Journalism Program Map

Program detailsAward, code, department, CIP/TOP

Community of interest: SBSC Social/Behavioral Science & Communication
Award: AA-T Degree
Program code: 33199.32AA-T
Department: Journalism
CIP code: 09.0401: Journalism.
TOP code: 0602.00 - Journalism*

Map Class Schedule

Program Schedule Report Meet with a counselor

Journalism

AA-T Degree

The AA-T is designed for transfer preparation to a specific California State University major in academic areas outside STEM and CTE. Like every Butte College associate degree, it has two parts: a general-education curriculum and an academic program of specialization.

About Associate Degrees for Transfer. AA-T and AS-T degrees are aligned with transfer model curricula developed jointly by the Academic Senates and discipline faculty in the California Community College and California State University systems. Completing one with a qualifying GPA guarantees CSU admission with junior standing in a related major (campus assignment depends on space and competitive criteria).

About General Education. GE is an integrated program of learning designed to foster intellectual curiosity, cultural understanding, critical thinking, creative reasoning, oral and written communication, and the capacity for ethical reasoning. By graduation, you'll have developed the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, apply quantitative reasoning, understand how the major academic disciplines ask their questions, comprehend diverse cultures and historical periods, and assess ethical problems — alongside the depth you build in your major.

See the 2025-26 Catalog for official program details

Semester-by-Semester Map

Term 1

Class Schedules

15–19 units

JOUR 2

Introduction to Reporting and Newswriting

3 units

An introduction to gathering, synthesizing/organizing and writing news in journalistic style across multiple platforms. Includes role of the journalist, exploration of career options, identification of areas of interest and overview of related legal and ethical issues. Students will report and write based on their original interviews and research to produce news content. Experiences may include covering speeches, meetings and other events, writing under deadline and use of AP Style. (C-ID JOUR 110).

General Education: Area 1A

English Composition

Baccalaureate-level academic writing — expository and argumentative. The foundation for every other course you'll write in.

General Education: Area 2

Department recommends STAT C1000 or STAT C1000E.

Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning

College-level mathematics or quantitative reasoning — the toolkit behind science, business, and informed citizenship.

General Education: Area 3B

Taking ECON 20, HIST 8, HIST 10, HIST 18, or HIST 26 is recommended to meet the US-1 graduation requirement for CSU/UC.

Humanities

History, literature, philosophy, language — how people across time and cultures have made sense of the world.

General Education: Area 6

Ethnic Studies

The histories, experiences, and contributions of the four autonomous disciplines: Black / African American / Africana studies, Native American studies, Chicano/a/x and Latino/a/x studies, and Asian American studies.

Term 2

Class Schedules

15–17 units

RTVF 12

Mass Media and Society

3 units

Meets Area 4.

Survey of mass communication and the interrelationships of media with society including history, structure and trends in a digital age. Discussion of theories and effects, economics, technology, law and ethics, global media, media literacy, and social issues, including gender and cultural diversity. (C-ID JOUR 100).

General Education: Area 1B

Department recommends CMST 14 or ENGL C1001.

Critical Thinking and Composition

Reading and writing about complex texts — analyzing arguments, identifying assumptions, building your own case with evidence.

General Education: Area 1C

Oral Communication

Public speaking and group discussion — organizing ideas for a live audience, listening actively, responding under pressure.

General Education: Area 3A

Arts

Engaging with creative work — painting, music, theatre, design — through making, viewing, and interpreting.

General Education: Area 5A

Physical Science

The physical world — chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy — and how science actually works.

Term 3

Class Schedules

15–19 units

JOUR 10

Beginning Newspaper Production

3 units

Student media practicum that includes a lab that regularly produces a news or feature non-fiction product with a journalism emphasis by and for students and distributed to a campus or community audience. Must include weekly news assignments. May include a variety of student media across multiple platforms, including print, broadcast, and online. Includes practical experience in design/layout, visual, online, multimedia journalism and emerging technologies. Must be student produced with student leadership. (C-ID JOUR 130).

List B (Select two):

Required

3–4 units

Choose 2 of 9 choices

CMST 14
Argumentation and Debate
3 units
course details
This course emphasizes critical thinking, for purposes of constructing, evaluating and revising written essays in preparation for debate, grounded in the rhetorical foundations of argumentation. Students will employ argumentation theory and critical reasoning to draft and revise a sequence of argumentative essays based on inquiry-driven research, methods of analysis, evidence use, and ethical advocacy (minimum 5,000 words). This writing instruction will enable students to prepare persuasive cases that advance, defend and refute reasoned positions, which will also be delivered through debate and public address. (C-ID COMM 120).
Prerequisite: ENGL C1000 or ENGL C1000E
+−
ENGL C1001
Critical Thinking and Writing
3 units
course details
In this course, students receive instruction in critical thinking for purposes of constructing, evaluating, and composing arguments in a variety of rhetorical forms, using primarily non-fiction texts, refining writing skills and research strategies developed in ENGL C1000 Academic Reading and Writing (or C-ID ENGL 100) or similar first-year college writing course. This course offers instruction in information literacy, and proper documentation. Students are required to write essays with progressive revisions and multiple drafts (minimum 5,000 words). (C-ID ENGL 105).
Prerequisite: College-level composition (ENGL C1000/ ENGL C1000H/ ENGL C1000E/ C-ID ENGL 100) or equivalent
+−
PHO 2
Introduction to Photography
3 units
course details
This course is an introduction to the processes, principles, and tools of photography. Topics include the development of technical and aesthetic skills, elements of design and composition, camera technology, materials and equipment, black and white film, darkroom skills, and contemporary trends in photography.
+−
POLS C1000
American Government and Politics
3 units
course details
This course is an introduction to government and politics in the United States and California. Students examine the constitutions, structure, and operation of governing institutions, civil liberties and civil rights, political behaviors, political issues, and public policy using political science theory and methodology. (C-ID POLS 110).
+−
POS 3
Comparative Politics
3 units
course details
Comparative analysis of different kinds of political systems, including their history, political institutions, processes and policies, the environments in which they occur, and their consequences. (C-ID POLS 130).
+−
Group
1. ECON 2
  Principles of Macroeconomics
  3 units
  course details
  An introductory course focusing on aggregate economic analysis. Topics include: market systems, aggregate measures of economic activity, macroeconomic equilibrium, money and financial institutions, monetary and fiscal policy, international economics, and economic growth. (C-ID ECON 202).
  Prerequisite: Elementary Algebra or equivalent
  +−
2. ECON 4
  Principles of Microeconomics
  3 units
  course details
  This is an introductory course focusing on choices of individual economic decision-makers. Topics include scarcity, specialization and trade, market equilibrium, elasticity, production and cost theory, market structures, factor markets, and market failure. (C-ID ECON 201).
  Prerequisite: Elementary Algebra or equivalent
  +−
Group
1. STAT C1000
  Introduction to Statistics
  4 units
  course details
  This course is an introduction to statistical thinking and processes, including methods and concepts for discovery and decision-making using data. Topics include descriptive statistics; probability and sampling distributions; statistical inference; correlation and linear regression; analysis of variance, chi-squared, and t-tests; and application of technology for statistical analysis including the interpretation of the relevance of the statistical findings. Students apply methods and processes to applications using data from a broad range of disciplines. (C-ID MATH 110).
  Prerequisite: Placement as determined by the college’s multiple measures assessment process or completion of a course taught at or above the level of intermediate algebra
  +−
2. STAT C1000E
  Introduction to Statistics
  4 units
  course details
  This course is an introduction to statistical thinking and processes, including methods and concepts for discovery and decision-making using data. Topics include descriptive statistics; probability and sampling distributions; statistical inference; correlation and linear regression; analysis of variance, chi-squared, and t-tests; and application of technology for statistical analysis including the interpretation of the relevance of the statistical findings. Students apply methods and processes to applications using data from a broad range of disciplines. This course has embedded support. (C-ID MATH 110).
  Prerequisite: Placement as determined by the college’s multiple measures assessment process or completion of a course taught at or above the level of intermediate algebra
  +−

General Education: Area 4

Only necessary if not already met.

Social and Behavioral Sciences

The systematic study of people as members of society — cultural anthropology, cultural geography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology — and the methods these disciplines use to ask their questions.

General Education: Area 5B

Must have 5C Lab component if not taken in 5A/5C.

Biological Science

Life and living systems — from cells to ecosystems.

Term 4

Class Schedules

15 units

JOUR 12

Intermediate Newspaper Production

3 units

This course requires higher skill level and/or leadership/management involvement than JOUR 10. Intermediate student media practicum that includes a lab that regularly produces a news or feature non-fiction product with a journalism emphasis by and for students and distributed to a campus or community audience. Must include weekly news assignments. May include a variety of student media across multiple platforms, including print, broadcast, and online. Includes practical experience in design/layout, visual, online, multimedia journalism, emerging technologies and leadership/management. Must be student produced with student leadership. (C-ID JOUR 131).

Prerequisite: JOUR 10

Elective (any course numbered 1-99 or C1000-C1999)

Only necessary if the 60 units needed to graduate have not been completed. Consider taking a Cal-GETC General Education course. Visit www.assist.org to see options.

Career Connections

2-Year Degree Paths

Entry points students may pursue after associate-level study, technical preparation, or licensure pathways.

No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset point cleanly to an immediate 2-year outcome for this program.

4-Year Degree Paths

Roles that more often open up after transfer and a bachelor's degree.

No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset are grouped into the 4-year pathway for this program.

Graduate School Paths

Advanced roles commonly associated with graduate, professional, or post-baccalaureate study.

No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset are grouped into the graduate-school pathway for this program.

Source Notes

Course sequencing is generated from the Acadia Program Mapper cache. Career groupings use local CIP-to-SOC mappings and BLS occupation data when available. Confirm education plans with Counseling and Advising.

No NCES/IPEDS CIP-to-SOC mapping was found for this program's CIP code.

Last generated 2026-06-12T23:22+00:00

Program Snapshot

Next Steps

2-Year Degree Paths

4-Year Degree Paths

Graduate School Paths

Source Notes