Journalism requirements

General Guidelines:

• Review Cal Poly’s General Change of Major Policy in full
• Students must complete at least one quarter at Cal Poly before entering into an Individualized Change of Major Agreement (ICMA).
• Students must be able to graduate in a timely manner. A realistic quarter-by-quarter graduation plan may be required to demonstrate whether this is feasible.
• Students are allowed 1 ICMA per major. Students who do not meet the conditions of their ICMA will not be issued another ICMA for that major.

Step 1: Research

Students are expected to research their options and make a well-informed decision before entering into an ICMA. Choose two of the following research opportunities:

1. Attend a Change of Major Workshop: This university wide workshop will go over Cal Poly’s change of major policy and explore ways to further research your options and next steps. (https://success.calpoly.edu/workshop-schedules)
2. Meet with a Career Counselor (https://careerservices.calpoly.edu/our-story/our-team)
3. Meet with an academic advisor in your current major/college. (https://advising.calpoly.edu/advising-centers)
4. Meet with an advisor in the Mustang Success Center.
5. Career Services Career Exploration Online tools: https://careerservices.calpoly.edu/explore-services/resource-toolkit/explore-majors

Step 2: Complete Change of Major Inquiry Form

• Complete the Change of Major Inquiry Form in your portal. For instructions see here: https://advising.calpoly.edu/change-major
• You will receive an email response from the department within 10 business days regarding next steps.

Step 3: Meet with Department Chair

If you have been notified that you are eligible to enter into an ICMA, you will need to make an appointment with the journalism department chair to plan your transition.

• If a student is granted an ICMA, it will not exceed two quarters and will require:

  • Credit for freshman composition, ENGL 134 or the equivalent, with a grade of B- or better.

  • Completion of JOUR 203 Writing for the Media with a grade of B- or better.

  • Completion of one additional journalism course, in consultation with the department chair, with a grade of B- or better.

  • Cal Poly (CPSLO) GPA of 2.7 or two consecutive term GPA’s of 2.8 with at least 12 units per quarter.

• Once a student meets the terms of the ICMA, they are admitted to their intended major.

  • Students who do not meet the conditions of their ICMA will not be issued another ICMA for this major.

**The completion of coursework without prior consultation with the intended major department does not guarantee the student eligibility to switch into the intended major.**