Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Digital Media at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
The MA in Digital Media offers an innovative interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to contemporary technology and new media, drawing upon expertise in Media and Communication Studies.
The MA in Digital Media examines some of the key issues confronting twenty-first century global societies through a dynamic programme that combines theoretical and applied perspectives.
Digital Media students will be encouraged to apply media theory, political and social theory and research tools in analysing and understanding digital media. The MA in Digital Media explores key historical, policy and practice dimensions of new media as well as focusing on research methodologies for those undertaking research on digital media and technology.
The Digital Media course is split across the year. Students will take three modules in each academic semester (a total of six modules) and then complete a dissertation over the summer. The dissertation component allows you to write a 16,000 word dissertation, which will draw on issues and themes developed throughout the year.
Modules on the MA in Digital Media typically include:
• Thinking About Digital Media
• The Digital Edge
• PR Branding and Promotion
• The Business and Politics of Digital Media
• Global Media
• Professional and Promotional Writing
• Digital Skills and Defence
• Online Journalism
Students interested in digital media and new media technologies, from a media studies, politics and international relations, humanities, social science, computer science or related background. Professionals interested in the challenge of digital media both in terms of their professional practice, but also related to fields in policy research and public administration. Students interested in
preparation for postgraduate research, MPhil or PhD, or who wish to develop skills and knowledge related to digital media.
-To enable you to develop an advanced understanding of digital media, through contemporary theories and advanced research work.
-To help you to understand the development of digital media and technology historically, through a number of theoretical perspectives, which give a context to contemporary discussions and controversies in the field.
-To appreciate the role of digital media technology within wider social, political and economic contexts, including the implications for policy formation.
-To enable you to acquire research skills enabling you to conduct thorough research into digital media; also to enhance your critical, theoretical and analytical abilities, and your written and oral communication.
Career expectations are excellent for Digital Media graduates. Companies, nonprofit organisations, government and the public sector value the fact that our students have developed a range of critical abilities, a creative and innovative approach to problem solving, and skills in detailed analysis and presentation of research. Our Digital Media Graduates go on to work in journalism, broadcasting, web-design, advertising, publicity, arts and cultural bodies, or even to go on to study a PhD.
“I thoroughly enjoyed studying the MA in Digital Media. The course and its faculty have broadened my horizon not only in new media but other subjects, such as computer science and politics. If I haven’t yet succeeded in making the reader envious and inspired to take this course, I would only conclude by mentioning that you would miss out on lectures worth experiencing.”
Tejeswini Krishnan, Digital Media, MA
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Digital Media at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
Digital Media at Swansea has research strengths in media and cultural theory, the history and philosophy of media technology, and contemporary developments in digital media in the UK, the European mainland, the USA and China.
The Digital Media programme is part of the Department of Languages, Translation and Communication which boasts a dynamic research and teaching environment which has already won attention and funding from outside bodies such as the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Wellcome Trust and the EU. We are home to the Centre on Digital Arts and Humanities (CODAH), which connects researchers in Arts and Humanities, Computer Science, and other fields.
An MA by Research in Digital Media gives you the chance to pursue a project based around your own passions and interests in Digital Media, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects outside academia (typically in the private sector, the Civil Service, or education).
The Digital Media MA by Research programme will give you the freedom to explore a topic of your choosing and develop a methodology under the close supervision of two experienced academics but without attending regular classes as required in taught programmes.
As a student on the MA by Research Digital Media programme you will be supervised closely by two experienced academics in your field. Typically, you will meet them fortnightly in the first term and at regular intervals thereafter. Meetings are logged and goals agreed each time.
All research students in Digital Media are required to attend skills and training courses at College and Institutional level. They give presentations to other research students and staff at departmental seminars and the annual departmental postgraduate symposium in June and the College of Arts and Humanities conference in October. Advanced research students in Digital Media may have opportunities to teach undergraduate tutorials and seminars. You have a budget (currently £200 per year) to attend conferences outside Swansea.
MA by Research in Digital Media typically lasts from one year (full-time study) to two years (part-time study).
Research proposals on Digital Media are invited on any topic on which staff can provide supervision. It is advisable to email a member of academic staff in the appropriate area before applying. For informal enquiries regarding the MA by Research in Digital Media please contact Professor Julian Preece ([email protected]).
Staff expertise in Digital Media lies in the following areas, among others: media history; media pedagogy; media ethics; war and media; mass media and identity in small nations; Welsh-language digital media; media and health; digital and data journalism; computational media; post-broadcast digital media ecology; gender and media; transnationalism and media; international journalism; European comparative media. In addition, there is expertise in media and digital culture among research staff in Languages and Translation as well as in other COAH departments: History, Political and Cultural Studies and English Language and Literature.
This interdisciplinary programme will allow you to benefit from the expertise of both the School of Sociology and Social Policy and the School of Media and Communication, enabling you to gain an in-depth understanding of key issues, debates and theoretical perspectives, and to critically analyse the relationship between culture, media and society.
Taught by leading researchers in the field, this programme covers key issues and concepts such as: media and social media; consumerism; audiences; representation; globalisation; migration and place; tourism; creative work and material culture. Through its grounding in sociological approaches to the study of culture and media, a concern with questions of power, inequality and identity will be threaded through the course, enabling you to think critically about the relationship between gender, class, race and ethnicity, and the cultural realm.
In addition to developing a specialist knowledge in the field, you will also acquire key transferable skills in research, communication, analytical skills, self-management and group working, which will open up a range of career pathways within the media and creative industries and beyond.
Compulsory modules on Researching Society and Culture, Understanding Society and Culture, and Sociology of Media and Culture, will provide a solid grounding in key sociological theories for the study of society, culture and media, and methodological debates and approaches.
In addition to the core compulsory modules, you will have the opportunity to choose from a range of optional modules delivered by the School of Media and Communication, enabling you to tailor the programme to pursue your specialist interests.
The final dissertation project will allow you to design, develop and implement your own critical research enquiry into an aspect of culture and media.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Throughout the course you will be exposed to a variety of teaching methods including guest lectures, seminars, presentations, group work, blended learning and independent critical enquiry.
Assessment will include a series of short quizzes, a group project, an essay and dissertation.
The combined nature of the programme will equip you with key transferable skills and the specialist knowledge required to pursue a career in sociology or media and culture. The national and international growth of the media and creative industries has sparked greater demand for graduates who possess advanced skills and knowledge in the field, opening opportunities in communications and media policy, PR, social and digital media, media markets and audience research or other cultural and creative industries.
Additionally, the sociology element of the programme will allow you to apply your knowledge and skills in fields such as education, statutory and voluntary agencies, NGOs (non-governmental organisations), INGOs (international non-governmental agencies) and charities. The programme also provides a basis for progression onto a PhD in sociology and media studies, and a strong grounding for an interdisciplinary PhD.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
The fields of science communication and public engagement are currently enjoying unprecedented growth. This is being driven by a greater need to demonstrate the impact of publicly funded research, the need for science to be valued, increased government scrutiny and a desire for a stronger evidence base for policy decisions. Many career opportunities are emerging at the interface between science and various stakeholder groups and ever more creative methodologies for science engagement are being explored.
Our part-time online distance learning programme provides an opportunity to gain a formal qualification in science communication without having to leave your job or move to a different location. You may elect to begin with the Post-Graduate Certificate in the first instance and then decide to study for a Diploma and/or a Master’s degree. You will engage with other students from around the world, from a variety of different academic and professional backgrounds and you will enjoy a rich learning experience while studying on the programme.
You will experience a variety of science communication and public engagement methodologies and issues. In the process, you will develop critical thinking and self-evaluation skills through reflective practice. Your learning in individual courses is transferable, ensuring interconnection across the programme, thus providing opportunities for deeper learning and for the application of key principles in different contexts.
The programme attracts students from across the globe, from a range of academic and professional backgrounds and provides a formal qualification for those working in science communication and public engagement or a conversion route for those interested in moving into this field.
Our online learning technology is fully interactive, award-winning and enables you to communicate with our highly qualified teaching staff from the comfort of your own home or workplace.
Our online students not only have access to Edinburgh’s excellent resources, but also become part of a supportive online community, bringing together students and tutors from around the world.
The programme can be studied to PG Certificate, PG Diploma or Masters level – if you are interested, in a formal qualification in science communication then sign up for our Post Graduate Certificate. You can then opt to continue to the Diploma and the Masters degree.
Year 1 (Certificate) - courses currently on offer include:
Year 2 (Diploma) - courses currently on offer include:
Year 3 (Masters)
Dissertation project.
To address the need for effective science communication and public engagement with science, there has been a significant rise in opportunities available for professionals with the specialist knowledge, skills and attributes necessary to pursue roles at the interface between scientific research and public.
These roles can be found in, for example, Higher Education Institutions, Research Centres, Museums, Science Centres, Learned Societies and consultancies for democratic decision-making. Examples of specific roles are engagement managers, information and education officers, policy and knowledge brokers, in addition to the traditional science communicator role.
Curating Science will enable you to develop an independent academic and curatorial practice at the intersection of histories, philosophies and social studies of science, science communication and museum studies.
You will engage with current debates in science communication and interpretive practice in museums, including cutting-edge art-science practices that are reimagining ways of knowing and being in the 21st Century. Alongside this, you will be encouraged to develop innovative practices of dialogic and participative engagement, developing their own ways of convening public spaces for debate.
You will undertake a range of active learning activities from developing displays, programmes and events to developing digital content and designing their own research projects. You will be supported throughout by an interdisciplinary academic staff team drawn from museum and curatorial studies and the histories and philosophies of science, as well as professionals from our partner institutions.
Students can specialise in their own areas of interest, through choosing from an array of optional modules that explore contemporary curatorial strategies, technologies and media, cultural memory, histories of medicine, audiences, participation and engagement. You will have the option of undertaking a negotiated placement with a museum or heritage organisation.
All students on the MA in Curating Science will take three core modules.
The History and Theory of Modern Science Communication allows students to explore how science, technology and medicine have been communicated to a wider public in the past. Students will identify how the processes and purposes of science communication has changed over the last two centuries and debate the consequences for science communication of the introduction of new media, ranging from the radio to the internet. The module addresses these questions by surveying the development of science communication since 1750, and by examining the changing theoretical perspectives that have underpinned these developments. Students will learn to re-examine the processes of contemporary science communication in the light of a deeper understanding of this history.
Interpreting Cultures is underpinned by action learning and puts contemporary curation in an international context. From the outset, students work on an interpretation intervention with one of the archives and collections on campus (such as The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery; Special Collections; Treasures of the Brotherton; Marks and Spencer Company Archive; ULITA ― an Archive of International Textiles; Museum of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine). This intensive experience of project planning, management, collaboration and team working prepares students for the option of undertaking a negotiated work placement in the second semester or optional modules exploring audiences, participation or engagement.
Through our Advanced Research Skills modules, students are equipped to undertake assessments and ultimately develop their own research project. The modules build to a symposium in Semester 2 where students present initial research findings towards a dissertation on a research topic of interest.
In addition, students choose from a range of optional modules offered by the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies and the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science. These include the opportunity to complete a placement or consultancy project role in either curational approaches or engagement.
You will be taught by leading researchers and experienced practitioners in their fields, and you’ll benefit from a range of teaching and learning methods. They include lectures and seminars, gallery and museum visits, as well as hands-on experience of specific collections in library sessions.
We use a range of assessment methods including essays, presentations, assignments and literature reviews among others, depending on the modules you choose.
Through a combination of theory and practice, the programme produces graduates who are able to develop professional careers in the museums and heritage sector whilst retaining a critical and reflexive eye on their own practice and that of the institutions in which they work. It will equip you with a good understanding of the issues and approaches to science communication and curation, interpretation and engagement, as well as practical work experience ― a combination which is very valuable to employers.
To get a flavour of the kinds of career trajectories our graduates of allied MAs have taken see the ‘news’ section of the Centre for Critical Studies in Museums, Galleries and Heritage and the alumni pages of the School website.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
In Semester 2 you will have the option to undertake a negotiated work placement to gain first-hand experience of curating science.
We have close links with many of the major cultural institutions and organisations in the region, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for you to explore. If you have a particular ambition in mind for your placement, we usually try to find a role that suits you.
Students on allied MAs have completed placements in organisations such as Leeds City Museum, Leeds Art Gallery, Harewood House, the Henry Moore Institute, National Science and Media Museum, York City Art Gallery, National Railway Museum, Impressions Gallery, The Tetley, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Lotherton Hall, Abbey House Museum and the Royal Armouries.
The Thouron Award - Typically, 6 to 10 awards are made each year to British graduates. Each award provides funding in excess of US$90,000 per year
Department of Life Sciences – a leading international centre for research and training in ecology, evolution, conservation and the environment
