Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Undergraduate Admission

Freshman Admission
When applying to the University of Maryland, freshman candidates may indicate the Philip Merrill College of Journalism as their major of choice. The college is one of nine Limited Enrollment Programs at the University of Maryland, which means that the college's admissions standards are higher than the university's. Therefore available freshmen seats may be limited and access to those seats will be on a competitive basis based on high school scholastic performance.

All new students will need to meet certain criteria prior to the completion of 45 semester credits to be allowed to continue as a journalism major. Those criteria include an earned grade of "C" or higher in ENGL 101, Math 110 or higher, completion of three distributive studies CORE requirements and an earned grade of "C" or higher in JOUR 201. Prior to enrolling in JOUR 201, students must pass a grammar competency exam. Students not meeting all of these requirements will be denied continued enrollment in the college, necessitating a change of major should they wish to continue at the University of Maryland.

Transfer or Upper-Level Admission
Transfer and upper-level students wishing to major in journalism must satisfy the Limited Enrollment Program (LEP) "gateway" criteria:

A grade of "C" or higher in ENGL 101.
Math 110 or higher
Completion of three distributive studies CORE requirements.
A grade of "C" or higher in JOUR 201. Demonstration of grammar skills competency is a prerequisite for this course.
Current grade point average 2.8

Note: No more than 12 transfer credits of communications courses from an accredited journalism program may be approved by the Philip Merrill College to be applied toward the degree. Transfer students who wish to receive credit for JOUR 201 based on work done in a non-accredited journalism program must pass a proficiency exam. Other mass communication credits earned from non-accredited mass-communication programs are not transferable to the College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

File an application in the Undergraduate Admissions Office located in the Mitchell Building.