1. Complete the general education/core course requirements.

2. Complete the CLAST requirements.

3. Complete the foreign language requirement (if admitted for Fall 1990 or after).

4. Complete a minimum of 65 semester hours in liberal arts. Liberal arts courses are defined as those courses offered by FIU's College of Arts and Sciences, but not including those offered by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

5. Complete at least 80 semester hours outside the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

6. Complete a total of 50 semester hours in the upper division.

7. Complete the upper division liberal arts courses required in the discipline.

8. Complete all courses required in your area of concentration.

9. Complete all required courses in the advertising or public relations discipline, including the elective.

10. Have an OVERALL grade point average of at least 2.0.

11. Have a grade point average of at least 2.75 in all courses taken within the SJMC.

12. Complete at least 120 semester hours.

Transfer credit:

Departmental policy allows up to six hours of communication credits to be accepted, provided that (1) a grade of "B" or better was received in the courses and (2) the courses do not duplicate skill courses.

Grades of "C" or higher in SJMC courses, the student's area of concentration and other required liberal arts courses are required for graduation. Please note that a "C-" and grades of Pass/Fail are not acceptable to meet school requirements. If, due to a bad grade, you need to retake a course, it is your responsibility to go to the Registrar's Office and fill out a Repeated Course form to remove the bad grade from your transcript. This is known as the Forgiveness Policy. If you do not do this, the grade will continue to be taken into consideration when computing your Grade Point Average.

NOTE: Any changes in requirements specified in the catalog for a degree, including waivers or changes of courses, must be done through the use of the student petition. The request will then be considered. Making any such request does not guarantee an affirmative response.

Approximately 25 percent of your course work is within the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The purpose is to provide you with the professional career entry level skills as well as a broader understanding of communication processes and their impact on our society.

Emphasis is placed on a broad range of knowledge, thus the 80 semester hours of all the hours needed to graduate must be taken outside the SJMC. A minimum of 65 of those hours must be in the liberal arts. Of those 65 credit hours, at least 12 credit hours must be upper division classes.

As mentioned above, courses in the liberal arts are offered through the College of Arts and Sciences. There are four main categories for the liberal arts. They are:

Social Sciences: Sociology/Anthropology, Psychology, Political Science/International Relations and Economics.

Humanities: Creative Writing, English, History, Modern Languages and Philosophy/Religion.

Fine Arts: Music, Theater and Dance and Visual Arts.

Natural Sciences: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics and Statistics.

Keep this list as a reference. You will need it when calculating your 65 credit hours. Besides this requirement, in some tracks you also need to select an area of concentration of at least 15 semester hours outside of the field of Mass Communication. This area of concentration should be a subject that interests YOU and ties in with your particular career goals. This area of concentration must be agreed upon with your faculty advisor.