Special Topics Courses
In this section
These courses cover specialized topics and can be taken multiple times if the topics are different. All courses are offered at 3.0 credit hours and may fulfill various requirements within the school. You can find the courses that satisfy your specific MEJO curriculum listed below each course description.
These courses will not automatically appear on your Tar Heel Tracker. Please submit a Tar Heel Tracker Course Adjustment Form. Adjustments are typically processed after course completion or after the drop/add period for an enrollment term.
To enroll in 3.0 hours, you will need to manually change the defaulted 1.0 credit hour to 3.0 before submitting your enrollment. Please note that some courses may require permission from the instructor.
Fall 2026 Special Topics Courses
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Taught by Valerie Fields
This introductory course explores the principles and evolving landscape of advertising and public relations, introducing strategic and creative writing styles. Students will learn how strategic communication shapes public perception, builds brands and drives engagement. Key focus areas include AP style, audience-specific content and media collaboration. Emphasis is placed on clarity, credibility and creativity across platforms — from press releases to social media and branded storytelling. Through writing assignments and case studies, students develop foundational skills in storytelling, ethics and media strategy.
Satisfies the following: Replaces MEJO 153 for AD/PR students only.
Students may not receive credit for both MEJO 190.138 and MEJO 153.
Mondays & Wednesdays, 12:20 – 1:35 p.m.
Taught by Joe Bob Hester
The course explores creative problem-solving across all industry disciplines, including account management, strategy, media, analytics, creative and production. It introduces key methods for developing creative solutions and establishes the conceptual groundwork for upper-level coursework in advertising and public relations.
Satisfies the following: Replaces MEJO 121 for AD/PR students only.
Students may not receive credit for both MEJO 190.139 and MEJO 121.
Mondays & Wednesdays, 12:20 – 1:35 p.m.
Taught by Torod Neptune
This course provides students with the fundamental business knowledge essential for success in the advertising and public relations industries. Students will develop core business acumen, covering basic concepts, industry-specific applications, financial literacy (including budgeting and billing) and an introduction to entrepreneurship. The goal is to prepare future strategic communicators to understand the business landscape in which they operate and contribute meaningfully to their organization’s financial success.
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual; Choice.
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8 – 9:15 a.m.
Taught by Leyla Santiago with permission from the instructor.
Rise & Shine/Carolina Ahora offers students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the live production of a morning and/or Spanglish digital newscast every week. Students will be responsible for creating content and running a variety of positions in the field, studio and control room.
Rise & Shine is a morning show that highlights arts and lifestyle in the community. Carolina Ahora is a newscast that provides news-of-day content and issues impacting the Latino/a/x community. This course offers students hands-on experience for the production of 15-minute digital newscasts that cater to morning TV and/or a Spanglish audience. You will learn what it takes to succeed in fast-paced and demanding newsrooms by writing, filming, producing and editing in the field, studio and control room on a weekly basis. As a member of the team, you will have the opportunity to tackle critical roles in news production, including executive producer, technical director, floor director, graphics producer, digital producers, reporters, videographers, anchors and prompter tech.
Satisfies one of the following: Choice; JRN Level 2.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Taught by Adjunct Instructor Matt Krause. Contact Livis Freeman for permission to enroll.
This advanced skills-based course provides immersive, hands-on experience in sports broadcasting and play-by-play commentary through live game coverage across multiple UNC athletic programs. Taught by Matt Krause, professional broadcaster and current voice of UNC women’s basketball on the Tar Heel Sports Network and ACC Network, the course combines classroom instruction with real-world broadcasting opportunities including women’s softball, soccer, volleyball, field hockey and lacrosse, as well as men’s soccer and lacrosse, with shadowing opportunities for men’s and women’s basketball.
Students will develop professional-ready skills in real-time commentary, game preparation, research and storytelling while building industry-standard portfolios and establishing valuable connections within the sports media industry. Limited to 10 students to ensure individualized mentorship and maximize hands-on broadcasting time.
Satisfies one of the following: Choice, JRN Level 2, or Level 3.
Mondays & Wednesdays, 12:20 – 1:35 p.m.
Taught by Jules Dixon-Green with permission from the instructor.
Have you ever wondered what it is like to work with celebrity and sports A-List stars? In this creative, fun master class of “star-making,” Hall of Fame Publicist and Professor of the Practice Jules Dixon-Green will share her publicist world of the past 30 years. Dixon-Green will teach you the PR skills needed to break in and succeed in entertainment/celebrity PR. This PR course will include a deep dive into specific media relations strategy, content management, A-list brand building and celebrity crisis relations.
MEJO 137 is the absolute prerequisite. Open only to AD/PR students. Interested students are highly recommended to take “MEJO 332: Public Relations Writing.”
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual; Choice; AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3.
Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:30 – 3:45 p.m.
Taught by Leyla Santiago.
A dive into the nuances of Latino/a/x communities in the U.S. and the best practices to responsibly engage and cover the rapidly growing population. Students will explore the various facets of the community, including history and culture, to understand why it should not be considered a monolith when analyzing issues like health, politics, religion, immigration, business and the economy. The course will give future journalists and communication professionals a better understanding of how to successfully reach Latino/a/x communities for newsgathering or targeting in strategic communication campaigns.
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual, Choice, AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3 or JRN Level 2 or Level 3.
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2 – 3:15 p.m.
Taught by Daniel Kreiss.
“Navigating Threats to Media and Expressive Freedom” is a conceptual course designed to provide students with a deep, practice-based understanding of contemporary political threats to the expressive freedoms of individuals, publics and communications professions. This course will involve students in a deep engagement with research on democratic backsliding, the politics of media, threats to communicative freedom, and journalism, public relations, and advertising practice and ethics. It does so with an eye towards students applying this knowledge to contemporary, real world scenarios involving threats to media and expressive freedom from various actors. Students will adopt the perspective of various communications professionals and take up questions about such things as platform content moderation and claims of censorship, how journalists should cover contemporary political events, how companies navigate political pressure and consumer polarization, how health professionals account for politics, and speech on university campuses.
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual; Choice; AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3; JRN Level 2 or Level 3.
Mondays & Wednesdays, 8 – 9:15 a.m.
Taught by Adjunct Professor Leah Linke with permission from the instructor.
Contact Charlie Tuggle for permission to enroll.
This is an advanced, special topics skills-based course designed to provide junior and senior media and journalism majors with immersive, hands-on experience in the sports event management and hospitality industry.
As a valuable addition to the school’s sports communication program, this course will serve students pursuing both journalism and strategic communication paths. Through a unique partnership with On Location, a premier experiential hospitality provider, students could gain unprecedented access to major sporting events and develop practical skills in event management, client services and hospitality operations.
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual, Choice, AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3, JRN Level 2 or Level 3.
MEJO 490: Advertising, Media and Society now has a permanent course number, MEJO 444.
Spring 2026 Special Topics Courses
MEJO 390-002: Sports Data Visualization (3 hours)
Mondays & Wednesdays, 10:10 – 11:25 a.m.
Taught by Associate Professor Ryan Thornburg
You must manually register for 3 hours.
This course provides hands-on experience in analyzing and visualizing sports data for storytelling and strategic communication. Students will master industry-standard tools like Tableau, DataWrapper and Flourish, as well as programming languages such as R, to create publication-quality visualizations for digital and print media. Through workshops, independent projects and portfolio development, students will learn to transform complex sports statistics into compelling narratives for journalism, marketing and analytics applications. No prior data experience is required.
Satisfies one of the following: Choice, AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3, JRN Level 2 or Level 3.
MEJO 390-003: Sports Commentary and Play-by-Play (3 hours)
Tuesdays, 8 – 10:45 a.m.
Taught by Adjunct Instructor Matt Krause
Students must manually register for 3 hours.
This advanced skills-based course provides immersive, hands-on experience in sports broadcasting and play-by-play commentary through live game coverage across multiple UNC athletic programs.
Taught by Matt Krause, professional broadcaster and current voice of UNC women’s basketball on the Tar Heel Sports Network and ACC Network, the course combines classroom instruction with real-world broadcasting opportunities including women’s softball, soccer, volleyball, field hockey and lacrosse, as well as men’s soccer and lacrosse, with shadowing opportunities for men’s and women’s basketball.
Students will develop professional-ready skills in real-time commentary, game preparation, research and storytelling while building industry-standard portfolios and establishing valuable connections within the sports media industry. Limited to 10 students to ensure individualized mentorship and maximize hands-on broadcasting time.
Satisfies one of the following: Choice, JRN Level 2 or Level 3.
MEJO 490-001: Entertainment/Celebrity Public Relations (3 Hours)
Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:30 – 3:45 p.m.
Taught by Professor of the Practice Jules Dixon-Green with permission from the instructor: julesdixon@unc.edu
Have you ever wondered what it is like to work with celebrity and sports A-List stars? In this creative, fun master class of “star-making,” Hall of Fame Publicist and Professor of the Practice Jules Dixon-Green will share her publicist world of the past 30 years. Dixon-Green will teach you the PR skills needed to break in and succeed in entertainment/celebrity PR. This PR course will include a deep dive into specific media relations strategy, content management, A-list brand building and celebrity crisis relations.
MEJO 137 is the absolute pre-requisite. Open only to AD/PR students. Interested students are highly recommended to take “MEJO 332: Public Relations Writing.”
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual; Choice; AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3.
MEJO 490H-01S: Advanced Political Communications (3 hours)
Taught by Associate Professor Shannon McGregor
This course is offered through the UNC Study Abroad Program in collaboration with UNC Honors.
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual, Choice, AD/PR Level 2 or 3, JRN Level 2 or Level 3.
MEJO 490-002: Covering and engaging latinx communities (3 Hours)
THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CANCELED.
A dive into the nuances of Latino/a/x communities in the U.S. and the best practices to responsibly engage and cover the rapidly growing population. Students will explore the various facets of the community, including history and culture, to understand why it should not be considered a monolith when analyzing issues like health, politics, religion, immigration, business and the economy. The course will give future journalists and communication professionals a better understanding of how to successfully reach Latino/a/x communities for newsgathering or targeting in strategic communication campaigns.
MEJO 490-003: Sports Event Management and Hospitality (3 hours)
Mondays & Wednesdays, 8 – 9:15 a.m.
Taught by Adjunct Professor Leah Linke
You must manually register for 3 hours.
This is an advanced, special topics skills-based course designed to provide junior and senior media and journalism majors with immersive, hands-on experience in the sports event management and hospitality industry.
As a valuable addition to the school’s Sports Communication Focus Program, this course will serve students pursuing both journalism and strategic communication paths. Through a unique partnership with On Location, a premier experiential hospitality provider, students could gain unprecedented access to major sporting events and develop practical skills in event management, client services and hospitality operations.
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual, Choice, AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3, JRN Level 2 or 3.
MEJO 490-004: Behavioral Science for Strategic Communication (3 hours)
Mondays & Wednesdays, 10:10 – 11:25 a.m. REMOTE
Taught by Professor Francesca Dillman Carpentier
You must manually register for 3 hours.
An exploration of advertising in American society, from the emergence of mass media to the role of influencers and adtech in the internet economy. We will learn how the advertising, technology and media industries relate to each other; how advertisements and brands communicate meaning within popular culture; and how digital advertising uses data about people’s lifestyles and identities, sometimes raising concerns about privacy and discrimination. The central proposition is that understanding media and society today requires a close look at the past, present and future of advertising.
Satisfies one of the following: Conceptual, Choice, AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3.
BUSI 590-052: Social Media Marketing (3 hours)
Mondays, 2-5 p.m.
Taught by Associate Professor Gary Kayye with application required.
“Social Media Marketing: Art, Storytelling & Analytics” teaches students how to manage social media accounts for both brands and individuals by blending creativity with data-driven strategy. Students will learn to craft compelling stories, build communities and measure performance through analytics. This course bridges the art of storytelling with the science of metrics, preparing students to thrive in the fast-moving world of social media marketing.
Cross-listed between the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media (MEJO) and the Kenan-Flagler Business School (BUSI).
Prerequisite: MEJO 137 is required for all MEJO students. Preference, in the application, will be given to students who have also completed MEJO 371.
Satisfies one of the following: Choice, AD/PR Level 2 or Level 3.