Credit Requirements for Degree

Time to Degree

All students in the College of Media are permitted 8 semesters—not counting summer or winter terms—to complete their degree requirements. A student completing their degree requirements prior to 8 semesters will graduate in the term in which they complete their degree. A student who wishes to exceed 8 semesters may need to submit a petition to the Student Services Center explaining their unusual circumstances upon further consultation of their academic advisor. Completion of a minor or certificate program is NOT an acceptable reason for a degree extension since these are not required degree components. Students exceeding 8 semesters may be subject to higher tuition costs in additional semesters as determined by the Undergraduate Guaranteed Tuition Program.

Use of Transfer Credit

A student who is transferring credit from study abroad coursework or from a transfer institution—or the combination of both of these—may use a maximum of 9 hours toward College of Media electives. This rule is effective for courses taken Fall 2014 and later. Courses taken outside of the United States at a transfer institution are not eligible for credit toward required core major courses in the College of Media.

A student who wishes to take coursework at a transfer institution in the United States should refer to Transferology.com to ensure that a course in which they hope to enroll is transferable as they intend for it to be to our institution.

Music Lessons and Ensembles

Music Lessons and Ensembles (MUSC) is a rubric reserved for students who are in performance ensembles such as Black Chorus (MUSC 463), Marching Illini (MUSC 487), and Jazz Ensemble (MUSC 492), to name a few. Undergraduate students are instructed to add 400-level MUSC courses. However, these students should consider these courses to be 200-level for the purpose of fulfilling degree requirements (they will even read as “Matched as MUSC 2—“ on a degree audit). These courses will not count as 300- or 400-level advanced coursework for purposes of degree completion.

Cross-Listed Coursework

A course in another department or college across campus is cross-listed with a College of Media course if it appears in the Class Schedule with the wording of “Same as ADV, JOUR, MACS, MDIA.” Any cross-listed course with a College of Media “Same as…” notation will ONLY count toward College of Media electives, NOT toward electives required outside of the College of Media. A student who is unsure of this policy is encouraged to consult their academic advisor with questions.

Composition/Rhetoric Hours

The following courses that transfer to Illinois may count for total hours toward degree completion in the College of Media up to a maximum of 7 CREDIT HOURS: RHET 1-- and RHET 105 (including AP or IB test credit), RHET 101 and 102, and UCI 1-- and UCII 1--. No additional UCI or RHET hours may count toward degree completion in the College of Media.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grading

Unlike Credit/No Credit grading, Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading may count toward some degree requirements. A Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory course is permitted to count toward some degree requirements including Area of Study, 100-200-level College of Media electives, and 100-200-level outside electives. It will NOT count toward those required ADVANCED (300-400-level hours) inside of the College of Media or outside of the College of Media. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory may NOT be used when a letter grading option is available (e.g., A-F grading scale).

Please speak with your academic advisor if you are not certain whether a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory-graded course is an appropriate option for you. For more information on Credit/No Credit grading, please read Grading Options.

Dual Degrees

Students pursuing an undergraduate degree in the College of Media are required to earn a minimum of 124 total hours to obtain a Bachelor of Science in the student’s respective Media major. It is not possible for College of Media undergraduate students to pursue double majors or dual degrees with a second major in the College of Media.

The College of Media permits students to pursue second degrees outside of the College of Media, as long as the student applies and is admitted to the second college within the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Conversely, if you are a student outside of the College of Media who is interested in pursuing a second degree in the College of Media, you must meet the intercollegiate transfer (ICT) requirements to enroll in your respective major of interest. Learn more about our ICT requirements.

To pursue dual degree, a student must do the following:

Fulfill the intercollegiate transfer (ICT) requirements to enter the second college’s major. If you are currently in another college at Illinois seeking admission to a College of Media programs for dual degree, learn more about ICT.
Adhere to the pre-requisite and sequential course requirements that apply to both college’s degree program requirements
Earn a minimum of 30 additional credit hours toward degree completion for whichever degree has the higher amount of minimum total hours required. For example, a student currently pursuing a Communication major in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences requires 120 hours minimum. However, if that student pursues the Media & Cinema Studies degree within the College of Media, the minimum hour requirement is 124. Thus, the student must complete 154 total hours (124 + 30 = 154)

Application Information
Students pursuing a dual degree must meet the GPA eligibility of both colleges and their programs at the time of application and during enrollment in their respective degree programs.

A minimum Illinois GPA of 3.0 and good academic standing is required at the time of application for dual degree.

Demonstrate during the application process how and by when you will be able to complete all degree requirements for the respective degrees. Students are required to meet with an advisor from both majors as well as receive approval from their colleges’ student services staff.

Residency Requirement
Dual degree students must have each college listed as their primary college/major for a minimum of two academic semesters (16-week terms). Please note that tuition may differ between programs due to tuition differential. The change in residency may also impact college-level scholarships.

Complete degree requirements for both degrees and their respective colleges, adhering to both colleges’ respective policies and procedures

Maximum Terms of Eligibility
If you believe you will require more than 8 semesters in total to fulfill both degree requirements, you will be asked to acknowledge the additional Time to Degree.

If you are a current College of Media student, contact your academic advisor for additional information about the dual degree process. Students who are not currently in the College of Media can meet with an academic advisor in the College of Media for additional information. To get started, send an email to Amy Wolff at aewolf@illinois.edu.

Second Bachelor’s Degree (post-graduation)

The College of Media does not offer second bachelor’s degrees for students who have previously completed a bachelor degree of any kind.