Single degrees
Bachelor of Journalism (ABJ) – Melbourne (Bundoora)
The Bachelor of Journalism is a vocationally oriented degree and consists of 360 credit points that can be completed in three years of full-time study. Part-time enrolment is also available. First year consists of 60 credit points of core subjects and 60 credit points of Elective subjects. Second and third years consist of 80 credit points of core subjects and 40 credit points of Elective subjects.. Subject to the availability of places, students can take up to one subject from the video/television or audio/radio streams.
Course structure
| Teaching period | Requirements | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First year | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | MST1CCO | MST1MTN | Elective | Elective |
| TE-SEM-2 | MST1AAC | MST1WFM | Elective | Elective |
| Second year | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | MST2PAS | MST2CAJ | Elective | |
| TE-SEM-2 | MST2DIJ | MST2JPW | Elective | |
| Third year | ||||
| TE-SEM-1 | MST3MIN | MST3BEJ | Elective | |
| TE-SEM-2 | MST3AJP | MST3AJD | Elective | |
Core subjects
| Teaching period | Subject title | Subject code |
|---|---|---|
| First year (15 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Constructing Communication | MST1CCO |
| TE-SEM-1 | Making the News | MST1MTN |
| TE-SEM-2 | Audience and Communication | MST1AAC |
| TE-SEM-2 | Writing for Media | MST1WFM |
| Second year (20 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Journalism Research | MST2CAJ |
| TE-SEM-1 | Press and Society | MST2PAS |
| TE-SEM-2 | Dilemmas in Journalism: legal and ethical issues | MST2DIJ |
| TE-SEM-2 | Online Journalism Production | MST2JPW |
| Third year (20 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Broadcast Journalism | MST3BEJ |
| TE-SEM-1 | Media Industries | MST3MIN |
| TE-SEM-2 | Advanced Journalism Design | MST3AJD |
| TE-SEM-2 | Advanced Journalism Practice | MST3AJP |
Elective subjects
First-year electives
Students choose four first-year elective subjects. Students can choose their elective subjects from any discipline offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences however, as knowledge of the Australian political system will be assumed in some journalism subjects, Bachelor of Journalism students are strongly advised to enrol in Australian Politics: government and society (POL1AUP) as one of their electives in the first semester of first year. It is also possible, with permission, for two electives to be chosen from subjects offered by other Faculties of the University.
Second and Third-year electives
Students choose two elective subjects at both second and third-year. Students may choose to continue with the disciplines they have undertaken at first-year level or may choose to take additional media studies subjects. See the complete listing of subjects under Media Studies in this Handbook.
Honours
Students are selected into honours at the end of their third year. The principal requirement for selection is consistently high performance (normally at least a B average) in media subjects; and in particular, distinction in third year media subjects. Prospective students should make their interest known to the Media Studies Honours Coordinator by early June for commencement in second semester or November for commencement in first semester. Honours candidates are expected to undertake preliminary reading and writing in the break, which precedes their initial enrolment.
Two pathways are available. The first pathway requires the completion of two coursework subjects at fourth year level, a seminar presentation, and a 12,000 to 15,000--word thesis. The second pathway requires the completion of two coursework subjects at fourth year level, a seminar presentation, a reflective essay of 6000 words and a creative production. For full details of the fourth year offerings, see the Media studies entry in the Postgraduate Handbook.