Masters Degrees (Music Journalism)

The MA in Music (Contemporary Music Studies) examines aspects of methodology, repertoire studies and cultural theory within a wide-ranging programme of investigation into the role of contemporary music in the society for which it is created- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-music-contemporary-music-studies/

You'll explore the key methodologies appropriate for scholarly study of the music of the present and recent past, such as oral history and contrasting approaches to musical ‘close reading’.

Musical repertoires, and notions of repertoire, are examined, and you are encouraged to ask such questions as whether the boundaries often considered to exist between, for example, ‘contemporary concert music’ and ‘popular music’ are still meaningful for practitioners, listeners and scholars today.

Various approaches to cultural theory are viewed in the light of what they might bring to the study of contemporary music of different kinds.

The understandings developed in your coursework culminate in the methods and approaches demonstrated in your dissertation.

This gives you the opportunity to address particular challenges of studying and writing about the music of our time arising from your own musical and theoretical enthusiasms.

The programme appeals to a wide range of students concerned to develop their understanding of today's music and keen to harness this to relevant intellectual skills.

While designed as an open-ended programme of study that can subsequently be applied in many ways within, and outside, the musical profession, it will be of special value to those preparing for further postgraduate research, and those considering careers in teaching, journalism, arts administration or the culture industries.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Keith Potter.

Skills

You'll develop:

investigation and evaluation skills
intellectual skills in music
specific research skills

Careers

The programme is designed with careful consideration of the opportunities, challenges and intellectual demands presented by careers in music, such as:

journalism
teaching
broadcasting
librarianship
historically informed performance
contemporary composition
arts administration

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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The MA in Music offers advanced training in either musicology or composition. The modular structure allows students to pursue a broad generalist programme or to specialise in a particular area of their choice. Within the field of musicology, students can slant their studies towards one or several of the following: music in nineteenth-century culture, opera studies, popular music studies or film music. The composition pathway, meanwhile, provides a practice-based contemporary composition curriculum that encourages students to push the boundaries of their practice and develop a voice as an engaged and creative composer.

This course is unusual in combining a rigorous academic education with the opportunity to acquire vocational skills through our innovative Professional Experience module. Students take up work placements with a wide range of external arts organisations or undertake a project with one of our specialist research units. The course therefore offers rich opportunities for career development and can pave the way for further study at PhD level if so required.

Why choose this course?

-The flexible structure of the MA Music allows you to tailor the course to your particular interests. The course is one of very few Music MAs in the UK to offer professional experience as part of the course; you can undertake a work placement with an external organisation such as a radio station, opera house, museum, music publisher, magazine, concert promoter or school. Alternatively, you can undertake a project with one of our specialist research units. Recent students, for example, worked at the Handel-Hendrix House Museum, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Audiograft festival.

The course is taught by experts who are internationally renowned in their fields. Our research informs the content and methodology of our modules, ensuring that teaching is at the cutting edge of the discipline. Following REF 2014 Music has been singled out as an area of particular research strength within the University.Our staff disseminate their research to wider audiences via appearances on BBC Radio 3, articles in the national press and talks for major performing organisations. The activities of our research units in opera (OBERTO), popular music (PMRU), or sonic art (SARU) complement the programme of formal study. MA students can contribute to the research units' activities, for instance by participating in listening groups and helping to organise study days and conferences. Student composers have an opportunity to showcase their work through the annual Audiograft festival. Opera students go on a field trip to hear a live opera, usually in London.

Oxford is a fabulous city in which to study music, with a very lively concert scene and excellent research facilities. You will have access to the world-famous Bodleian Library and the new Brookes library also offers substantial collections centring on the specialist areas of the MA.

The course provides an excellent foundation for doctoral study for those who wish to continue into a career in academia.

This course in detail

Students studying for the MA/PG Dip in Music are required to complete the following compulsory modules* (30 credits):
-Research Skills and Applied Research
-Professional Experience

MA students are also required to complete the following (60 credits):
-Dissertation / Major Project

You will then take two of the following modules depending on your chosen specialism (30 credits each):
Composition Pathway
-Approaches to Experimental Composition and Sound Arts
-Electroacoustic and Live Electronic Composition

Musicology pathway
-Advanced Musicology 1: 19th-Century Music Studies
-Advanced Musicology 1: Film Music Studies
-Advanced Musicology 2: Popular Music Studies
-Advanced Musicology 2:Opera Studies

*As our courses are reviewed regularly for quality assurance purposes, course content and module choices may change from the details given here.

Teaching and learning

The MA in Music is taught through a combination of seminars, tutorials and skills-based workshops. Those taking a work placement will also receive mentoring and formative feedback from an individual at the placement organisation.

During your time here you will engage in lively discussions and original research. We aim to give you an in-depth understanding of recent critical debates, scholarship and practice in your chosen field, as well as to broaden your knowledge of musical repertoire.

Our pathways are original, exciting and flexible and one of the most striking features of the Music Department is its breadth of subject expertise. All staff members in Music are actively engaged in research and we have published our work in top journals and with the most highly respected publishers: our research in popular music, opera and sonic art was identified as 'world-leading' in the 2014 REF.

You will have an opportunity to work closely with staff members not only through the course modules but also through our specialist research units in popular music, opera and sonic art. Membership of these units allows you to attend conferences, workshops and talks by visiting speakers that will complement your formal studies.

Careers and professional development

Having an MA will make you stand out from the crowd, whether you are joining the course straight after graduating from undergraduate study or returning to study after a break of several years.

Our MA will provide you with the skills and knowledge to embark upon a career in music or to improve your current position. The transferable skills you acquire through studying for an MA in Music can also lead to careers in many other sectors, including management, law, journalism, media and the heritage industry.

Career destinations of our recent graduates include:
-Professional composition
-Performance
-Sound engineering
-Arts administration
-HE administration
-Teaching (secondary and FE)
-Retail management
-Youth work

Our programme provides the necessary research training for doctoral work and many MA students continue on into further research and pursue careers in academia. Our students have an excellent success rate in securing funded PhD places.

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This programme offers a variety of stimulating and contemporary academic pathways with a range of theoretical and practice-based modules- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-music/

The MA in Music programme introduces you to the fundamental principles of research in music. It provides a unique and creative approach to musicology, valuing intellectual curiosity and musical diversity.

Awards available are:

MA in Music (Contemporary Music Studies)
MA in Music (Ethnomusicology)
MA in Music (Historical Musicology)
MA in Music (Popular Music Research)

The programme addresses the challenges of an evolving subject. It encompasses many repertoires of music, offering pathways that reference Western art music and popular music, the music of other cultures, sound art, contemporary music and electronic music.

You develop systematic, critical and creative approaches to study and research, exploring musical practice and discourse in historical, social and cultural contexts.
You investigate research ideas and methods in contemporary musicology, to develop an independent and original approach to current questions and debates.
You explore the complex interrelationships between music and other subjects, between theory and practice, and between performance and structural interpretation.
The programme helps you understand and evaluate current trends and traditions, and appreciate how we, like others before us, reflect the time, place and attitudes of the milieu within which we work.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Anthony Pryer.

Modules & Structure

Each Masters degree is awarded after the accumulation of 180 credits. You take

Core module(s) (30 credits each)
Optional modules (30 credits each)
Dissertation or Major Project (60 credits)
The topic of your dissertation or project relates closely to the programme outcomes of your pathway and its core modules, and is agreed with your pathway leader.

The options provide you with a choice of modules relevant to your chosen pathway. We will offer advice at interview and/or enrolment about your options. Please note that the availability of options may depend upon the department timetable.

Skills

You'll develop:

investigation and evaluation skills
intellectual skills in music
specific research skills

Careers

The programme is designed with careful consideration of the opportunities, challenges and intellectual demands presented by careers in music, such as:

journalism
teaching
broadcasting
librarianship
historically informed performance
contemporary composition
arts administration

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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Come and study with the pioneer of Music Industry Studies at MA level within the UK.

This MA will give you an advanced and discerning knowledge of music industry practices, drawing on our international research and the experience of our tutors. On it you'll investigate current music industry practices in-depth.

The programme is taught alongside the Masters programme in Popular Music Studies, which will broaden your theoretical understanding and opportunities for research. We anticipate class sizes to be between 15 and 20 students.

All postgraduates also have access to the department's programme of research seminars and performances.

Key Facts

REF 2014
In the latest Research Excellence Framework, we increased the proportion of 4* research from 10% (in the RAE 2008)to 32%, with 40% of impact rated 4* (outstanding) and 50% of environment rated 4* (world-leading).

Why School of Music?

Strong research culture

Across the School, our research activity has a strong interdisciplinary nature and is concentrated in three cross-cutting areas:-

Critical and Contextual Approaches
Creative Practice
Media and Industry Studies.

We're at the forefront of research and postgraduate teaching. Our Institute of Popular Music (IPM) was the first academic centre created specifically to study popular music – and where better than in the home of the Beatles? It also boasts an enviable archive of donated recorded material.

Staff and students contribute fully to our research areas, which are informed by the broadly defined fields of:

Critical theory
Musicology
Music Analysis
Music and the moving image (including new media)
Ethnomusicology
Composition
Music industries
Media and cultural studies.

Research students participate fully in our research activity. They present papers at the School’s research seminars, work as Teaching Assistants within the School (with pedagogical training and support provided). There are also weekly research, career, and teaching seminars for all postgrads.

As a postgraduate student you'll be able to attend research seminars involving guest speakers from many disciplines and subdisciplines. You'll also be closely involved in classical, traditional and popular music concerts performed by professional musicians and students.

Composer Kenneth Hesketh and conductor Vasily Petrenko from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic - neighbours with whom we have launched a partnership - have recently been made honorary professors of Music at Liverpool.

Career prospects

Students from the taught postgraduate programmes in the School of Music have gone on to a wide range of careers, including various positions in the music industries, museums, arts administration, journalism, publishing, and teaching. PhDs from the School of Music are in full-time lectureships around the world (e.g. Canada, Sweden). The MMus and MA in Popular Music and Music Industry Studies have been recognised by the AHRC as appropriate training for advanced research and all three pathways prepare students for a level of further training equivalent to doctoral study.

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With the MMus programme you can extend your existing knowledge and skills with advanced academic and/or professional training in performance, which is designed to help you reach a professional level of competence by the end of the course.

Through the modular structure of all Masters degrees at the University, we tailor our teaching to your needs and interests.

In addition to your performance study, you'll also take a package of Research and Practical Skills customised according to your interests or needs. Performance accounts for 120 of the 180 credits in the flexible modular scheme: 30 credits for the coursework in each of the two semesters and 60 for the final recital.

Please note that we also offer MRes Music options in Composition, Musicology, and Popular Music Studies.

Key Facts

REF 2014
In the latest Research Excellence Framework, we increased the proportion of 4* research from 10% (in the RAE 2008)to 32%, with 40% of impact rated 4* (outstanding) and 50% of environment rated 4* (world-leading).

Why School of Music?

Strong research culture

Across the School, our research activity has a strong interdisciplinary nature and is concentrated in three cross-cutting areas:-

Critical and Contextual Approaches
Creative Practice
Media and Industry Studies.

We're at the forefront of research and postgraduate teaching. Our Institute of Popular Music (IPM) was the first academic centre created specifically to study popular music – and where better than in the home of the Beatles? It also boasts an enviable archive of donated recorded material.

Staff and students contribute fully to our research areas, which are informed by the broadly defined fields of:

Critical theory
Musicology
Music Analysis
Music and the moving image (including new media)
Ethnomusicology
Composition
Music industries
Media and cultural studies.

Research students participate fully in our research activity. They present papers at the School’s research seminars, work as Teaching Assistants within the School (with pedagogical training and support provided). There are also weekly research, career, and teaching seminars for all postgrads.

As a postgraduate student you'll be able to attend research seminars involving guest speakers from many disciplines and subdisciplines. You'll also be closely involved in classical, traditional and popular music concerts performed by professional musicians and students.

Composer Kenneth Hesketh and conductor Vasily Petrenko from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic - neighbours with whom we have launched a partnership - have recently been made honorary professors of Music at Liverpool.

Career prospects

Students from the taught postgraduate programmes in the School of Music have gone on to a wide range of careers, including various positions in the music industries, museums, arts administration, journalism, publishing, and teaching. PhDs from the School of Music are in full-time lectureships around the world (e.g. Canada, Sweden). The MMus and MA in Popular Music and Music Industry Studies have been recognised by the AHRC as appropriate training for advanced research and all three pathways prepare students for a level of further training equivalent to doctoral study.

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Get your music-related business off the ground with our ‘JAMES’ accredited Masters programme and make the most of our industry connections with major and independent record labels.

About the programme

The rise of the ‘new artist model’ - placing emphasis on commercial autonomy by artists and practitioners within the music sector – has created the need for the development of a new music business skillset which this programme addresses. It develops business models within the music industry and uses music as a core asset in developing businesses across all the creative industries and beyond.

Taught at Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts, the programme covers the creative economy, entrepreneurship, and social media, and involves weekly contributions from a variety of expert practitioners.

You will have access to networks that will provide you with creative, intellectual and business connections. This culminates with the presentation of your business idea to potential investors, where previous funding has secured £2,000 – £30,000.

Practical experience

You will receive credit for work-related learning during the Innovative Enterprise module.

Your learning

The programme has three stages:

- Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits):
Core modules (20 credits each at SCQF 11 unless otherwise noted) include:
• Global Music Industries: Creative Economy
• Innovation & Creativity
• Research Development: Methods & Practice

- Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits):
Core modules (20 credits each at SCQF 11 unless otherwise noted) include:
• Entrepreneurship
• Social Media: Manipulation & Impact

Options (students choose one module):
• Identity, Opportunity & Exploitation (SCQF 10)
• Music, Film & Sound Aesthetics (SCQF 10)
• Professional Music Practice (SCQF 10)

- MA (180 credits):
Innovative Enterprise: Music Project (60 credits at SCQF 11) – this is a live business proposition within the current music business environment, supported by academic and industry mentors.

Our Careers Adviser says

This programme is endorsed by practitioners at the highest levels of the creative industries who recognise that it produces individuals with the skillset to make a successful living from the 21st century music industry. A business that was ‘incubated’ within the MA received start-up funding of £40,000, with others receiving smaller amounts of seed funding.

Professional accreditation

This programme is accredited by JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Support).

Financial support

In session 2015/16 the Postgraduate Diploma element of this programme carried SAAS postgraduate loan funding for eligible students. Check http://www.saas.gov.uk for 2016/17 loan info.

Great facilities

Accreditation by Creative Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media, has led to the creation of the UWS Creative Media Academy. Operating across our campuses and through the UWS Glasgow Creative Enterprise Cluster, the Academy offers:
• A wide range of practice-led programmes

• First-rate facilities including an £81million investment in our new campus at Ayr

• Teaching in skills which are in demand by the creative industries

Research excellence

Our vibrant research culture spans a wide range of areas, including:
• providing advice on the cultural and educational aspects of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games

• student and industry collaboration on the creation of transmedia projects that offer real research and development potential and generate new online experiences for mobile and tablet users

• practice-led research in popular music, theatre, broadcasting and the visual arts

• new media art, ethics and emerging media technologies

• collaboration with leading arts festivals and venues including CCA Glasgow and Film City Glasgow

• creative writing for fiction, film, theatre and TV, working with leading broadcasters and arts companies

• cultural policy, cultural practice and cultural economy in Scotland and Europe, from small island communities to large urban areas

• participatory arts and media practice, community regeneration and public art

• journalism, politics and media representation

• the future of journalism and social media

• independent film and new media

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This course is primarily a research programme with taught elements. You can study a range of musicological and creative practice topics.

The MMus is a research Master's. It is 12 months full time or 24 months part time. This is a research programme, but there are some taught modules.

The MMus is an excellent foundation for students going on to a PhD. It is also a valuable qualification in its own right. For some the MMus adds a further dimension to their undergraduate degree, in a 3+1 model.

Your studies

The styles or repertories covered during your study can range across the full spectrum of early, classical, avant-garde, folk, popular and world music genres.

You can focus on creative musical practice, musicology, or a combination of the two. Use the elective projects to tailor your studies.

Careers

Studying music is both intellectually and musically demanding. You'll develop transferable skills to help you in your career, whatever you choose to do.

Transferrable skills
Studying music requires you to engage in a broad range of practical and intellectual activities. These include performance, composition, improvisation, analysis, research and critical intellectual enquiry. We foster teamwork and initiative through participation in music ensembles. You'll gain communication skills through performance, presentations and written work. Flexibility, self-discipline and good time management are all required to attain high technical standards. These skills are necessary to balance the demands of study, practice and performance.

Employability
Our graduates often become self-employed musicians, performers, composers, teachers, academics, music therapists, studio managers or sound engineers. Other opportunities include arts administration, music production, specialist magazine journalism, music librarianship or music publishing. The wide range of transferable skills music graduates develop means that you can easily move into any discipline. These include management, marketing, accountancy, law, events management, journalism and IT.

Careers resources
The University's award-winning Careers Service can help with planning for your future career from the day you arrive. They can help you even after you graduate from Newcastle. Read our Careers with a degree in Music publication. This will tell you more about:
-What a music degree is like
-How it prepares you for the world of work
-Our graduates who have pursued various roles

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MA Music Industry Management & Promotion is designed to facilitate the commercial exploitation of music related activities and is suitable both for aspiring music business people and for music creators who wish to manage their own careers. It provides an opportunity to study the music business at postgraduate level and to get real hands-on experience of working within the industry. Students will combine their academic studies with industrial experience, including activities at the Factory 251 venue in Manchester, providing contact with significant industry figures connected with this culturally important company.

INDUSTRY LINKS

The University has established good links with theatres and arts organisations across the North West including the New Continental in Preston, the Nuffield Theatre in Lancaster, hÅb in Manchester, the Blue Coat Gallery in Liverpool, and LANWest as well as other arts venues in the region. The School has in the past hosted a number of visiting artists and companies of national and international standing.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND ASSESSMENT

All practical classes are delivered in the Media Factory which houses three fully equipped theatres as well as sound recording studios, film and photography studios and a range of music rehearsal rooms and seminar spaces. Lectures take place in purpose built suites which are equipped with digital projection facilities. The programme is taught by professional artists and theatre practitioners who are established leaders in their own field.

It is intrinsic to the course to engage in "real world", professional domain, industrial projects. Some of these activities are initiated by the course tutors however, as part of the curriculum, students are encouraged to identify and develop their own projects that resonate with their individual professional aspirations and career goals. Such activities provide exposure to people and organisations outside the university, hence providing the opportunity to develop extensive networks of contacts and professional relationships that may prove useful on completion of the course.

FURTHER INFORMATION

On this course you will study current practice in the music industry, both in the recording industry and in media and live events. You will consider different business models within the industry and look at the way creative products are marketed and promoted. You will engage with the key issue being confronted by the industry; the impact of new technology and the development of the digital marketplace. You will undertake research into the challenges and opportunities that have arisen as a result of rapid technological change in the creative industries.

The course will also give you the opportunity to engage with music industry practice at a professional level and in industrial context. Working on and contributing to field based commercial projects under the direction of an experienced industrial practitioner will enable you to gain hands on experience of a range of Music Industry activities and develop your practical and interpersonal skills. It will also provide a vantage point for in depth reflection on Music Industry practices and a chance to develop your own commercial, professional and industrial strategies.

One of the significant distinct advantages that distinguishes this course from others is the supported engagement in real world professional activities. On completion of the program each student will have worked on a number of projects affording them important experience of key music business activities and numerous items to add to their portfolio of professional experience.

Tutor initiated projects include the generation, release and promotion of a compilation album, and the construction, management and promotion of live music event activity at Factory251, Manchester. Additional projects and experiential learning opportunities are sourced throughout the program duration.

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The MA Music is a taught postgraduate course for musicians interested in developing their music practice and increasing their profile as a professional artist.

The MA Music tests ways of taking existing practice in different directions and then carrying out projects in which this work is presented to the public. The course is a space to try out bold, new ideas and an opportunity to gain the real-world skills required by professional musicians.

Students on the course build a portfolio of music whilst developing skills of great use to a professional musician including project management, managing and archiving public events, self-promotion, and managing people and budgets. Creative work can be presented as part of Winter Sound, Future Sound and other events run by the music staff and students of UCLan but support is also given in seeking other opportunities to present music to a wider audience and in developing an online presence.

INDUSTRY LINKS

The course is taught by professional artists who are established leaders in their own field. The University has established good links with theatres and arts organisations across the North West including the New Continental in Preston, the Nuffield Theatre in Lancaster, hÅb in Manchester, the Blue Coat Gallery in Liverpool, and LANWest as well as other arts venues in the region. The School has in the past hosted a number of visiting artists and companies of national and international standing.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND ASSESSMENT

All practical classes are delivered in the Media Factory which houses three fully equipped theatres as well as sound recording studios, film and photography studios and a range of music rehearsal rooms and seminar spaces. This building, as with the nearby university library, is available for use by students 24/7. Public events may also take place in St. Peters, a former church turned performance space, and the university’s PR1 Gallery. Lectures and seminars take place in purpose built suites which are equipped with digital projection facilities.

To facilitate access to the degree, students can opt to study in modes which are appropriate to their personal circumstance. Students may study three modules resulting in the award of PG Certificate, six modules with the award of PG Diploma or nine modules with the award of Master’s Degree. Each award can be studied in full or part-time modes. Study may be staged with students achieving the PG Cert or PG Dip and taking a study break before continuing with a higher award.

Full time study of PG Cert in Music will occur in Semesters 1 & 2; full-time study of PG Dip in Music will occur across Semesters 1, 2 and 3; full-time study of MA in Music will occur across Semesters 1, 2 and 3. Part-time study can be negotiated for each of the awards.

Assessment is continuous throughout and is based on a number of submissions including a music portfolio, public exhibitions/performances/installations, a seminar presentation and/or conference paper, and written essay work.

OPPORTUNITIES

The course supports students in obtaining public presentation opportunities to present their musical output. This has in the past led to performances and exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally.

Students can progress beyond the MA Music onto the DA in Creative Arts (equivalent to a PhD).

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Magazines today offer a wide range of possibilities for anyone looking to start a career in journalism. From glossy fashion monthlies and quirky independent quarterlies to weekly titles for business people, customer magazines for retailers and brands, purely digital magazines, websites and even freelancing – our MA Magazine Journalism prepares you for all these possibilities.

When you finish studying Magazine Journalism with us you will feel prepared to meet any challenge your first job on a magazine throws at you. Print, digital, social media – you will know how to handle the multimedia platforms a modern magazine uses.

You will be prepared to sit in your first editorial conference and know what is expected of you and how to pitch your ideas clearly and confidently.

You will gain a set of knowledge and skills that will not only enable you to compete effectively for any entry-level job in magazine journalism but also set you up for a rapid career trajectory.

Distinctive features:

• Magazine Journalism is accredited by the Professional Publishers Association (PPA)
• Industry placements in the second semester
• An outstanding alumni network across the media

Structure

The course is one year long and covers:

Feature and news writing in print and online
Interviewing techniques
Cross-platform media and multimedia
Design & layout
Subediting and production
Magazine brand development
How to be a successful freelance

Magazine journalism skills are acquired through a series of lectures, workshops, practical exercises and feedback sessions of increasing complexity and realism - from 'paper exercises' in the early days to complex features that report on real events. These sessions are supplemented by seminars, group discussions and guests from the magazine industry.

Basic writing, reporting and technical skills for both print and digital are taught in the first semester against a background of Media law and journalism Ethics. Shorthand is also available as an option.

The second semester offers more creative practice where you will plan, create and launch a brand new magazine brand across print and digital platforms, producing three issues to a fortnightly deadline.

During the Easter break you will test your skills against the real world in a work placement (or placements) of a minimum two weeks' duration.

The Major Project core module provides you with the opportunity to undertake:

• a Feature Project in which you will employ investigative journalism techniques and research skills acquired during the taught element of the course to explore a topic in depth by writing long-form feature articles, or

• an Enterprise Project in which you will develop the editorial and business plan for an innovative media product in print or purely digital/online.

You will also create a brand new magazine in groups. Starting from scratch you will:

Research the market
Develop an effective design
Plan and write editorial content
Create and execute a comprehensive digital and social media policy
Produce three issues of the magazine

Please visit the website to see the modules taught on this course:

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/courses/course/magazine-journalism-ma

Teaching

You will be taught through a variety of practical workshops, seminars and lectures as well as production days that replicate an industry environment.

You will be required to find and research stories in and around the local area, interviewing sources via a mix of methods and producing original multimedia content and photography.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a wide range of formative and summative assessments throughout the course. These range from practical classroom activities, varied journalistic articles and packages, class tests and examinations.

Career prospects

Graduates of the MA in Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University have an excellent track record when it comes to getting jobs.

Potential entry-level jobs in magazine media range from editorial assistants to web editors, community managers and content producers to sub-editors, staff writers and even self-starting entrepreneurs!

We are passionate about the industry and maintain an excellent alumni network, plus students have won several publishing awards for their work in the past.

As a graduate of MA Magazine Journalism you may move into almost any industry to produce in-house or public magazines or digital content. Typical industries include: fashion, craft, food, sport, film, music, games, news, wildlife, finance, business, history, travel, TV, health and celebrity.

Possible job opportunities include: Editorial assistant, Editorial intern, Features writer, Freelance reporter, Web and Social Media Editor, Junior reporter, Chief sub, Online content coordinator and Production assistant.

Placements

Placements are required as part of the Professional Development module and Programme Accreditation through the PPA. Placements will take place during the Easter Recess period. You will be required to complete a minimum of two weeks on placement(s), though you are free to do more.

All placements will be coordinated in correspondence with course directors ahead of the recess period. We will look at your CV, portfolio and covering letters and provide guidance. Our excellent alumni and industry network often offer placement opportunities that you wouldn’t get access to outside of the course.

You will be expected to cover any expenses associated with the placement(s), though some companies do cover travel or food expenses.

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Our exciting new MA Sports Journalism programme builds on the glowing track record of our well-established undergraduate Sports Journalism programme. Graduates now work for organisations such as Sky and the BBC and in the media offices of football clubs and other sporting organisations.
This course offers you the chance to learn the multimedia skills and techniques of the sports journalist.

Sport is big business, influencing politics, finance, fashion and music as well as being the focal point of community joy and despair. It is also, of course, great fun and one of the most exciting jobs around. The role of the sports journalist is increasingly important, reporting the action and results that millions want to know about and also scrutinising the activities of those who organise and fund the increasingly varied sports agenda.

Students will also learn the essentials of law as it impacts on journalists and study and debate the ethics of journalism and learn about the business of sport. The course is very hands-on and students will learn in realistic newsroom and studio environments. Students also undertake an industry placement, so that they have every opportunity to emerge at the end of the course with excellent contacts as well as a track record of achievement.
This Masters programme is a rigorous programme of study that equips students with the knowledge, skills and practical experience needed to operate as professional sports journalists in a modern digitalised newsroom.
The course begins with an intensive introduction to creating content where students learn how to report and write stories for publication. Students also study a digital journalism module that will enable them to develop the skills and strategies needed to exploit the changing media landscape and to respond to the challenges presented by the emergence of multiplatform production.

Students will also appreciate the ethical, legal and commercial considerations they will need to consider in order to function as accurate and responsible journalists and understand the organisation and functions of the sports business.

In these first weeks, students enjoy a realistic and useful appreciation of collaborative and multi-skilled journalism since all our postgraduate journalism students will study and practice together. Sports Journalism students will also take a module that will introduce them to the role of a sports reporter.

All teaching will take place over three intensive days. There is also a part time route available which will allow students to split the programme over two or three years.

Shorthand is offered as an additional 10th module. Many employers require entrants to have 100 wpm shorthand and we strongly advise applicants who wish to practise in the UK to take this module.
In semester two, students will move into either a print and online or broadcast newsroom where they will be providing sports contents for either newspapers and websites or TV or radio newsdays and websites.
You will also learn about the Sports Business in a module that aims to provide a critical understanding of the structures, policies and processes of sport both in the UK and internationally. It will also examine the key contemporary issues that are impacting on global sport and its management.

In semester three, students can undertake a major 60-credit sports journalism project. There is also the option of completing a shorter 40 credit module and taking a 20 credit optional module. Completion of the Masters project should enable students to develop, produce and manage a large-scale project independently in an effective manner and demonstrate a more sophisticated understanding of the sector.

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This practical, vocational programme is designed to produce graduates with the skills and knowledge employers would expect of professional journalists starting their careers.

About the programme

The programme has an outstanding employment record. Recent graduates have found work at the BBC and STV; a host of commercial radio stations such as Radio Clyde and Heart; and busy media offices and a range of high-quality journalism employers.

Your learning

Taught primarily in the University’s purpose-built television and radio studios in Ayr, students take six modules (20 credits each at SCQF 11):
• News Journalism – students compile and broadcast radio bulletins. Newswriting, interviewing, editing, and online content are taught. Professional voice coaching is also an important element of the module.

• Journalism Law and Regulation – the main legal and regulatory issues that confront working journalists are taught and analysed.

• Television Journalism – students make television packages, conduct live two-ways, write out of vision scripts, and present live television news bulletins.

• Advanced News Journalism – There is greater emphasis on presentation skills, online and social media content in this module, which requires students to file video, audio and written work for the web.

• Journalism and Public Affairs – students engage with the major debates surrounding the reporting of global issues, government and politics.

Plus one of either:
• Features and Packaging – you will be expected to produce and voice radio and video packages to a professional standard.

• Global Media Contexts – students are introduced to a range of critical and cultural debates and themes including environment, digital media, convergence, the past, and indigenous media.

By successfully completing these six modules you will be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits). If you wish, you may continue to MA level (180 credits), which gives you the opportunity to produce a television or radio documentary.

Professional input is vital: lecturers have extensive experience of both BBC and commercial broadcasting. There is a course of guest lectures and talks from working broadcast journalists and editors as well as a series of industry visits.

Practical experience

Work placement is an integral part of the programme. Each student is sent on placement, often to commercial radio stations, which have actively recruited from the programme.

Our Careers Adviser says

We only accept students who we believe have a realistic chance of building a career as a broadcast journalist. This helps to sustain the excellent reputation of the University among employers, leading to the jobs record outlined above.

Professional recognition

The programme is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council.

Financial support

In session 2015/16 the Postgraduate Diploma element of this programme carried SAAS postgraduate loan funding for eligible students. Check http://www.saas.gov.uk for 2016/17 loan info.

Great facilities

Accreditation by Creative Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media, has led to the creation of the UWS Creative Media Academy. Operating across our campuses and through the UWS Glasgow Creative Enterprise Cluster, the Academy offers:
• A wide range of practice-led programmes

• First-rate facilities including an £81million investment in our new campus at Ayr

• Teaching in skills which are in demand by the creative industries

Research excellence

Our vibrant research culture spans a wide range of areas, including:
• providing advice on the cultural and educational aspects of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games

• student and industry collaboration on the creation of transmedia projects that offer real research and development potential and generate new online experiences for mobile and tablet users

• practice-led research in popular music, theatre, broadcasting and the visual arts

• new media art, ethics and emerging media technologies

• collaboration with leading arts festivals and venues including CCA Glasgow and Film City Glasgow

• creative writing for fiction, film, theatre and TV, working with leading broadcasters and arts companies

• cultural policy, cultural practice and cultural economy in Scotland and Europe, from small island communities to large urban areas

• participatory arts and media practice, community regeneration and public art

• journalism, politics and media representation

• the future of journalism and social media

• independent film and new media

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Introduction

Develop the advanced skills you’ll need for a successful career in journalism. Create substantial pieces of journalism on aspects of arts, culture and lifestyle that you’re passionate about and learn from tutors with extensive professional experience of arts journalism in print, broadcast and online.

Content

MA Arts and Lifestyle Journalism prepares students for this important and growing field of journalism. From music magazines and newspaper arts supplements to specialist radio and TV programmes, websites and digital publishers, there is a huge demand for arts, lifestyle and cultural journalism.

Situated in the heart of city, London College of Communication is the ideal place to study this dynamic branch of journalism. Guided by tutors with professional, multi-platform experience gained at national newspapers and websites, the BBC, Sky TV and elsewhere, you will develop key practical journalistic skills and learn how to apply them to your particular area of interest in arts, culture and lifestyle.

You will gain invaluable work experience by undertaking a placement in a media organisation and benefit from our guest lecture programme that has included talks from Jon Snow of Channel 4 News, Luke Lewis of Buzzfeed, Mary Hockaday of the BBC and Bruno Bayley, editor of Vice UK (and a former student at LCC), as well as journalists from a range of national newspapers and other publications.

The course culminates in your producing a substantial piece of journalism in the medium or media of your choice.

Structure

Further information will be available shortly on the course webpage.

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Theoretical and practical grounding in the discipline of ethnomusicology, as well as the opportunity to develop performance and ethnographic skills, regional expertise, and a deeper understanding of global music – just some of what you can expect to develop on the MMus Ethnomusicology. This programme is tailored for musicians and musicologists, anthropologists, teachers and composers, as well as those dedicated to developing an in-depth knowledge of a specific music tradition.

You will study with the largest and most influential team of ethnomusicologists in the UK, who are experts in the musical traditions of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Jewish world. You will be part of a thriving culture of performance, research and active engagement with music around the globe.

The programme will suit those looking for a springboard into further research or employment in a range of music-related fields including journalism, industry, NGOs and education, and often serves as a conversion route for those trained predominantly in western music traditions.

Visit the website http://www.soas.ac.uk/music/programmes/mmusethnomus/

Structure

The MMus programme involves taking three courses and writing a 11,000-word dissertation. In addition to these formal elements, students are expected to attend regular postgraduate and public seminars and may also participate in performance ensemble classes and other activities.

Course Detail

The four formal elements of the MMus Ethnomusicology programme are:

1. The full unit core course Ethnomusicology in Practice.
A broad introduction to the major themes of ethnomusicological study. Taught as a weekly two-hour lecture/seminar with additional tutorials. Part-time students must take this in their first year.

2. The Dissertation in Music.
A special study 11,000 words in length on a topic agreed with the candidate's supervisor. This will normally relate to the "major region" chosen below, but may instead deal with a theoretical or comparative topic. Part-time students normally take this in their final year.

Teaching & Learning

The Department of Music has been highly rated for teaching and research in all recent assessment exercises, and is regularly ranked amongst the top Music departments in the UK in Good University Guides.

Music students have access to the large Main Library of the School which holds numerous books, journals and recordings relevant to the study of ethnomusicology and world music, as well as the nearby British Library Sound Archive and other London libraries and museums.

The SOAS Library holds copies of standard reference works on music, such as the current edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. The Grove dictionary and the RILM database can also be accessed on line from computer terminals in the Library or elsewhere on the SOAS network. Listening facilities are provided in the Library, and most CDs are available on short loan. Among special items in the Department’s collections are:

- field recordings, films and slides
- a large working collection of musical instruments from Asia and Africa
- extensive staff collections relating to specific research interests

Employment

A postgraduate degree in Ethnomusicology from SOAS gives students greater intercultural awareness, improved competency in performance and a better understanding of global music which will enable them to continue in the field of research or engage in related work. Equally, they develop a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and creative capacities including interpersonal skills, communication skills, focus, team work, passion and dedication. A postgraduate degree is a valuable experience that provides students with a body of work and a diverse range of skills that they can use to market themselves with when they graduate.

For more information about Graduate Destinations from this department, please visit the Careers Service website (http://www.soas.ac.uk/careers/graduate-destinations/).

Find out how to apply here - http://www.soas.ac.uk/admissions/pg/howtoapply/

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This MA is for you if you have a passion for news, current affairs, documentary or any aspect of factual programme-making. It offers a practical training in, and critical engagement with, journalism and documentary-making.

You’ll learn how to:
-Research, write, subedit and design for print and digital media
-Contextualise journalistic and documentary practice within a theoretical framework of journalism and documentary studies
-Understand how the news media is undergoing rapid and far-reaching change

How will I study?
You’ll learn through core practice and theory modules and options in the autumn and spring terms.

In the summer, you develop a research project that can take the form of a conventional dissertation, a journalism project or a documentary.

Assessment is by:
-Practical video/media work and supporting production documentation
-Term papers and critiques
-Portfolios of journalism accompanied by critical reflections

The final assessment may take the form of a 15,000-word dissertation, a 20-minute documentary or a portfolio of journalism and critical work.

Scholarships
Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.

Chancellor's International Scholarship (2017)
-25 scholarships of a 50% tuition fee waiver
-Application deadline: 1 May 2017

HESPAL Scholarship (Higher Education Scholarships Scheme for the Palestinian Territories) (2017)
-Two full fee waivers in conjuction with maintenance support from the British Council
-Application deadline: 1 January 2017

USA Friends Scholarships (2017)
-A scholarship of an amount equivalent to $10,000 for nationals or residents of the USA on a one year taught Masters degree course.
-Application deadline: 3 April 2017

Faculty
Our faculty work in journalism and documentary across a range of platforms and conduct internationally recognised research in these fields.

Faculty projects have been broadcast on the BBC and Channel Four and shown in high profiles venues such as:
-The BFI Southbank
-Jeu de Paume
-Brighton Festival

Elements of our degrees are taught by experienced journalists at Brighton Journalist Works.

Careers
This course equips you with the skills for a career in:
-Broadcast and online journalism
-Documentary production
-Television production and research
-The wider media and communications industry
-Teaching and academic research

The sessions by industry professionals and distinguished alumni such as Gerry Rothwell, Kim Longinotto, Penny Woolcock, Peter Beard and Marc Isaacs enable you to make links with potential employers and give you insights and advice on working in the media professions.

Employers of our graduates include:
-The BBC
-ITN News
-Al Jazeera
-Century Films
-Ricochet
-Back2Back Productions
-Brighton.tv
-EDF Energy
-BP
-Vodafone
-A variety of universities and research centres

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