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JOUR 309: Hip Hop, Media and Society
- JOUR 311: Minorities, Women, and Mass Media
- JOUR 331: Social Media Marketing Strategy
- JOUR 332: Mass Communications Research
- JOUR 333: Public Relations for Nonprofit Organizations
- JOUR 343: Social Media for Sports Media
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JOUR 344: SEC Football and Sports Media
- JOUR 345: Gender, Sexuality, and Sports Media
- JOUR 348: Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
- JOUR 382: Business Basics for Communications
- JOUR 385: Social Media Planning
- JOUR 391: Sports Media and Society
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JOUR 394: Sports Media Ethics
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JOUR 398: Diversity Topics in Mass Media
- JOUR 400: Digital Media & Big Data Analysis
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JOUR 421: Media Analysis
- JOUR 428: Super Bowl Commercials
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JOUR 440: Leadership and Internal Relations Management
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JOUR 445: Team Media for Sports Media
- JOUR 451: Freelancing for Creative Professionals
- JOUR 480: Media Management
- JOUR 491: Communication and Information Transfer
- JOUR 501: Freedom, Responsibility, and Ethics of Mass Media
- JOUR 504: International Mass Communications
- JOUR 506: Mass Media Criticism
- JOUR 507: Communicating Science, Health, and the Environment
- JOUR 508: Faith, Values, and the Mass Media
- JOUR 509: Environmental Communication: The Science and Practice
- JOUR 527: Advertising Management
- JOUR 530: Creative Leadership
- JOUR 536: Crisis Communications
- JOUR 539: Ethics in Public Relations and Public Policy
- JOUR 542: Public Opinion and Persuasion
- JOUR 563: Public/Civic Journalism
- JOUR 595: Domestic Study Away in Journalism and Mass Communications
- JOUR 596: Study Abroad in Journalism and Mass Communications
Any JOUR course that is not specifically required for your major can potentially be used as a JOUR Elective.
You can see the complete list of all existing JOUR courses in the Undergraduate Bulletin.
Not all courses defined in the Bulletin are offered every semester. Check the course
schedule Self Service Carolina for current offerings.
- JOUR 245 - Live Television Sports Production
- JOUR 362 - Editing
- JOUR 371 - Social and Mobile Journalism
- JOUR 392 - Podcasting & Audio Production
- JOUR 443 - Sports Announcing
- JOUR 444 - Multimedia Sports Storytelling
- JOUR 461 - Sports Journalism
- JOUR 472 - Power Producing
- JOUR 475 - Advanced Multimedia Storytelling
- JOUR 482 - Business Reporting and Writing
- JOUR 483 - Reporting and Writing About the Economy
- JOUR 534 - Publication Writing and Design
- JOUR 550 - Advanced Magazine Article Writing
- JOUR 563 - Public/Civic Journalism
- JOUR 566 - Magazine Article Writing
- JOUR 573 - Editorial and Opinion Writing
- JOUR 574 - Data Journalism
- JOUR 579 - Broadcast Announcing
- JOUR 597 - Internship in Mass Communications
Community Service
- JOUR 333 - Public Relations for Nonprofit Organizations
- JOUR 531 - Public Relations Campaigns
- JOUR 537 - The Carolina Agency
- JOUR 563 - Public/Civic Journalism
Diversity and Social Advocacy
- JOUR 508 - Faith, Values, and the Mass Media
- JOUR 311 - Minorities, Women, and the Mass Media
Global
- JOUR 504 - International Mass Communications
Professional/Civic Engagement
- JOUR 311 - Minorities, Women, and the Mass Media
- JOUR 436 - Public Relations Writing
- JOUR 440 - Leadership and Internal Relations Management
- JOUR 536 - Crisis Communications
- JOUR 537 - The Carolina Agency
- JOUR 539 - Ethics in Public Relations and Public Policy
Research
- JOUR 220 - Account Planning: Mining Insights
- JOUR 332 - Mass Communications Research
- JOUR 421 - Media Analysis
- JOUR 471 - Intermediate Reporting and Production
- JOUR 517 - Integrated Campaigns
- JOUR 531 - Public Relations Campaigns
- JOUR 574 - Data Journalism
- JOUR 362 - Editing
- JOUR 416 - Creative: Strategy to Execution
- JOUR 437 - Advanced Public Relations Writing
- JOUR 482 - Business Reporting and Writing
- JOUR 483 - Reporting and Writing About the Economy
- JOUR 516 - Advanced Creative
- JOUR 534 - Publication Writing and Design
- JOUR 537 - The Carolina Agency (Application required.)
- JOUR 550 - Advanced Magazine Article Writing
- JOUR 573 - Editorial and Opinion Writing
- JOUR 518 - Brand Communications Practicum/Competitions
- JOUR 537 - The Carolina Agency (Application required.)
- JOUR 538 - The Bateman Team
- JOUR 597 - Internship in Mass Communications
- JOUR 245 - Live TV Sports Production
- JOUR 249 - Principles of User Experience and Design
- JOUR 316 - Toolkit for Concept Development
- JOUR 317 - Toolkit for Brand Communication: Creative Execution
- JOUR 348 - Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
- JOUR 393 - Digital Signage
- JOUR 416: Creative: Strategy to Execution
- JOUR 444 - Multimedia Sports Storytelling
- JOUR 450 - Studio and Location Lighting for Still Photography
- JOUR 451 - Freelancing for Creative Professionals
- JOUR 452 - Photojournalism
- JOUR 455 - Special Topics in Visual Communications
- JOUR 471 - Intermediate Reporting and Production
- JOUR 472 - Power Producing
- JOUR 518 - Advanced Creative
- JOUR 534 - Publication Writing and Design
- JOUR 537 - The Carolina Agency (Application required.)
- JOUR 538 - The Bateman Team
- JOUR 553: Motion-Based Graphics for Visual Communications
- JOUR 595 - Domestic Study Away in Journalism and Mass Communications
- JOUR 596 - Study Abroad in Journalism and Mass Communications
- JOUR 597 - Internship in Mass Communications