1st Year
Semester 1
Sociology 1 (in English): provides an introduction to the relationship between Public Opinion and Society and Sociology of Communication through three areas of interest:public opinion, cultural studies and the debates they generate, and the sociology of communication. Overall the course provides basic principles for understanding the sociological basis of the communication media and an introduction to major themes of cultural debate.
Political Science (in English): the course provides an introductory mapping of the political science by examining some of the most salient and current debates. The perspective is both historical and analytical, focusing on old and new actors in developed democracies. Furthermore, the course explores the responsibilities of public policymakers in a democracy.
Anthropology: an introduction to philosophical anthropology that presents anthropological approaches to the understanding of human behavior. Discussion will centre on the concepts of person and culture. All the topics will be approached from a Communication point of view.
Spanish Language: grammatical study of Spanish language focusing on news writing.These classes are not for Spanish language beginners, but International Students may take them in order to improve their already existent Spanish writing skills focused on Journalism practice. There are specific courses for Introduction to Spanish available for international students.
Communication Theory (in English): provides a general introduction to the most significant communication theories and fields of research. The course begins discussing some methodological and epistemological questions concerning communication studies; continues introducing semiotics and pragmatics fundamental concepts and ends up presenting the main models of mass communication.
Semester2
Sociology 2: this subject addresses an approach to sociological theory from the theoretical dimension and the classics of sociology. Students will unlock the big keys for interpreting social reality. The addressed topics are social construction of social images,social structures and their changes, and the processes of civilization and demographic behavior among others.
Information Theory (in English): offers an introduction to Information Society in general and to the main factors that condition its development and trends in the modern world, mainly through Culture, Media Structures / Systems and News making.The course starts with a general presentation of Information Society and its relation to Communication and Culture, also introducing Media Systems, their influence and conditioning factors.
History and Society: studies basic moments of cultural History. The aim is to extract the values of history that can serve as a pattern of behavior, moral or ethical reference in the future, but above all help us to appreciate and understand the present.
Catalan Language: grammatical study of Catalan language focusing on news writing.These classes are not for Catalan language beginners, but International Students may take them in order to improve their already acquired Catalan writing skills focused on Journalism practice. There are specific courses for Introduction to Catalan available for international students.
2nd Year
Semester1
Introduction to Radio Journalism: theoretical background and practical application of the principles of radio production. Includes basic orientation in audio production with laboratory experience in programming, voice development, writing and performance.
Journalistic Writing 1: introduction to news writing, news story style, structure and readability. Students work with professional news writers in order to learn the skills of journalistic writing, thus gaining practical experience in preparing publications.
Graphic Design (in English): the course focuses on Graphic and Digital Design providing the student the necessary skills to create several media layouts such as those for newspapers whether they are printed or online media. Classes include headline writing, picture editing and page makeup. Special attention is paid to the principles and practice of infography.
Legal Environment: introduction to Law Studies from a journalistic approach so that future journalists understand the processes behind local and global legislation,introducing them to Media Law that will be studied in further courses and preparing them for the legal environment in which Journalism is practiced.
Cinema and Culture (in English): a course designed to understand cinema through culture. Film appreciation will be taught in order to have the student reasoning depth social theories and their reflection on cinema. Different cultural topics will be approached from various movie screenings (full movies or specific scenes).
Literature (in English): an introduction to the great modern writers and their writing styles. Students will read several novels in order to approach different topics from asocial perspective across cultural boundaries. Students may address problematic issues of current interest. Books may vary each course according to the professor.
Semester 2
Economic Environment (in English): economical approach to the economic settings of society. The course offers an introduction to economics through its international and local methods and effects, and their implications on Media systems.
Journalistic Writing 2: continuation of Journalistic Writing 1, this time focused on techniques for news writing and reporting for the electronic media. Students will gain practical experience in preparing texts for publication in different genres.
Photojournalism: studies the theoretical aspects of photojournalism and outdoors practice in order to capture the essential points of views of a news story through street photography and case studies. Special current events are addressed if possible.Introduction to Television Journalism: news writing and reporting for television,focusing on the development of a journalistic style applicable to television news gathering, experimenting with different case studies.
Rhetoric: this course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the fundamental principles and practices of oral communication and rhetorical strategies along methods of selecting, organizing, evaluating and communicating information.Students engage in debates and learn methods and strategies to pull professional skilled speeches.
3rd Year
Semester 1
Public Opinion (in English): a critical study of society through its interdependence,criteria, groups, and measures of effectiveness with Media. A wide panel of authors will be approached in order to give the student a global vision on media effects and their consequences on the development of societies.
Technological Innovations in Journalism (in English): an approach to the new means of technology such as information technologies, artificial intelligence, broadband cable,etc., and their uses in communication and information areas. Study will include criticism, criteria and measures of effectiveness in New Media.
Radio Journalism: bridges a variety of techniques applied to both commercial and informative fields in Radio Journalism. Students will record their own shows, taking care of all the aspects from script writing to production.
Social Doctrine of the Church (in English): this course teaches the Doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters such as poverty, wealth, economics, social organization and others. It offers the current view of the Holy See applied to journalistic and informative purposes.
Journalistic Genres (in English): in-depth view to the theory and practice of the different journalistic types of writing such as news, reports, interviews, etc. The classes will offer several types of practical activities in the city of Barcelona.
Semester 2
History of Journalism: this course is divided in two great areas. On the first part, the course approaches the beginning of journalism and its changing paradigms until today.The second part is focused on European Media History.
Analysis of Media Systems (in English): presentation of major media groups in the world analyzing their contents, media style, economic environment. The course offers a general mapping of media industries in the world.
Journalism Workshop: special seminar on functions, responsibilities and techniques of news editing, evaluation and processing of news. Different lecturers will assist students in their workshop projects, particularly on Digital Journalism.
Television Journalism: a further approach to the theoretical background and practical application of television production. Students will write their own documentaries producing them along the course.
Journalism Production: an advance course on journalistic writing and its application to the different sections of information. The course requires a good knowledge of Spanish language.
4th Year (from2013/14)
Semester 1
Specialized Journalism 1: student works on news production for specific areas of journalism. Specialized Journalism 1 includes Sports, Economics, and Local news production.
Information Enterprises (in English): this course introduces students into the structures and management of different kind of information enterprises. It seeks to prepare future journalists in the area of enterprise management of information business.
Journalism Ethics (in English): a systematic, case–study approach to moral dilemmas encountered by media practitioners, including questions of truth, privacy,confidentiality and conflicts of interest.
Information law (in English): analysis and examination of the laws and regulations governing the mass media in Spain and other major areas. Focus on media legislation and its practical consequences for journalists.
Semester 2
Specialized Journalism 2 (in English): student works on news production for specific areas of journalism. Specialized Journalism 2 includes Cultural, Social and Religious news production.
Institutional and Corporate Communication (in English): this course provides the student with a competent understanding of business-type communication so that the students themselves may develop a solid communication plan for any type of institution or corporation. It opens the path towards future professional development of press offices.
Practicum: internship experience under the guidance of practicing specialists in the communication field. To be supervised individually by a department faculty member with the approval of the chair. International internships can also be provided according to previous university agreement.
Final Thesis / Final Project: a research–based written project in which the senior student under the direction of a Communication Department faculty member, selects an issue for scholarly study, undertakes substantial research and produces a major paper of publishable quality. This final work can also have a practical orientation regarding the creation of entrepreneur initiatives in the area of information / journalism. Research and projects may be co-directed together with international universities.
You may download the UAO International Journalism Presentation document, which includes the information in this section and more detailed descriptions of our programs. Click here to download the file.