Minor and Certificate Programs

Minor

The transcript-recognized undergraduate academic minor must be completed in conjunction with an undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin. For more information regarding the requirements for achieving a minor, including a comprehensive list of minors, please visit the Minors and Certificate Programs  section of the Undergraduate Catalog.

Communication and Society: Science Communication Minor

The Communication and Society: Science Communication Minor is designed to help prepare students with undergraduate studies in a sciences-related field to effectively communicate science topics to a variety of audiences by utilizing professional communication techniques and tools. Students will gain an understanding of contemporary communication issues that may impact their field, and gain advanced skills to enhance their communication with the public, whether through traditional media, new media, or in person. This program is open only to students with majors in the College of Natural Sciences or the Moody College of Communication. To declare the Science Communication minor, a student must have at least a cumulative 2.5 grade point average.

The minor requires 18 semester hours of coursework. Nine hours must be taken at the upper-division level and at least nine hours must be taken in residence. The certification requirements are:

1. Six hours of coursework chosen from the list of approved Issues in Communication courses available in the Moody College of Communication;
2. Nine additional hours of coursework chosen from the list of approved Communication Tools courses available in the Moody College of Communication;
3. Communication 350, Communication Internship (requires approval of the supervising professor; prior approval is recommended.)
4. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, and only courses with a grade of C or better will be counted.

Students pursuing the minor may enroll in any of the approved courses for which he or she meets the prerequisite. Prerequisites for journalism courses may be waived after consultation and consent of the instructor. However, it is recommended that students take Journalism 310F prior to Journalism 346F; Journalism 311F is recommended prior to 331G.  Journalism 302F,  normally restricted to Journalism majors, may be taken by students pursuing the Science Communication major. The student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.25 to enroll in any upper-division course in the college.

Students should consult the Student Advising Office for additional information regarding the coursework that meets minor requirements. The courses that may be counted toward the certificate include the following:

Issues in Communication Group

Communication Studies 315M, Interpersonal Communication Theory

Communication Studies 322E, Communication Ethics

Communication Studies 334K, Nonverbal Communication

Communication Studies 338, Leadership Stories

Communication Studies 344K, Lying and Deception

Communication Studies 353S, Social Media and Organizations

Journalism 301F, Fundamental Issues in Journalism

Journalism 346F, Reporting on the Environment

Journalism 346G, Domestic Issues and Global Perspective

Communication Tools Group

Communication Studies 306M, Professional Communication Skills

Communication Studies 320, Advanced Presentation Skills

Communication Studies 332, Argumentation and Advocacy

Communication Studies 337, Building Sales Relationships

Communication Studies 332K, Theories of Persuasion

Communication Studies 348, Communication Research Methods

Communication Studies 364M, Pre-Graduate School Mentorship (requires approval of certificate committee; prior approval is recommended.) 

Journalism 302F, Digital Storytelling Basics

Journalism 331G, Audio Storytelling

Journalism 327D, Reporting With Data

Journalism 336D, Graphic Design for Print and Online

Journalism 336F, Social Media Journalism

Journalism 339G, Mobile News App Design

Communication 325, Topics in Leadership and Communication

Communication 350, Communication Internship

Communication Studies Minor

The Communication Studies Minor will afford undergraduate students across the University the opportunity to increase their skills in communication, particularly in the areas of organizational, interpersonal, and rhetorical communication. In addition, students will study the foundations of public speaking, verbal and non-verbal communication, and intercultural communication as well as learn techniques to approach ethical dilemmas within the field of communication.

The Department of Communication Studies reserves the right to limit the number of students accepted as Communication Studies Minors.  Nine hours of coursework must be taken in residence.  All CMS minor coursework must be completed on a letter graded basis (no pass/fail) and a grade of C or higher must be earned in order for the credit to count toward the minor requirements.  This minor is not available to students with a major in the Moody College.

The course requirements are as follows:

1. Communication Studies 306M, Professional Communication Skills and Communication Studies 315M, Interpersonal Comm Theory
2. Nine additional hours from the following list:

Communication Studies 320, Advanced Presentation Skills 

Communication Studies 322E, Communication Ethics

Communication Studies 323R, Rhetoric: East and West

Communication Studies 330, Interpersonal Health Communication 

Communication Studies 332, Argumentation and Advocacy

Communication Studies 332K, Theories of Persuasion 

Communication Studies 333, Case Studies in Argumentation

Communication Studies 334K, Nonverbal Communication

Communication Studies 335, Strategic Sales and Event Planning 

Communication Studies 336D, Careers

Communication Studies 337, Building Sales Relationships

Communication Studies 340K, Communication and Social Change

Communication Studies 341, Digital Communications

Communication Studies 342K, Political Communication

Communication Studies 344K, Lying and Deception

Communication Studies 345P, Communication and Public Opinion

Communication Studies 347K, Rhetoric of Popular Culture

Communication Studies 348K, Visual Media and Interaction

Communication Studies 349M, Advanced Analysis of Popular Culture

Communication Studies 353S, Social Media and Organizations

Communication Studies 354, Conflict Resolution

Communication Studies 355K, Intercultural Communication

Communication Studies 357, Family Communication

Communication Studies 358, Communication and Personal Relationships

Communication Studies 359, Language, Culture, and Communication of Hip-Hop

Communication Studies 164M, 264M, or 364M, Pre-Graduate School Mentorship 

Communication Studies 366, Rhetoric, Love, and Democracy

Communication Studies 366C, Celebrity Culture

Communication Studies 366F, Rhetoric of Film

Communication Studies 366M, Rhetoric and Popular Music

Communication Studies 366R, Religious Communication and Paranormalism

Communication Studies 367, Topics in Communication Studies, Any Topics Course 

Communication Studies 371K, Practicum in Conflict Mediation

Communication Studies 372T, Time Matters

Communication Studies 373D, Advocacy and Politics 

Communication Studies 374D, Beyond Congress and the White House

Health Communication Minor

The Health Communication Minor is intended for any University student interested in advanced study of health communication. Students completing the Minor program will understand how health communication professionals think and be prepared for careers in population health, medical, clinic management, and communication agencies, among others. More information about the Health Communication Minor is available at http://moody.utexas.edu/healthcomm/ .

This program is open to all University of Texas students. The Moody College reserves the right to limit the number of students accepted into this minor by instituting a competitive application process. Applicants may be judged on such factors as grade point average, prior coursework taken, prior experience in the field, and response to essay prompts.

The minor program requires 16 semester hours of coursework including nine hours to be completed in residence. Students must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Communication 102, Introduction to Health Communication
2. Three hours of approved coursework from each of the following areas:  interpersonal communication, organizational communication, and population/mass media (the approved area course lists are available below).
3. Six additional upper-division hours from these areas of which three of these hours must be from outside the student’s major college.
4. A grade of at least C in each course counted toward fulfillment of the minor requirements.

Interpersonal communication courses

Communication Studies 330, Interpersonal Health Communication

Communication Studies 332K, Argumentation And Advocacy

Communication Studies 344K, Lying and Deception

Communication Studies 358, Communication and Personal Relationships

Human Development and Family Sciences 337, Personal Relationships

Human Development and Family Sciences 466, Guidance in Adult, Child Relationships or Women's and Gender Studies 466, Guidance in Adult, Child Relationships

Pharmacy PharmD 370C, Communication Skills for Health Professionals

Organizational communication courses

Communication Studies 341, Digital Communications

Communication Studies 353S, Social Media And Organizations

Communication Studies 357, Family Communication

Human Development and Family Sciences 304, Family Relationships or Women's and Gender Studies 301 (Topic 4: Family Relationships)

Human Development and Family Sciences 313, Child Development or Women's and Gender Studies 313, Child Development

Human Development and Family Sciences 347, Socioeconomic Problems of Families

Human Development and Family Sciences 378L, Theories of Child and Family Development

Nursing 310, Communication in Health Care Settings

Social Work 360K (Topic 4: Practice with Abused and Neglected Children and Their Families)

Women's and Gender Studies 301 (Topic 19: Diversity in American Families)

Women's and Gender Studies 301 (Topic 23: Romantic Relationships and Family Formation)

Population/Mass Media courses:

Advertising 319, Psychology of Advertising

Advertising 378, (Topic 20: Account Planning)

American Studies 370, (Topic 1: American Cultural History of Alcohol/Drugs) or History 350R, (Topic 5: American Cultural History of Alcohol/Drugs)

Biology 361L, Public Health Bacteriology Lab

Public Health 361P, Public Health Internship

Chemistry 107, Health Professions Seminar

Communication Studies 372T, Time Matters

Economics 350K, (Topic 9: Health Economics)

Educational Psychology 363, (Topic 3: Human Sexuality)

Educational Psychology 363M, (Topic 3: Adolescent Development)

Educational Psychology 371, Introduction to Statistics

Government 370L, The Politics of Health Care

Geography 356, (Topic 1: Children’s Environmental Health)

Health and Society 301, Introduction to Health and Society, or Sociology 308S, Introduction to Health and Society

Human Development and Family Sciences 313, Child Development or Women's and Gender Studies 313, Child Development

Human Development and Family Sciences 371, Adolescent Development in Context

Human Development and Family Sciences 378K, (Topic 6: Intro to Early Childhood Interventions)

Health Education 329K, Child, Adolescent, and Adult Health

Health Education 335, Theories of Substance Use and Abuse

Health Education 343, Foundations of Epidemiology

Health Education 352K, (Topic 2: Psychosocial Issues Women’s Health)

Health Education 370K, (Topic 1: Foundations of Health Promotion I)

Health Education 370K, (Topic 2: Adolescent Health Risk Behavior)

Health Education 371K, Foundations of Health Promotion II

History 350R, (Topic 18: Women in Sickness and Health)

Kinesiology 334, Children's Exercise and Physical Activity

Kinesiology 378, (Topic 3: Sexual Health I)

Nursing 275 / 287Q, Public Health Nursing

Nursing 307, (Topic 1: Women's Reproductive Health for Nonscience Majors) or Sociology 310S, Women's Reproductive Health for Nonscience Majors, or Women's and Gender Studies 301, (Topic 7: Women's Reproductive Health for Nonscience Majors)

Nursing 309, Global Health

Nutrition 330, Nutrition Education and Counseling

Nutrition 331, International Nutrition: Social & Environmental Policies

Nutrition 332, Community Nutrition

Nutrition 337, Nutritional Epidemiology

Nutrition 338W, Issues in Nutrition and Health

Nutrition 365, Obesity and Metabolic Health

Public Health 317, Introduction to Public Health

Public Health 334, Global Health

Public Health 338, Environmental Health

Public Health 341R, Public Health Research

Public Health 358D, Health Policy and Health Systems

Public Health 368D, Social Context of Public Health

Philosophy 325M, Medicine, Ethics, and Society

Psychology 319K, Social Psychology

Psychology 339, Behavior Problems of Children

Psychology 341K, (Topic 4: Health Psychology)

Psychology 346K, Psychology of Sex

Psychology 352, Abnormal Psychology

Psychology 364M, Mental Illness and the Brain

Social Work 327, Human Behavior and Social Environment, or Urban Studies 354, (Topic 10: Human Behavior and Social Environment)

Social Work 334, Social Work Practice in Organizations and Communication

Social Work 360K, (Topic 5: Facilitating Dialogues on LGBTQ Oppression)

Social Work 360K, (Topic 9: Loss and Grief: Individual and Family Perspectives)

Sociology 307L, Gender, Race, Class in American Societies

Sociology 307P, Introduction to Sociology of Health and Well, Being

Sociology 321G, Global Health Issues/Systems

Sociology 333K, Sociology of Gender, or Women's and Gender Studies 322, (Topic 1: Sociology of Gender)

Sociology 354K, Sociology of Health & Illness

Sociology 358D, Health Policy and Health Systems

Sociology 368D, Social Context of Public Health

Sociology 307K, Fertility and Reproduction, or Women's and Gender Studies 301, (Topic 20: Fertility and Reproduction)

Statistics and Data Sciences 302, Data Analyses for Health Sciences

Statistics and Data Sciences 304, Statistics in Health Care

Statistics and Data Sciences 332, Statistical Models for Health and Behavior Sciences

Tutorial Course 358, Plan II Junior Seminar(Topic: Public Health, Medicine, and Social Policy)

Women's and Gender Studies 301, (Topic 21: Gender, Race, Class in American Societies)

Women's and Gender Studies 345, (Topic 3: Women in Sickness and Health)

Women's and Gender Studies 345, (Topic 35: Psychosocial Issues Women’s Health)

Journalism Minor

The Journalism Minor will afford undergraduate students across the University the opportunity to study a range of courses that will help prepare them for the digital communication economy. These include writing clearly and succinctly; telling stories in multiple formats, including audio, video and data visualizations; thinking critically about issues that affect both media and society; communicating through social media platforms; and understanding how journalism influences the way individuals and groups are perceived.

In order to apply for a Journalism Minor, a student must have at least 2.75 GPA and have completed Journalism 301F and earned at least a B-; if accepted to the minor program.  The School reserves the right to limit the number of students accepted as Journalism Minors. If demand exceeds space available, students will be selected based on a review of academic record, particularly performance in Journalism 301F. All courses must be taken in residence and for a letter grade (no pass/fail). Participating students must have a 2.5 GPA overall at the end of each academic year in order to continue in the minor. This minor is not available to students with a major in the Moody College.

The minor program requires 15 hours of coursework, including at least six upper-division hours. Students must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Journalism 301F, Fundamental Issues in Journalism, and Journalism 302F, Digital Basics in Storytelling. (Students must receive at least a B- in Journalism 301F in order to be considered for acceptance into the minor).
2. 9 additional hours from the following list (at lease two courses must be upper-division):

Journalism 310F, Reporting: Words

Journalism 311F, Reporting: Images

Journalism 331F, Entrepreneurial Journalism

Journalism 331G, Audio Storytelling

Journalism 332D, Web Production and Editing

Journalism 332G, Storytelling in a Digital Age

Journalism 334F, Oral History as Journalism

Journalism 336F, Social Media Journalism

Journalism 336J, Lifestyle Reporting and Writing

Journalism 337F, Long-form Feature Writing

Journalism 337J, Writing for Online News Audiences

Journalism 339T, (Topic 2: Music Into Words)

Journalism 339T, (Topic 4: Tracking Online Audience Engagement)

Journalism 341F, Understanding African Americans and the Media

Journalism 341J, Minorities and the Media

Journalism 342G, Reporting the World

Journalism 342J, Visual Media and the News

Journalism 346G, Domestic Issues and Global Perspectives

Journalism 348D, Gender and the News

Journalism 348F, Covering the Latino Community in the United States

Journalism 338J, News for a Mobile Audience

Journalism 350F, Media Law

Journalism 351F, Journalism, Society and the Citizen Journalist

Journalism 352F, Ethics in Journalism

Journalism 353F, Historical Perspectives in Journalism

Note: Successful completion of Journalism 310F, Reporting: Words, with a grade of B- or better is required before taking the following courses: Journalism 331G Audio Storytelling; Journalism 332G Storytelling in a Digital Age; Journalism 336J Lifestyle Reporting and Writing; Journalism 337J Long-Form Feature Writing; Journalism 332D Web Production and Editing; Journalism 337J Writing for Online News Audiences; and Journalism 339T  Music into Words.

US Latino and Latin American Media Studies Minor

This concentration is designed to introduce students to United States Latino and Latin American issues in communication and the media and to give them the opportunity to prepare for professional work related to these areas in addition to their major. The minor requires 18 hours of coursework, including at least nine hours completed in residence. Students must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Radio-Television-Film 307, Media and Society
2. Radio-Television-Film 323C, Screening Race
3. Six hours of upper-division elective coursework chosen from the list of approved electives available in the Moody College of Communication
4. Six additional hours (upper or lower division) of elective coursework in Latin American Studies or Mexican American Studies
5. All courses must be taken for a letter grade, and only courses with a grade of C or better will be counted.

Any Moody College of Communication student may enroll in any of the concentration courses for which he or she meets the prerequisite. The student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.25 to enroll in any upper-division course in the college.

This program is restricted to students within the Moody College of Communication.  Exceptions will be made for a limited number of students from the Mexican American and Latino Studies and the Latin American Studies Departments to be allowed to declare the minor.  Students interested should speak with the Latino Media Studies Advisor in the Moody College of Communication. Certain course prerequisites, for approved courses in the Moody College of Communication, may be waived once the student is accepted to the program.

Each degree program in the College imposes a limit on the number of hours in the College that may be counted toward the degree; each also imposes limits on the number of hours in the major that may be counted. For students who complete the US Latino and Latin American Media Studies minor, these limits may be modified with the approval of the Student Advising Office.

Students should consult the Student Advising Office for additional information about the program and the coursework that meets minor requirements. The courses that may be counted toward the minor include, but are not limited to, the following:

Required Courses

Radio-Television-Film 307, Media and Society

Radio-Television-Film 323C, Screening Race

Electives

Advertising 334, International Advertising

Journalism 334F, Oral History as Journalism

Journalism 341J, Minorities and the Media

Journalism 347F, Reporting Latin America

Journalism 354F, Journalism and Press Freedom in Latin America

Journalism 367E, Journalism in Latin America

Radio-Television-Film 359S, (Topic 7: Mixed Race and U.S. Film and Media)

Radio-Television-Film 359S, (Topic 8: Latina/os and U.S. Media)

Radio-Television-Film 359S, (Topic 9: Latina Feminisms and Media)

Radio-Television-Film 365, (Topic 5: Latin American Media)

Radio-Television-Film 365, (Topic 6: Latinos and Media)

Radio-Television-Film 366K, (Topic 4: East Austin Stories)

Six additional hours to be selected from Latin American studies and/or Mexican American studies are also required.

Visual Media Minor

The Visual Media Minor will afford undergraduate students across the University the opportunity to increase their visual literacy and skills, particularly in the areas of photography, photojournalism, video storytelling, and graphic design. In addition, students will study the foundations of journalism ethics and learn techniques to approach ethical decisions within the field of visual media.

In order to apply for a Visual Media Minor, a student must have at least 2.5 GPA and have completed Communication 316.  If demand exceeds space available, students will be selected based on a review of academic record, particularly performance in Communication 316, as well as a review of their visual portfolio.  The School of Journalism reserves the right to limit the number of students accepted as Visual Media Minors. All courses must be taken in residence, and for a letter grade (not pass/fail). Participating students must have a 2.5 GPA overall at the end of each academic year in order to continue in the minor. This minor is not available to students with a major in the Moody College.

The minor program requires 15 hours of coursework, including at least nine hours completed in residence and six upper-division hours. Students must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Communication 316, Introduction to Photographic Communication and Journalism 352F, Ethics in Journalism
2. Nine additional hours to be selected from these courses:

Journalism 311F, Reporting: Images 

Journalism 333G, Advanced Visual Journalism: Photo 

Journalism 334G, Advanced Visual Journalism: Video 

Journalism 336D, Graphic Design for Online & Print 

Journalism 333J, Photography for Reporting Texas 

Journalism 340J, Documentary Tradition of Latin America 

Journalism 347G, Cultural Survey of Photography 

Journalism 349T, (Topic 23: Photo Book Self-Publishing) 

Journalism 330J, Advanced Photo Editing & Design – CZE (Prague Maymester)

 3. All courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Certificate Programs