Course Descriptions

Agricultural Communications and Journalism
(AGCJ)

(faculty, see Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications)

105. Introduction to Agricultural Communication. (2-0). Credit 2.

Introduction to mass communication, its history, role in society, and especially its unique role in agriculture; importance of mass communication and the communication methods used in modern society; foundation for an understanding of agricultural news and information; credit cannot be given for both AGCJ 105 and JOUR 102.

203. Agricultural Media Writing I. (2-2). Credit 3.

News gathering, writing, editing and ethics for current and emerging mediums used in agricultural communication; includes news identification, basic news writing methods, introduction to public relations, broadcast and Internet writing; interviewing skills, proper use of direct quotes and other news style; credit cannot be given for both AGCJ 203 and JOUR 203. Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in AGCJ 105; passing score in the GSP test.

281. Journalism Concepts for Agriculture. (1-0). Credit 1.

The role of the news media in covering government, the court systems, corporations, taxation, and insurance; a practical perspective on how journalists interact with public and private institutions from a legal, ethical and social standpoint.

285. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 4.

Directed study of selected issue in field of agricultural communications with emphasis on collection, synthesis and interpretation of information. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

289. Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 4.

Special topics in an identified area of agricultural development. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

291. Research. Credit 1 to 4.

Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in agricultural journalism. May be repeated 2 times for credit. Prerequisites: Freshman or sophomore classification and approval of instructor.

303. Agricultural Media Writing II. (2-2). Credit 3.

Interpretative agricultural news gathering and writing for all media types; basic media law and ethics, interviewing skills with assigned practice writing about agriculture, and science and technology, including meeting and event coverage both on and off campus; print, broadcast, Interactive and other media; credit cannot be given for both AGCJ 303 and JOUR 303. Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in AGCJ 203; passing score in the GSP test; junior or senior classification.

304. Editing for Agricultural Audiences. (2-2). Credit 3.

Principles and practices of editing for agricultural and technical audiences including improving and tightening copy; writing headlines, titles, and subheads; photo editing and captions, graphics and layout; print, broadcast, Interactive and other media; credit cannot be given for both AGCJ 304 and JOUR 304. Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in AGCJ 203; passing score in the GSP test; junior or senior classification.

305. Theory and Practice of Agricultural Publishing. (3-0). Credit 3.

Audience identification, publication content, management and design; analyze existing agricultural publications, identify audiences, advertising base and content; credit cannot be given for both AGCJ 305 and JOUR 321. Prerequisites: AGCJ 105; junior or senior classification.

306. Theory and Practice of Agricultural Public Relations. (3-0). Credit 3.

Public relations between agricultural producers and their suppliers as a critical part of agricultural communication; public relations objectives, strategies, tactics, evaluation and execution theory and practice examined; credit cannot be given for both AGCJ 306 and JOUR 324. Prerequisites: AGCJ 105; junior or senior classification.

307. Electronic Media Production in Agricultural Communications. (2-2). Credit 3.

Study of the principles, concepts, and practices of agricultural industry uses of electronic media production (radio, television and computer) for advertising, informational videos, computer-mediated instruction and distance education. Prerequisites: Computer usage course and AGCJ 105; junior or senior classification.

308. Agricultural Photography. (2-2). Credit 3.

Develop knowledge of photography, editing software, and composition techniques used in the agricultural communications field; develop photography and photo editing skills to a satisfactory level as demonstrated by performance on assignments and exams. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification.

380. Workshop in Agricultural Communications and Journalism. Credit 1 to 4.

The study, understanding and solution of human-agricultural problems based on theory learned in the classroom, library, laboratory and fieldwork completed by individuals and teams. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification.

404. Communicating Agricultural Information to the Public. (2-2). Credit 3.

Use of agricultural education principles and techniques to communicate scientific information related to agriculture, agribusiness, natural resources and life sciences to the general public; communication processes include audience identification, writing, editing and production of agricultural science-based manuscripts for popular and refereed publications. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification.

405. Agricultural Publications Production. (2-3). Credit 3.

Study and practice of the principles and concepts of designing, writing, editing, producing and distributing the AgriLeader magazine and Web site; includes practical applications of writing feature articles, magazine and Web site design, advertising sales, layout and graphics. May be repeated one time for credit. Prerequisites: AGCJ 305 and approval of instructor; junior or senior classification.

406. Agricultural Public Relations Methods. (2-2). Credit 3.

Agricultural public relations campaign analysis; public relations case studies and methods including writing public relations plans for agricultural entities, producing public relations components and evaluating public relations objectives, strategies and tactics. Prerequisites: AGCJ 306; junior or senior classification.

407. Web Authoring in Agricultural Communication. (2-2). Credit 3.

Study and practice of basic Web site design theories, principles and writing for the Web; use of Web authoring software (not a programming class) to create online publications tailored for agricultural audiences; emphasizes informative content and functional design. Prerequisites: AGCJ 307; junior or senior classification.

481. Senior Seminar. (1-0). Credit 1.

Seminar for students within 2 semesters or graduation; overview of agricultural communications, communication methods and careers in the profession; includes an introduction to professionals in agricultural communications and interview strategies. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification; approval of department head.

485. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 4.

Directed individual study of selected problems in agricultural communications, communication methods and the communication profession with emphasis on collection, analysis and presentation of information. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification; approval of department head.

489. Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 4.

Special topics in an identified area of agricultural journalism. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.

491. Research. Credit 1 to 4.

Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in agricultural journalism. May be repeated 3 times for credit. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification and approval of instructor.

494. Internship. Credit 1 to 6.

Supervised internship and independent study related to the student’s professional interest. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification; approval of department head.