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Business & Financial Journalism (B.A.)

Major: Business & Financial Journalism

Degree awarded: Bachelor of Arts

Total credit hours: 51

Internship/Practicum opportunities: Visit the Career Development Center for internship information.

About the program

The business and financial journalism program at Thiel College is a joint venture between the Department of Media, Communication and Public Relations and the Department of Business Administration and Accounting. Students will learn the basics of business management, accounting and economics, while learning excellent journalism and media communication skills.

You can expect a wide range of courses as a business and financial journalism major, such as journalism, media law, communication ethics, accounting, business management, marketing, economics and other topics. This unique program prepares students for professional positions in print, broadcast and/or online journalism reporting on a wide variety of business, financial and economic news. This can include international news, such as export and import statistics, trade agreements, currency exchanges, multi-country or global economic growth and recessions, effects of international tax rates, worker immigration policies, intellectual property law, etc. Such news also includes national and regional news about unemployment, housing starts, business startups, domestic stock and bond markets, inflation rates, Federal Reserve Board policies, product/service research and development, tax rates, job training, government contracts with business, government regulation of business, management changes, corporate mergers and acquisitions, corporate earnings, profiles of corporations and/or individual executives, corporate bankruptcies, labor union strikes, corporate philanthropy and much more!

Visit our Academic Catalog (2020-2021) for course listings.

Major Features

1. Students receive one-on-one instruction and guidance from faculty who have professional media experience.
2. You will be able to demonstrate a solid knowledge of business and financial principles.
3. Gain an understanding of the major legal and ethical issues that arise in a journalist’s work and in reporting on business & financial news.
4. Earn college credit while working for TCTV Thiel College Television, WXTC our FCC-licensed radio station, or The Thielensian our student-run newspaper.

Scholarship Opportunities

Thiel College offers scholarships to students for reasons such as academic success, community service or involvement, exemplary leadership and more! The scholarships available to business and financial journalism majors are:

• The Roger ’52 and Paula G. Blatter Scholarship
• William Randolph Hearst Scholarship Endowment Fund
• Mister Rogers Scholarship

Visit our Financial Aid page to learn more about the types of aid available to students.

Clubs & Organizations

It's easy to get involved on campus! Joining a student club or organization is an excellent way to meet others and gain leadership experience. A media & journalism major might be interested in the following clubs and orgs:

• The Thielensian student newspaper
• WXTC radio station (88.1FM)
• TCTV television station
• Society for Collegiate Journalists
• Lambda Pi Eta (Communications Honorary)
• Photography Club

Visit our Campus Life page to see a full list of student clubs and organizations.

Alumni & Careers

The ability to communicate effectively and disseminate information about the complex business world will open doors in many careers.

A degree in business and financial journalism from Thiel College will prepare you for positions in:

• Reporters and Correspondents –could earn a median salary of $36,360 conducting interviews and writing articles for television, or online and offline publications*.
• Editors – earn a median income of $56,010 developing story ideas and the content of publications*.
• Broadcast News Analysts – earn a median income of $65,530 providing in-depth analysis of various business topics to your viewers*.
• Marketing Managers – earn a median salary of $96,419 developing and executing marketing plans for a business or a brand*.
• Public Relations Specialists – earn a median salary of $58,020 creating, protecting or promoting the public image of an organization*.

*Job and salary information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.