Question about TESC BA in Journalism

[psalm148]

Hello!

I’m seeking some advice from those who have either completed a BA in Journalism through TESC or who are currently pursing one. I am seriously considering perusing this however am stuck at the lack of relatively inexpensive journalism courses available both locally and online. How are you all doing this? Is there an online school that offers the course that TESC requires? Is there a way to cost-effectively pursue this degree?

Currently, I’m wrapping up an AS in Business Administration with TESC. I should be finished by the end of the year, so I’ll already have the gen. ed requirements met. It’s the journalism courses that I’m having trouble finding.

I appreciate your help with this!

Thank you in advance,
Sonja

[cooperalex2004]

Hello!

I’m seeking some advice from those who have either completed a BA in Journalism through TESC or who are currently pursing one. I am seriously considering perusing this however am stuck at the lack of relatively inexpensive journalism courses available both locally and online. How are you all doing this? Is there an online school that offers the course that TESC requires? Is there a way to cost-effectively pursue this degree?

Currently, I’m wrapping up an AS in Business Administration with TESC. I should be finished by the end of the year, so I’ll already have the gen. ed requirements met. It’s the journalism courses that I’m having trouble finding.

I appreciate your help with this!

Thank you in advance,
Sonja

Journalism is one of the tougher areas of study to work on and I don't see many people (at least on this site) completing that degree. I completed mine in communications and was able to use some journalism coursework. There is definitely a shortage of coursework available from TESC and elsewhere but you can find it. I'd start by pointing you toward the TECEP exams which are available in Public Relations, Technical Writing (take the DSST exam for this one), and Intro to News Reporting. Those three all fit within the area of study (in the theory, elective, and skills areas) and get you a nice start. For the rest you'll want to look at local schools or online colleges which should offer a mix of some of the other courses (such as Intro to Mass Comm and many different courses in newspaper writing). It's going to be a tough area of study to gather courses for and most likely be a rather costly venture to take full-priced coursework at other schools. Since you are already enrolled, you might want to schedule an advising appointment and see what kind of advice they have or what kind of courses people bring in for this degree. Your alternative is to stay less focused and take the area of study in Communications or Humanities which are easier to find courses for.

My other advice is to note that the degree plans that TESC uses are more like a guide than a complete list. You can make other courses fit by showcasing that they match an applicable course. For journalism, one tip I have is to look at the list of PLA courses. Even if you don't complete them as PLA courses it gives a more complete look at some of the courses that are in the TESC system. Search at http://www2.tesc.edu/plasearch.php and type in courses by name or just look up JOU since that is the course area for most of the courses that fit that degree. They've got 31 courses in the JOU department that you can try and find matches to elsewhere. Since you are enrolled, you have the luxury of being able to have courses pre-approved for transfer

[psalm148]

Great points. I would probably go for a BA in communications if getting a BA was my only goal. But it's the actual education in Journalism that I'm looking for--magazine writing, graphic design for print, photo journalism, etc. I will definitely schedule an appointment with an adviser at TESC soon and see what they have to say about it.

Thanks for your input!