Dr. Elayne Hayes-Anthony, Professor and Chair
Mississippi e-Center, Box 2100
1230 Raymond Road
Jackson, MS 39204
Telephone: (601) 979-1352
Fax: (601) 979-5800
e-mail: jsumasscom@jsums.edu

Faculty

Dr. L. A. Chang, Assistant Professor and Graduate Coordinator
Dr. E. Hayes-Anthony, Professor
Dr. E. Nwachukwu, Assistant Professor
Dr. N. Towery, Assistant Professor

The Master's degree program in Journalism and Media Studies is offered for students who have a desire to develop those skills and attributes necessary for participation as media practitioners in the areas of News Editorial, Public Relations, Advertising, Broadcast Journalism or Production, and the concentration in Urban Communication. As the urban university of Mississippi, Jackson State University's Journalism and Media Studies program is uniquely positioned to provide graduate students working in the metropolitan area with late afternoon and evening courses tailored to meet professional requirements.

Program Objectives

1. To aid students in developing a philosophical framework for understanding the communications theories and its societal impact.
2. To help students develop understanding in mass communication research and its applications.
3. To guide students toward in-depth reporting and advanced investigative journalism techniques.
4. To assist students in enhancing their command of written communication capabilities.
5. To utilize the critical thinking approach in problem solving, and in the dissemination of information on controversial issues.
6. To help students with their practical knowledge journalism and media studies through the completion of final theses or projects.

Admissions Requirements

Applicants for the Master of Science degree must present a minimum grade point average of 3.00. Conditional admission requirements to the Master's program involve a grade point average of at least 2.50. Additional requirements include a 500 to 1,000 words written statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation, and resume. A TOEFL, ILETS or PTE-A score is required also for international students.

Upon admission the student should arrange for an interview with the chairperson of the Department of Journalism who will assign a permanent adviser.

Prerequisites for Applicants with a B.A., or B.S. degree in Journalism and Media Studies include taking an elementary statistics course unless the student has earned a grade "C" or above in a previous statistics course. If the student takes a graduate course in statistics, it will count in the 15 hours of electives. No credit will be given for undergraduate hours earned in Elementary Statistics.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science degree in Journalism and Media Studies requires a minimum of thirty (30) to thirty-three (33) semester hours of acceptable graduate credit with at least twenty-one to twenty-four (21-24) hours earned from Jackson State University. A thesis option requires a minimum of 30 hours. A non-thesis option requires a minimum of 33 hours. A thesis or non-thesis option is elected by the student. A creative research project such as a documentary, a series of videotaped public affairs programs, or a series of investigative reports, etc. is required of all students who select the non-thesis option.

A final examination is required on all graduate work, including the thesis/creative project as applicable. A committee will be convened once the thesis or the creative research project is selected and the Graduate Area Comprehensive Examination (GACE) is passed. This committee will advise the student and assess the final product.

The thesis and non-thesis tracks in Journalism and Media Studies require the following core courses:

¹

Students are required to earn a B or above grade for each of the four core courses. The remaining 15-18 semester hours may be derived from the Journalism and Media Studies sequences in News Editorial, Public Relations, Advertising or Broadcast (Production or Journalism) or 9-12 semester hours may be selected from a Journalism and Media Studies sequence and 6 semester hours from graduate electives in related areas pending the adviser's approval.

• If the Urban Communications Concentration is selected, 15 hours will be selected from the list of restricted electives.
• If the non-thesis option is selected, the student must take 18 hours of electives.

Concentration in Urban Communications