BA in Journalism: Syllabus, Courses, Scope, Fees, Online, Salary, Distance

Professional courses are becoming increasingly popular and recognised in India. These courses are now popular among students who want to gain professional skills in addition to textbook content. BA Journalism, or Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, is a well-known professional course.

BA Journalism is a three-year graduation-level degree programme in journalism. The programme aims to provide a comprehensive view of the media and news industry. Following completion of this programme, candidates can pursue career opportunities in a variety of media-related fields, with an initial salary of up to INR 8 LPA.

Overview of BA in Journalism

Name of Course	BA Journalism
Level of Course	Undergraduate Degree
Full-Form	Bachelor of Arts in Journalism
Duration of Course	3 years for regular candidates.
Examination type	Semester wise
Eligibility Criteria	Scoring a minimum of 50% in 10+2 exam from any recognizable institution in India
Process of Admission	Entrance Based or Merit-based followed by PI round.
Average Annual Fee	INR 20,000 to 1,00,000
Average Starting Salary	INR 3,50,000
Top Recruiting Companies	HT Media, Zee Entertainment Enterprise, Times of India Group, India Today Group, Reliance Media & Entertainment, Dainik Bhaskar Group, etc.
Top Recruiting Areas	Publishing House, Broadcasting Corporations, News Agencies, Newspapers, E-Magazines and Websites, Advertising Agencies, Press Information Bureau, etc.
Job Positions	Columnist, Business Editor, Photojournalist, Feature Writer, Sub Editor, Reporter, Screenwriter, Investigative Journalist, Correspondent, etc.

BA Journalism: Introduction

Below are a few interesting points about BA Journalism:

• BA Journalism is a specialised course in the arts with a focus on the news and media industry.
• This course provides the knowledge and skills needed to work in the news and media industry in India.
• Development of Journalism, Governance and Politics, Computer Fundamentals, and Introduction to Electronic Media are some of the basic subjects taught.
• This course is designed to enhance practical skills by including practical sessions in most of the semesters.
• Anyone interested in becoming a news reporter will be exposed to the professionalism and accuracy required.

Relevant Links
Bachelor Of Visual Arts [BVA]	Bachelor Of Arts [BA] (multimedia)	Bachelor Of Arts [BA] (media Studies)
Bachelor Of Arts [BA] (computer Applications)	Bachelor Of Fine Arts [BFA]	Bachelor Of Performing Arts [BPA]

Eligibility Criteria for BA Journalism

Candidates must meet the following requirements in order to be admitted to the BA Journalism programme.

• A Class XII passing certificate or equivalent from a recognised Indian board is required.
• Candidates with any academic background are eligible to apply for the course.
• The required minimum marks for each course differ from one college to the next. However, it is necessary to have received at least 40% in Class 12 examinations.

Admission Process for BA Journalism

The admission process for a BA Journalism programme varies by college, but some of the most common admission options are listed below.

Entrance-based Admission

• Institutions that admit students based on their entrance exam scores are included in this admission mode.
• Christ University in Bangalore, Chandigarh University (CU) in Chandigarh, and Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi are among the institutions that fall under this category of admission.
• However, depending on the college, there may be additional counselling sessions after the entrance exam lists are published.
• The successful candidates will be contacted to verify their documents. Candidates who are found to be eligible will be admitted to the programme.

Merit-Based Admission followed by Personal Interview

• Institutions that use this admission mode admit students based on their 10+2 grades, with additional rounds such as an interview and a Group Discussion.
• Lovely Professional University (LPU), Jalandhar, and St. Xavier’s College (SXC), Kolkata, are among the institutions that fall under this category of admission.

Getting accepted into a BA Journalism programme

The following are the basic steps to getting accepted into a BA Journalism programme:

• Step 1: Create a login ID and go to the chosen institution’s official website.
• Step 2 – In addition Create an account and log in to the official website of the organisation that will be conducting the entrance exam. If you plan on enrolling in multiple institutions and taking multiple entrance exams, make sure you register for each one separately.
• Step 3: Upload all required documents to each destination site.
• Step 4 – Once you’ve cleared the entrance score and merit lists, you’ll need to prepare for the interview or Group Discussion rounds as needed.
• Step 5 – Candidates who pass all of the rounds will be admitted to the course.

Top Entrance Exams for BA Journalism

Among the entrance exams held by Indian institutions at both the national and institute levels are:

CU CET: CU CET stands for Chandigarh University Common Entrance Test. Chandigarh University holds it every year to admit students to all undergraduate and graduate programmes.

CUET: CUET stands for Christ University University Entrance Entrance Test. Christ University, Bangalore, administers this entrance exam for admission to all undergraduate categorical courses.

LPUNEST: LPUNEST stands for Lovely Professional University National Eligibility and Scholarship Test. Lovely Professional University administers this test every year as part of the professional admissions process.

SET: SET stands for Symbiosis Entrance Test, which is held all year by the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication in Pune for UG, PG, and PhD courses in a variety of disciplines.

BHU UET: BHU UET stands for Banaras Hindu University Undergraduate Entrance Test. Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, holds the BHU CET for admission to a variety of disciplined courses.

IPU CET: Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test is an abbreviation for Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test. Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, conducts and administers this for the purpose of admitting candidates to both UG and PG categorical courses under a variety of aegides.

Preparation Tips for BA Journalism Entrance Exam

With the amount of effort and preparation that one puts into it, any entrance is not a big deal. Knowing all of the sections that make up the exam is the first step toward passing it (syllabus). The following are some of the sections of all BA Journalism entrance exams:

• Current Affairs
• Reasoning
• English
• Theoretical part (might be social studies in majority of the cases)
• General Knowledge

BA Journalism Entrance Exam: Key Points

Before taking entrance exam, keep the following points in mind:

• It is only necessary to have a basic understanding of the English language. For this section, simple grammatical parts and writing skills will suffice.
• For the current events section, make sure you’re up to date on everything that’s happened in the country in the last three months.
• You must be well-versed in Indian history from all periods, including ancient, mediaeval, and modern times, to pass the General Knowledge section.
• For theoretical parts, make sure you’ve gone over the social studies curriculum at least up to the 10th grade.
• Improve your analytical skills for the Reasoning section. Every day, practise some aptitude questions to improve your speed.
• If you are applying for entrance-based admission, give priority to the GK section because it may lower your score significantly.
• Check and have all of the required educational and non-educational documents on hand.
• Prepare for a number of mock exams that can be improved in a variety of ways before the actual entrance exam.
• If the college conducts additional rounds such as a Group Discussion or an Interview, be mentally prepared with plenty of practise.
• Keep yourself informed about your admissions status.
• If you perform well in all of the required rounds of admission, you will be offered a spot.

Syllabus for BA Journalism

The subjects covered in this bachelor’s degree in journalism are spread out over six semesters. The table below shows the semester-by-semester syllabus for most colleges:

Semester I	Semester II
Development of Journalism	Understanding News
Functional English	Communicative English
Introduction to Mass Communication	Creative Journalistic Writing
Political Science (Theory)	Governance and Politics
Basic Economics	Economic Development and Macro-Economic Issues
Hindi: Sanrachna aur Vikas	Hindi Patrakarita aur Bhasha
Practical	Practical

Semester III	Semester IV
News Gathering and Correspondents	Interview Theory & Practice
Fundamentals of Computer	Writing for Electronic Media
Introduction to Electronic Media	Newspaper Editing & Photo Journalism
Indian Economy – Problem and Policy	International Trade and the World Economy
International Politics	Public Administration, Society and Media
Hindi aur Angreji Anuvad	New Media & Web Journalism
Practical	Practical

Semester V	Semester VI
Advanced Reporting	Communication for Development
Media Laws & Ethics	Crime & Court Reporting, Parliamentary News, Art& Culture Journalism, Entertainment, and Sports Journalism
Advertising and Public Relations	Newspaper management
Communication Research	Project Report
Practical	Practical

Recommended Books for BA Journalism

A candidate pursuing a bachelor’s degree in journalism will need the books listed in the table below.

Name of the book	Author
Theory and practice of journalism	B.N.Ahuja
Successful Freelance Photo Journalism	Mcintosh
Journalism in India	R.Parthasarathi
Reporting and writing the News	Emery, Adult & Ages
The Newsroom: A manual of journalism	Frank Barton
Professional Journalism	Patanjali Sethi

Top Universities for BA Journalism

The following are the best universities in the country that offer a BA in journalism:

NIRF Ranking 2020	University Name	Location	Average Annual Fees	Average Placement Package
16	Jamia Millia Islamia [JMI] University	New Delhi	INR 10,000	INR 6,00,000
51	Chandigarh University (CU)	Chandigarh	INR 90,000	INR 4,50,000
99	Lovely Professional University [LPU]	Jalandhar	INR 1,37,000	INR 3,00,000
101-150	Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya	Indore	INR 45,211	INR 3,00,000
151-200	Christ University	Bangalore	INR 70,000	INR 6,80,000

Top colleges for BA Journalism

The following are the best colleges in the country that offer a BA in journalism:

College Name	City	Average Annual Fees
St. Xavier’s College (SXC)	Kolkata	INR 32,600
Madras Christian College (MCC)	Chennai	INR 18,791
St. Albert’s College	Ernakulam	INR 18,000
Kristu Jayanti College	Bangalore	INR 53,000
Jyoti Nivas College	Bangalore	INR 20,492

Job Profiles in BA Journalism

• Holders of a BA Journalism degree have a wide range of opportunities in the news, magazine, and media industries.
• Reporter, Photojournalist, Editor, Journalist, and Screenwriter are some of the most common roles they play.
• They are paid around 3.5 lakhs INR per year, depending on the role they play.
• These graduates will be placed by Zee Entertainment Enterprise, Times of India Group, India Today Group, and Press Information Bureau of India, among others.

After completing a BA in Journalism, the roles and related information are discussed in the table below.

Job Profile	Job Description	Average Salary
Reporter	He or she is in charge of gathering and writing reports on various happenings and events across the country, and sometimes even the globe.	INR 3 LPA
Photojournalist	He or she is in charge of taking photographs and writing his or her article based on those photographs.	INR 3.5 LPA
Editor	They will be particularly interested in editing the content created by reporters and writers about various happenings and events in our environment.	INR 4 LPA
Journalist	He or she is in charge of investigating and producing meaningful news from current events.	INR 3.5 LPA
Screenwriter	They are in charge of curating the screen directions and dialogues for any programmes in order to assist the compiler and actors.	INR 5 LPA

Course Comparison: BA Journalism vs BA Journalism and Mass Communication

Both courses are valuable in the media industry, but there are minor differences between them. A comparison of BA Journalism and BA Journalism and Mass Communication is made here.

Parameters	BA Journalism	BA Journalism and Mass Communication
Overview	This degree focuses solely on journalism skills and knowledge.	This degree provides students with skills and knowledge in the fields of journalism, media, and entertainment, as well as technical knowledge in mass communication.
Examination Type	Semester wise	Semester wise
Average Course Fees	INR 3.5 Lakhs	INR 5 Lakhs
Duration of Course	3 Years for regular	3 Years for regular
Eligibility Criteria	Scoring a minimum of 50% in 10+2 exam from any recognizable institution in India	Scoring a minimum of 50% in 10+2 exam from any recognizable institution in India
Process of Admission	Entrance Based or Merit-based followed by PI round.	Entrance Based or Merit-based followed by PI round.
Job Roles	Columnist, Editor, Photojournalist, Copy Editor, Reporter, Screenwriter, Journalist, etc.	News Analyst, Video Jockey, Radio Jockey, Freelance Writer, Journalist, Public Relations Officer, TV Correspondent, etc.
Average Salary	INR 3.5 LPA	INR 7 LPA

Scope of BA Journalism

Following are a few options for you to pursue after earning your BA in Journalism.

• Opportunity to work as an Investigative Journalist: If you have the passion and curiosity to deal with a wide range of scenarios and people, you will have a great chance to work as an Investigative Journalist.
• Higher education options: You can pursue any allied master’s degree related to BA Journalism, such as MA in Sociology, Social Work, and so on.
• Possibilities for starting your own media company: After earning a BA in Journalism, you can start your own media company or newspaper.
• Work as a blogger: Because you develop many skills in writing and editing, you can work as a blogger on many of the social media sites available these days.
• Opportunity to Work in Social Services: A candidate with a background in journalism can easily transition into social services and use their government connections to assist others.

Frequently Asked Questions