The Journalism Honors Track is available only to Journalism majors who are in the Commonwealth Honors College, the UMass Honors Program. The Journalism Honors Track is one of three ways in which majors who are also in Commonwealth College can complete their honors requirements. (The other two options are the Commonwealth Scholar Track and the Interdisciplinary Track.) Departmental Honors may be undertaken by those with a 3.4 GPA who have an interest in studying specific areas of journalism and in working closely with Journalism faculty. Only students in the Departmental Honors Track can graduate with honors in Journalism.
Requirements for Departmental Honors
Designations are similar to those for the regular Honors track. In addition to the minimum 3.5 GPA, students must take a concentration of Honors courses in Journalism and must complete a Capstone Experience—a substantial project or thesis undertaken in the senior year. The research portion of the thesis or project should be completed in the fall semester of senior year and the writing portion should be completed in the spring semester. Click here for a complete listing of Departmental Honors in Journalism requirements.
It is imperative that students who wish to do Journalism Honors identify their area of interest as early as possible. This will allow them to take appropriate courses that will provide background and context in their area of interest, suggest viable research questions and help them develop good working relationships with the faculty members most likely to have expertise in these areas. The project or thesis should be undertaken only after thoughtful consideration and discussion with Honors Program Director Rodrigo Zamith and appropriate faculty. Projects and theses cannot be last-minute additions to a student’s graduation plan and discussions should start in the junior year.