Why Teaching?

Participating in teaching, leadership and mentorship roles as an undergraduate in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication offers a wide range of benefits—both personal and professional. These experiential learning opportunities help to reinforce your own understanding of the curriculum and connect you with faculty, administrators and other campus partners. More importantly, serving in a leadership role gives you an opportunity to hone your communication skills while helping your peers navigate a variety of challenges.

SCRIPT Requirement

Courses for undergraduate teaching assistants, executive leadership roles in student media, and peer mentors, as designated by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, may be used to fulfill the SCRIPT experiential learning requirement for students in the major. These courses have a prefix of JMC or CLAS.

What does a teaching experience look like?

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants

Undergraduate teaching assistants (UTA) provides instructional support to introductory courses in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. UTAs support student learning by serving as a resource and role model for students enrolled in the course.

Executive Leadership Roles

Executive leadership roles in student media, including The Daily Iowan, Adler Agency, and Prep Sports Report, where leaders supervise teams of students to ensure the delivery of high-quality journalism and commercially viable content to real-world clients.

Peer Mentors

Peer mentors support and encourage undergraduate success in the major by serving as student advocates and facilitating various program-related events throughout the academic year.

What are my course options?

Peer Assistants within the department are paid positions and offered for 0 s.h. only. Students in the major must apply for positions and receive permission to register. 

Registering your teaching or leadership experience for 0 s.h. allows you to:
  • Eliminate tuition and fees associated with enrollment
  • Fulfill the SCRIPT requirement for experiences that are paid
  • Provide transcript notation of your participation
  • Document your experience without accumulating additional credit toward the 56 s.h. limit within the major

JMC:3000 Assignments

To meet the learning objectives of the SCRIPT experiential learning requirement, Peer Assistant courses require meaningful, reflective assignments that help you connect the experience to your academic and career pursuits. 

To receive a satisfactory grade, students are required to complete:

  1. Pre-experience survey
  2. Post-experience survey
  3. Reflective narrative
teaching courses that fulfill the script requirement for jmc majors
Course #  TitleHours
JMC:30001Peer Assistant0
CLAS:41002Peer Assistant1-2

1 Section options include the following paid positions: Peer Mentor, Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA), Daily Iowan Leadership, Prep Sports Leadership, Adler Agency Leadership

2 Students who prefer to receive academic credit as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) should register for CLAS:4100.