UNC to offer business journalism major

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Board of Governors have approved a business journalism undergraduate major that will begin in the 2011-12 academic year.

The major will be offered by the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

The program is considered a niche major that will offer students the opportunity to receive the training to be a business journalist or a corporate communications representative. The major is intended to cater to 15 students at a time, with an equal number of students from both schools.

Students will be admitted to the major via an application process each fall.

The students will be required to complete at least 21 credit hours from the journalism school and at least 15 hours from the business school.

In the J-school, students will be required to take seven courses, including “Business and the Media,” “Economics Reporting” and “Business Reporting.”

In Kenan-Flagler, students will be required to take four courses, including “Financial Accounting,” “Operations Management” and “The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business.”

The Hussman School of Journalism and Media currently offers a certificate in business journalism for its majors, and a minor in business journalism for non-majors. Those programs would continue.