Proposal for a new B.S. in
Journalism of Technology, Science, and Business (JTSB)
From the Lewis Department of Humanities
In response to President Collens’Äô call last spring for new, interdisciplinary programs, the Humanities department proposes a Bachelor of Science in Journalism of Technology, Science, and Business (JTSB). Our goal is to make Illinois Institute of Technology respected not only for the scientists, engineers, architects, and business people it graduates, but also for producing writers and reporters who cover stories in these fields. Incorporating IIT’Äôs considerable resources in the sciences, engineering, business and other technological areas, along with the Humanities department’Äôs existing strengths in technical communication and science and technology in society (STS), this new program will offer a fresh, responsible approach to journalism education, and will target substantial and growing recruiting and placement markets.
The JTSB program adds 35 hours of instruction in the technology, science and business (TSB) fields to IIT’Äôs already strong general education requirements, giving our students well over 50 hours of TSB coursework’Äîthis is, practically speaking, a major in itself. Students will be required to take primary courses in biology, chemistry and physics, and a secondary course in at least one of these areas. They will take Calculus I and II, 6-7 hours in computer science, and nine hours in business/economics. On top of these required courses, students will take another 15-16 hours in TSB electives.
There are numerous advantages to this approach: (1) All journalism grads from IIT will have a strong background in math, science, computer science and business’Äîthe general education and TSB requirements will ensure this; (2) journalism majors who wish to specialize in a particular area can use their TSB electives to do so; (3) those who want a broader education can spread TSB electives out to accomplish this; and (4) the 12 hours of free electives can be used to strengthen a concentration, to add a second concentration, to add TSB or journalism electives, or to pursue tangential interests such as music.
To this core of courses in the content areas, we add 21 hours of required writing/communication courses, all but one of which already exist in our technical communication programs. (The new course’ÄîWriting about Technology, Science and Business’Äîcan be covered by existing faculty as part of their regular rotation.) Students will take a minimum of two journalism electives and two STS electives. Students will do supervised field projects with TechNews, WIIT, Communication and Marketing, and perhaps other IIT departments and/or publications. Additionally, Chicago is rife with field project potential: hundreds of publications ranging from city newspapers and major magazines to suburban weeklies and specialty periodicals; dozens of radio and television stations; and growing numbers of web sites.
This combination of coursework and field experience will make our graduates trained and practiced writers who also have two distinctive qualities: a strong knowledge base in the fields they will be covering, and an understanding of the past, present, and future effects of technology, science, and business on society and vice versa. These two qualities will distinguish our program from those in other journalism schools and give our graduates a competitive edge in covering technology, science, and business.
This is a different approach. Traditional journalism programs normally consist of two components: first, a core of writing and communication courses like ours; second, a fairly extensive amount of practical coursework that gives students hands-on training in the medium of interest (broadcast, newspaper, etc.). This intense focus on using classroom time for practical training has come under increasing criticism by professional journalists (Ted Koppel calls it ’Äúan absolute and total waste of time’Äù) for producing graduates who can edit digital video and sound or perfectly time a 20-second voice-over "donut," but who have little or no idea what they are writing about.
Likewise, the dearth of coursework in the so-called content areas is being strongly questioned by journalism educators and professionals. Both groups are examining the issue of whether journalism schools are adequately preparing students ’Äúto understand issues and content, expand their minds to embrace complex concepts and to explain difficult policy issues to their audiences,’Äù according to Doug Ramsey, senior vice-president of the L.A.-based Foundation for American Communications, a non-profit group that ’Äúprovide[s] intensive mid-career education for working journalists.’Äù
In contrast, our JTSB program will provide students with practical experience through field projects. More importantly, it will provide students with the content-area knowledge so many professionals and educators in journalism are calling for, and will contextualize that knowledge through coursework in STS. Our graduates will be able to impress prospective employers through their understanding of content, not just by their ability to operate equipment.
Applications and enrollments are up at journalism schools and departments all over the Midwest and Mid-South. We contacted every accredited journalism program in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, and the responses we received indicate that enrollments have grown over the past five years and will continue to grow. At the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, for example, journalism programs admit fewer than 40 percent of their applicants, creating a very large local pool of prospective students with a strong interest in writing.
IIT Admissions Director Brent Benner calls this "a proposal that would certainly help expand first-year undergraduate enrollment at IIT, as Admission counselors could begin communicating with AP English teachers, a group which we do not currently target in our marketing strategy. Our counselors personally will visit 150 high schools this year." Additionally, he notes that most of his counselors report about 2 or 3 students inquiring about journalism as a major at each of the approximately 95 college fairs that they attend each year. Finally, Benner says he strongly believes that offering more career/major choices helps IIT in recruiting students to other majors and in retaining them once they are here.
During a recent two-month period (Nov-Dec 2004), the Monster.Com online jobs database listed 136 new positions for reporters and journalists, plus an additional 833 jobs for which a degree in journalism is listed as appropriate training. These figures suggest that the yearly job market ranges from over 800 journalist/reporter jobs to over 5,000 jobs in areas identified as relevant by the National Association of Science Writers, with jobs titles such as media relations specialist, press relations officer, public relations specialist, editorial communication specialist, research editor, speechwriter, proposal analyst, executive writer, market proposal writer, proofreader, and editor.
There is a trend in media toward expansion of outlets and audience fragmentation’Äî called ’Äúnarrowcasting’Äù in television’Äîwhich is evident in the proliferation of cable channels, specialty magazines, subscriber radio services, and web-based news outlets, many of which are also ’Äúspecialty sites.’Äù A number of these specialty news outlets focus on technology, science, and business. Galvin Library subscribes to dozens of such weekly and monthly magazines (not academic journals), most (if not all) of which also maintain corresponding web sites. some examples: Bioscience Technology, Communication Systems Design, Crain’Äôs Chicago Business, Industrial Engineer, Scientific American, Technology & Learning, Washington Technology, and Water Engineering and Management. And almost all general-audience newspapers and newsmagazines carry regular reports on business and innovations in technology and science.
In short, the demand for
journalists to cover specialized fields is expanding, offering IIT an
opportunity to take advantage of strengths we already have and grow into a new
area.
JTSB Proposed Degree Requirements (129
hours)
This degree has three components:
A. General education (47 hours)
B. Major field coursework (70 hours)
C. Free electives. (12 hours)
A. General Education (47 hours) Where unspecified, see the current undergraduate bulletin.
1. Basic Writing Proficiency (Pass freshman placement or COM 101/111)
2. Mathematics MATH 151 Calculus I (5 hours)
3. Computer Science CS 115 Object-Oriented Programming I (2 hours)
4. Humanities (9 hours)
5. Social or Behavioral Sciences (9 hours)
6. H/SS "swing" course ECON 211 Principles of Economics (3 hours)
7. Natural Science or Engineering (11 hours)
1. BIOL 107 General Biology Lectures (3 hours)
2. CHEM 124 Principles of Chemistry I (4 hours)
3. PHYS 123 General Physics I: Mechanics (4 hours)
8. Inter-professional Projects (6 hours)
9. ITP Introduction to the Profession (2 hours)
B. Major Field Coursework (70 hours) The major has five components:
1. Technology/Science/Business (TSB) Requirements (19-20 hours)
2. Technology/Science/Business (TSB) Electives (15-16 hours)
3. Science, Technology & Society (STS) Electives (6 hours)
4. Journalism Requirements (23 hours)
5. Journalism Electives (6 hours)
Elective coursework within the major must be chosen in consultation with the student's academic advisor.
1. TSB Requirements (19-20 hours)
MATH 152 Calculus II (5 hours)
One of the following (3-4 hours):
-BIOL 115 Human Biology
-CHEM 125/126 Principles of Chemistry II
-PHYS 221 General Physics II: Electromagnetism and Optics
CS 116 Object-Oriented Prog. II, CS 331 Data Structures and Algorithms (5 hours)
BUS 205 Business Basics, BUS 210 Financial and Managerial Accounting (6 hrs)
2. TSB Electives (15-16 hours) Choose from courses such as:
-BIOL 115 Human Biology
-BIOL 210 Microbiology Lectures
-BIOL 214 Genetics and Genetic Technology
-BME 305 Biostatistics
-BUS 301 Theory of Organization and Management
-BUS 305 Operations Management
-BUS 371 Introduction to Marketing
-CAE 105 Geodetic Science
-CAE 221 Engineering Geology
-CAE 286 Theory and Concept of Structural Mechanics
-CAE 287 Structures I: Analysis and Behavior
-CHE 202 Material and Energy Balances
-CHEM 125/126 Principles of Chemistry II
-CHEM 237 Organic Chemistry I
-CHEM 247 Analytical Chemistry
-CS 330 Discrete Structures
-CS 350 Computer Organization and Assembly Language Programming
-CS 351 Systems Programming
-ECE 218 Digital Systems
-ECE 242 Digital Computers and Computing
-ECE 383 Electric and Electronic Circuits
-EG 105 Engineering Graphics and Design
-EG 204 Blueprint Reading for Machine Industries
-EG 224 Blueprint Reading for Building Trades
-ECON 152 National and Global Economics
-ECON 423 Economic Analysis of Capital Investments
-MATH 221 Basic Probability and Statistics
-MATH 230 Introduction to Discrete Mathematics
-MATH 251 Multivariate and Vector Calculus
-MATH 252 Introduction to Differential Equations
-MMAE 200 Introduction to Mechanics
-MS 201 Materials Science
-PHYS 221 General Physics II: Electromagnetism and Optics
-PHYS 223/224 General Physics III: Thermal and Modern Physics
-PHYS 348 Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers
3. Science, Technology & Society (STS) Electives (6 hours) Choose from courses such as:
-CS 485 Computers and Society
-HIST 340 Rise of Global Economy
-HIST 372 History of Engineering
-HIST 375 History of Computing
-HIST 381 Science in Industrial Society
-HIST 382 Technology in History 1500-1850
-HIST 383 Technology in History 1850-present
-HIST 384 Science in the 20th Century
-HIST 385 Origins of Modern Science
-HIST 388 History of Artificial Organs
-PHIL 341 Philosophy of Science
-PS 332 Politics of Science and Technology
-PSYC 222 Brain, Mind and Behavior
-PSYC/SOC 310 Social Psychology
-SOC 301 Social Dimension of Science
4. Journalism Requirements (23 hours)
COM 421 Technical Communication
COM 425 Editing
COM 435 Intercultural Communication
COM 440 Introduction to Journalism
COM 372 Mass Media and Society
COM 3xx Writing about Technology, Science and Business (NEW)
COM 3xx Moral Issues in Communication
COM 497 Supervised Field Projects (SPF) (2 hours, 1 hr/semester)
5. Journalism Electives (6 hours) Choose from courses such as:
-COM 301 Introduction to Linguistics
-COM 305 American English: History and Dialects
-COM 334 Literature of Modern Science
-COM 371 Persuasion
-COM 380 Topics in Communication
-Supervised Field Project (up to 3 additional hours/semesters)
-COM 401 Advanced Composition and Prose Analysis
-COM 424 Document Design
-COM 428 Verbal and Visual Communication
-COM 430 Introduction to Web Design and Management
-COM 431 Intermediate Web Design and Management
-COM 432 Advanced Web Design and Management
-COM 491 Independent Reading and Research
-Foreign Language Coursework
-LIT 411 Workshop in Creative Writing
-PHIL 326 Philosophy of Language
-PS 303 Politics and the Media
-PS 330 International Relations
-SOC 305 Social Communication
C. Free Electives (12 hours)
Total Hours: 129
70 credits are required for the degree, for a total of 129 credit hours.
Semester 1 Lect. Lab Cr. Hrs.
BIOL 107 General Biology Lectures 3 0 3
ITP 100 Introduction to the Profession * * 2
MATH 151 Calculus I 4 1 5
HUM 100-level course 3 0 3
Totals 12* 2* 15
Semester 2 Lect. Lab Cr. Hrs.
CHEM 124 Principles of Chemistry I 3 3 4
H/SS ECON 211 Principles of Economics 3 0 3
COM 372 Mass Media and Society 3 0 3
MATH 152 Calculus II 4 1 5
Totals 15 5 17
Semester 3 Lect. Lab Cr. Hrs.
PHYS 123 General Physics I: Mechanics 3 3 4
COM 3xx Moral Issues in Communication 3 0 3
BUS 205 Business Basics 3 0 3
CS 331 Data Structures and Algorithms 2 2 3
Totals 14 5 16
Semester 4 Lect. Lab Cr. Hrs.
BIOL 115/CHEM 125/PHYS 221 3 * 4
COM 440 Introduction to Journalism 3 0 3
STS Elective 3 0 3
Humanities 300+ Elective 3 0 3
Totals 15 * 16
Semester 5 Lect. Lab Cr. Hrs.
COM 3xx Writing about Science, Technology & Business 3 0 3
BUS 211 Financial Actg and External Rptg. 3 0 3
TSB Elective 3 * 3
Free Elective 3 0 3
Supervised Field Project 0 3 1
Totals 15* 3* 16
Semester 6 Lect. Lab Cr. Hrs.
COM 435 Intercultural Communication 3 0 3
TSB Elective 3 * 3
TSB Elective . 3 * 3
Journalism Elective 3 0 3
SS Elective 3 0 3
Supervised Field Project 0 3 1
Totals 15* 3* 16
Semester 7 Lect. Lab Cr. Hrs.
COM 421 Technical Communication 3 0 3
STS Elective 3 0 3
IPRO 3 0 3
Free Elective 3 0 3
Totals 18 0* 18
Semester 8 Lect. Lab Cr. Hrs.
COM 425 Editing 3 0 3
TSB Elective 3 * 3
Totals 15 0* 15