Advising


Meet Your Advisors

We are your go-to resource for anything related to students at the J-School. Whether you’re exploring our major, a current student looking for direction, a senior about to launch your career, or continuing your education in our graduate programs, our academic advisors are here to help.

Undergraduate Advisors

Eddie Munoz

Eddie Muñoz

Eddie is an academic advisor for undergraduate students in the school. Reach Eddie at emunoz@ku.edu.
Dan McCarthy

Dan McCarthy

Dan is an academic advisor for undergraduate students in the school. Reach Dan at dan@ku.edu.
Jay Haverty

Jay Haverty

Jay is an academic advisor for undergraduate students in the school. Reach Jay at jayhaverty@ku.edu.
Jodee Sayre-Merriman

Jodee Sayre-Merriman

Jodee is an academic advisor for undergraduate students in the school. Reach Jodee at Jodee.sayre-merriman@ku.edu.

Graduate Advisor

Jammie Johnson

Jammie Johnson

Jammie is the graduate program coordinator for master's and doctoral students.
Reach Jammie at jamjohn@ku.edu.

Our Mission

The mission of the advising team at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications is to provide accurate and personalized information, allowing students to make informed decisions on their personal, professional and academic plans. We inform students of the resources available to help them learn more about themselves, the J-School and the University of Kansas. We teach students to take responsibility of their growth and education. 


Scheduling an Appointment

Undergraduate students admitted to the School of Journalism and Mass Communications

  • You can schedule an appointment through the Jayhawk GPS website or the Navigate Student App.
  • Instructions for scheduling can be found at Jayhawk GPS.
  • You will be able to access calendars for your J-School advisor and request an appointment online.

Pre-journalism students

  • You can schedule an appointment by calling 785-864-2834 or by stopping in Room 117, Stauffer-Flint Hall.
  • Phone: 785-864-2834
  • Email: jadvising@ku.edu
  • Stop by: Stauffer-Flint Hall, Room 117, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday

Graduate students


Degree Requirements Overview

45%
KU CORE/Degree Specific Requirements
40%
Journalism and Mass Communications
15%
General Electives

Sample Graduation Plans

Required Journalism and Mass Communications courses consist of four sequenced tiers.  Students begin with foundational courses that cover the breadth of media and society, followed by foundational courses that identify their skills and how they relate to a field of interest.  After those, students take advanced courses that engage students in more interactive, dynamic, and project-based work, culminating in a capstone experience, the last tier of the sequence.  The goal is to help students clarify where they want to go and how to get there.  We encourage student involvement in campus media and co-curricular opportunities as early and often as possible. 


Policies

All students admitted to the J-School must do the following in order to remain in the J-School and in good standing:

Complete J101 with a grade of 2.0 or higher, AND

Maintain a 2.5 KU grade-point average and a 2.5 journalism grade-point average

Students failing to meet the conditions above are placed on probation for one semester. If a student does not raise their cumulative and journalism grade-point averages to 2.5, they will be dropped from the J-School. If the student improves their GPA to the 2.5 KU/journalism grade-point-average and would like to be re-admitted to the J-school, they should contact their Advisor.

Additionally, students must also pass all J-School Concentration core classes with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Access the Grade Appeal Policy here.

You are a candidate for retroactive withdrawal if one or more of the following is true:

  • You are the victim of a documented administrative error that affected your enrollment in one or more courses.
  • You enrolled in KU coursework but did not attend any of your classes because you were enrolled full time at another academic institution.
  • You have documentation of a serious illness that affected your ability to complete all of your coursework after the withdrawal date.
  • You encountered documented extreme and unusual circumstances which a) were beyond your control, b) occurred after the withdrawal date, and c) could not have been addressed during the term in which the course(s) was taken.
  • You received absolutely no feedback on your performance in the course before the last day to withdrawal from the course.
  • If you’d like to learn more about this process, contact Journalism Student Services at jadvising@ku.edu.

Students are encouraged to complete the undergraduate degree in four years or less. Students experiencing a break in enrollment may return within five years of the last class they attended as an enrolled undergraduate journalism student and complete their coursework under the requirements in place at the time they left. They must maintain continuous enrollment to finish their coursework after they re-enroll. If it has been longer than five years, students may be readmitted under the current degree requirements in place when they return.