The data science and journalism combined major offers students an opportunity to gain the skills to be able to engage in both the print and digital worlds of journalism. Students study the collection, manipulation, storage, retrieval, and computational analysis of data in its various forms, including numeric, textual, image, and video data. Combined with learning the principles, practices, and responsibilities of journalism, students can extract meaning from massive information flows and utilize it in effective investigative reporting.
Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.
Universitywide Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.
NUpath Requirements
All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.
Computer Science Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science Overview | ||
| CS 1200 | First Year Seminar | 1 |
| or JRNL 1000 | Journalism at Northeastern | |
| CS 1210 | Professional Development for Khoury Co-op | 1 |
| or EEAM 2000 | Professional Development for Co-op | |
| Programming Sequence Pathways | ||
| Choose one of the two options. | 12 | |
| Computer Science Option | ||
| Fundamentals of Computer Science 1 and Lab for CS 2500 | ||
| Fundamentals of Computer Science 2 and Lab for CS 2510 | ||
| Object-Oriented Design and Lab for CS 3500 | ||
| Data Science Option | ||
| Programming with Data and Data Science Programming Practicum | ||
| Intermediate Programming with Data and Lab for DS 2500 | ||
| Advanced Programming with Data | ||
| Computer Science Required Courses | ||
| CS 1800 and CS 1802 | Discrete Structures and Seminar for CS 1800 | 5 |
| CS 3200 | Database Design | 4 |
| CY 4170 | The Law, Ethics, and Policy of Data and Digital Technologies | 4 |
| Data Science Foundations | ||
| DS 3000 | Foundations of Data Science | 4 |
| DS 4200 | Information Presentation and Visualization | 4 |
| DS 4300 | Large-Scale Information Storage and Retrieval | 4 |
| DS 4400 | Machine Learning and Data Mining 1 | 4 |
| DS 4420 | Machine Learning and Data Mining 2 | 4 |
| Khoury Elective Courses | ||
| With adviser approval, directed study, research, project study, and appropriate graduate-level courses may also be taken as upper-division electives. | ||
| Complete 4 credits of CS, CY, DS, or IS classes that are not already required. Choose courses within the following ranges: | 4 | |
CY 2000 or higher, except CY 4930 | ||
DS 2500 or higher, except DS 4900 | ||
Journalism Major Requirements
Students transferring from outside institutions must complete a minimum of five 4-credit journalism courses at Northeastern, and these must include:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Journalism 2: Intermediate Reporting | ||
| Visual Storytelling in Journalism | ||
| Ethics and Issues in Journalism |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Journalism Courses | ||
| A grade of C or higher is required: | ||
| JRNL 1101 and JRNL 1102 | Journalism 1: Fundamentals of Reporting and Journalist’s Toolbox | 5 |
| JRNL 2201 | Journalism 2: Intermediate Reporting | 4 |
| JRNL 2301 | Visual Storytelling in Journalism | 4 |
| JRNL 3610 | Digital Storytelling and Social Media | 4 |
| Required Journalism | ||
| JRNL 1150 | Understanding Today’s News | 4 |
| JRNL 3550 | The First Amendment and the Media | 4 |
| JRNL 4650 | Ethics and Issues in Journalism | 4 |
| Journalism Electives | ||
| Complete three JRNL courses. | 12 | |
Supporting Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics Requirement | ||
| MATH 1341 | Calculus 1 for Science and Engineering | 4 |
| Statistics Foundation | ||
| ECON 2350 | Statistics | 4 |
| Computing and Social Issues | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Issues in Race, Science, and Technology | ||
| The Law, Ethics, and Policy of Data and Digital Technologies | ||
| Cyberlaw: Privacy, Ethics, and Digital Rights | ||
| History of Technology | ||
| Bostonography: The City through Data, Texts, Maps, and Networks | ||
| Knowledge in a Digital World | ||
or PHIL 1300 | Knowledge in a Digital World | |
| Technology and Human Values | ||
| The Twenty-First-Century Workplace | ||
| Environment, Technology, and Society | ||
| Computers and Society | ||
Writing Requirement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| College Writing | ||
| ENGW 1111 | First-Year Writing | 4 |
| Advanced Writing in the Disciplines | ||
| This course already fulfills a Journalism requirement above. | ||
| Visual Storytelling in Journalism | ||
Integrative Requirement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete one of the following: | 4 | |
| Data Storytelling | ||
| Coding for Digital Storytelling | ||
Required General Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete 20 credits of general electives. | 20 | |
NUpath Requirements Satisfied
- Engaging with the Natural and Designed World
- Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation
- Conducting Formal and Quantitative Reasoning
- Analyzing and Using Data
- Understanding Societies and Institutions
- Employing Ethical Reasoning
- Writing in the First Year
- Advanced Writing in the Disciplines
- Writing-Intensive in the Major
- Demonstrating Thought and Action in a Capstone
Integrating Knowledge and Skills Through Experience is satisfied through co-op.
Khoury College GPA Requirement
Minimum 2.000 GPA required in all CS, CY, DS, IS courses
Journalism GPA Requirement
Minimum 2.000 GPA required in all JRNL courses
Program Requirement
131 total semester hours required
Sample Plan of Study:
Four Years, Two Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall
| Year 1 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| CS 1200 | 1 | CS 2510 and CS 2511 | 5 | CS 3500 and CS 3501 | 5 | Vacation | 0 |
| CS 1800 and CS 1802 | 5 | CS 3200 | 4 | MATH 1341 | 4 | ||
| CS 2500 and CS 2501 | 5 | JRNL 1101 and JRNL 1102 | 5 | ||||
| ENGW 1111 | 4 | JRNL 3550 | 4 | ||||
| JRNL 1150 | 4 | ||||||
| 19 | 18 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Year 2 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| JRNL 2201 | 4 | CS 1210 | 1 | ECON 2350 | 4 | Co-op | |
| JRNL 2301 | 4 | DS 3000 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||
| JRNL elective 1 | 4 | DS 4200 | 4 | ||||
| Computing and social issues | 4 | JRNL 3610 | 4 | ||||
| JRNL 3700 or 5500 | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 17 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 3 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Co-op | DS 4300 | 4 | Elective | 4 | Co-op | ||
| DS 4400 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| JRNL 4650 | 4 | ||||||
| JRNL elective 2 | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 16 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Year 4 | |||||||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours | Summer 1 | Hours | Summer 2 | Hours |
| Co-op | CY 4170 | 4 | Elective | 4 | |||
| DS 4420 | 4 | Elective | 4 | ||||
| JRNL elective 3 | 4 | ||||||
| Khoury Elective | 4 | ||||||
| 0 | 16 | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Total Hours: 135 | |||||||