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• Introduction
• The University
• Undergraduate Studies
• Architecture
• Business
• Communication
  • General Information
  • Admission and Registration
  • Academic Policies and Procedures
  • Graduation
  • Degrees and Programs
  • Courses
  • Faculty
• Education
• Engineering
• Fine Arts
• Geosciences
• Information
• Liberal Arts
• Natural Sciences
• Nursing
• Pharmacy
• Public Affairs
• Social Work
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Index

Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film

To be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film, the candidate must complete 120 semester hours of coursework and must fulfill the University's General Requirements for graduation and the Core Curriculum requirements, the college graduation requirements given in Special Requirements of the College, and the requirements given in Special Requirements, Prescribed Work, and Major Requirements below.

Special Requirements

To enroll in upper-division radio-television-film courses, a student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.25 and a grade point average in courses in the College of Communication of at least 2.00. Students who do not fulfill this requirement will be dropped from upper-division radio-television-film courses, normally before the twelfth class day. The grade point average requirement is waived for the transfer student during the first semester of coursework, while he or she is establishing a University grade point average.

In addition, a student with a major in radio-television-film must have a grade of at least C in each course taken in the College of Communication that is counted toward the degree; if the course is offered on the pass/fail basis only, the student must have the symbol CR.

To enroll in some upper-division radio-television-film courses, the student must earn specific grades in prerequisite courses. In addition, enrollment in a few upper-division courses requires the consent of the instructor. The departmental consent process is described in Department of Radio-Television-Film; complete course prerequisites are given in Radio-Television-Film: RTF Lower-Division Courses and Upper-Division Courses.

It is not recommended that a student majoring in radio-television-film register for more than nine semester hours in radio-television-film in one long-session semester or more than six semester hours in a summer session.

Core Curriculum

All students must complete the University’s Core Curriculum, as well as the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film listed below under Prescribed Work. In some cases, a course required for the BSRTF may also be counted toward the core curriculum; these courses are identified below.

Prescribed Work

1. Three semester hours in English or rhetoric and writing in addition to the courses required by the core curriculum.
2. Two courses with a writing flag and one course with a cultural diversity in the United States flag . Courses that fulfill these requirements are identified in the Course Schedule. They may also be used to fulfill other degree requirements.
3. Three semester hours of coursework in the College of Communication dealing with the study of communication issues concerning at least one minority or nondominant group within the United States. Courses that fulfill this requirement may also be used to fulfill other degree requirements. A partial list of these communication and culture courses is given in the Communication and Culture Requirement section under the College of Communication's Degrees and Programs section; a complete list is available from the college’s Student Advising Office before registration for each semester and summer session. The courses are also identified in the Course Schedule.
4. Students must demonstrate fourth-semester-level proficiency, or the equivalent, in a foreign language. Courses taken to meet this requirement may not be taken on the pass/fail basis.

   Students who enter the University with a foreign language deficiency must take the first two semesters in a foreign language without degree credit to remove the deficiency.

   The usual course sequence is 406 or 506, 407 or 507 or 508K, 312K, and 312L. For some languages, different course numbers are used; such courses may be counted toward this requirement if they are designed to provide first-semester-level through fourth-semester-level proficiency. Credit may be earned by examination for any part of the sequence.

   An extensive foreign language testing program is available at the University. Students with knowledge of a language are encouraged to take appropriate tests both to earn as much credit as possible and to be placed at the proper level for further study. Students should consult the Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment or the department concerned for information on testing.

5. At least thirty-six semester hours of upper-division coursework.
6. No more than twelve semester hours of transfer credit in radio-television-film may be counted toward the degree.
7. Enough additional coursework to make a total of 120 semester hours. No more than forty-two hours in radio-television-film and no more than thirty-six hours in any other single field may be counted toward the degree.

Major Requirements

1. At least thirty but no more than forty-two semester hours of radio-television-film, of which at least eighteen hours must be upper-division. All students must take Radio-Television-Film 305, nine additional hours of lower-division coursework, and two courses chosen from the following: Radio-Television-Film 330K, 331J, 331K, 331M, 331N, 331P, 334, 335, 342, 342T, 345, 347C, 348, 359, 359S, 365, and 370.
2. At least six semester hours of coursework must be taken in the College of Communication but outside the department. However, no student may count toward the degree more than forty-eight hours (including transfer credit) in College of Communication coursework.
3. No College of Communication course to be counted toward the degree may be taken on the pass/fail basis, unless the course is offered only on that basis.

Areas of Study

The curriculum in radio-television-film is designed to prepare students to be versatile and well-equipped for positions in fields related to media. The program aims to train students to analyze the role of communication media in societies, to write and speak well, and to create media projects and programs. The curriculum is multidisciplinary and includes courses in the history and analysis of media systems, including film, television, and new media; global media; production and screenwriting; digital media; critical and cultural studies; ethnic, gender, and minority studies; and communication technologies and policies. Each student’s program of study is planned by the student and an undergraduate adviser to meet the student’s academic and professional goals. Because upper-division courses require specific lower-division prerequisites, students should consider their lower-division preparation carefully. For example, many production courses require completion of Radio-Television-Film 317 and 318, while nonproduction courses require either Radio-Television-Film 314 or 316, or 309. Radio-Television-Film 305 is required of all majors.

Students who plan to take production courses should be aware that these courses may require five to ten hours of independent production or studio time a week in addition to the class meetings listed in the Course Schedule. All costs of production, such as the cost of film and film processing, actors’ fees, and location fees, are borne by the student. The cost of most equipment is covered by tuition.

Order and Choice of Work

First Year

1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester:
   
   1. Rhetoric and Writing 306.
   2. Courses to be counted toward the American history, American and Texas government, social and behavioral sciences, mathematics, and science and technology requirements of the core curriculum.
   3. Courses in a foreign language.
2. Radio-Television-Film 305 and one of the following: Radio-Television-Film 309, 312C, 314, 316, 316M.
3. Enough additional coursework to raise the student’s course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester. Courses should be chosen with the guidance of a college adviser.

First-year students may not take two beginning foreign language courses in the same semester. First-year students may not take more than eight semester hours in one department.

Second Year

1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester; four are recommended:
   
   1. English 316K and any three-semester-hour course in English or rhetoric and writing.
   2. Courses to be counted toward the American history, American and Texas government, social and behavioral sciences, mathematics, and science and technology requirements of the core curriculum.
   3. Courses in the foreign language, unless the language requirement has been fulfilled.
2. Two lower-division courses in radio-television-film, including those that are prerequisite to the area(s) in which the student plans to take upper-division courses.
3. Enough additional coursework, if needed, to raise the student’s course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester.

Third and Fourth Years

1. Two courses with a writing flag.
2. Any remaining courses in the core curriculum and the prescribed work.
3. Two upper-division radio-television-film courses to be counted toward requirement 1 of the major requirements.
4. Twelve to twenty-four semester hours of upper-division coursework in radio-television-film.
5. Enough additional coursework to raise the student’s course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester.

 

Related Fields of Study

• BS Advertising
• BS Communication Sciences and Disorders
• BS Communication Studies
• Bachelor of Journalism
• BS Public Relations
• BS Radio-Television-Film

On this page

• Special Requirements
• Core Curriculum
  • Prescribed Work
• Major Requirements
  • Areas of Study
  • Order and Choice of Work
    • First Year
    • Second Year
    • Third and Fourth Years