Masters degrees in Communication & Media Studies cover subjects associated with the creative film and publishing industries as well as the public relations, marketing and advertising professions.
Many courses are highly vocational, with opportunities available to study advanced techniques in Film, Radio and TV Production as well as Journalism and Print Media. Other qualifications explore the business of media management or the importance of Public Relations and Internal Communications for companies and other organisations.
Many degrees are taught courses, but some also include practical placements and appropriate research projects.
The field of media is constantly shifting and in the last decade the changes have been rapid, and a new media landscape has emerged. Digital media of today are characterised by participation and cooperation; media are wholly collaborative, in terms of both production and consumption.
The master’s programme in Media and Communication studies gives you advanced knowledge of digital media through practical approaches in the field. You will work creatively and in an explorative manner with different types of media, while learning to evaluate them from a critical perspective.
The field of media is constantly shifting. In the last decade the changes have been rapid, and a new media landscape has emerged – forever reshaping not only the consumers but also the creators and distributors of media. Digital media of today are characterised by participation and cooperation; media are wholly collaborative, in terms of both production and consumption – and this is what is meant by the term ‘collaborative media.’
The one-year master’s programme in Media and Communication Studies – Culture, Collaborative Media, and Cultural Industries – will equip you with advanced knowledge of digital media. The programme is oriented towards practical approaches to the field. You will work creatively and in an explorative fashion with different types of media while you learn to approach them from a critical perspective.
During the programme you will develop three primary skill sets: the ability to analyse and strategically approach media and its impact on society; the capability to work with media and communication both methodologically and systematically; the knowledge required to produce media texts, both individually and collaboratively. Compared to bachelor-level degrees, this advanced programme has a clear focus on the development of strategic expertise, a skill crucial for those intending to pursue a professional career in media and communication. During the year, you will furthermore obtain an in-depth knowledge of the workings of the creative industries.
The programme is developed alongside and conducted in collaboration with Media Evolution, a media cluster with over 350 member companies based in Malmö. This facilitates a crossover between the academic and professional worlds and allows you as a student to develop skills in both areas throughout your studies. Throughout the duration of the programme you will get the chance to meet a number of international guest lecturers from universities all across the world, further adding to the global relevance of the programme.
The first semester focuses on examining key themes in communication studies and on how the creative industries of today are operated. During the second semester you will learn more about the possibilities with collaborative media. The year ends with a (one-year, 15 credits) master's thesis.
Malmö University also offers the two-year master's programme Media and Communication Studies: Culture, Collaborative Media and Creative Industries, 120 credits. Read more
The programme, which is web-based and full-time, makes education available to students globally and offers a unique blend of distance and campus based learning. The seminars are compulsory, and you can either attend in Malmö or online. This approach makes it possible for international students to enrol in the programme without having to relocate, leading to a diverse and intercultural student body that increases the opportunities for students to form transnational networks and to benefit from international lecturers.
The programme is hosted on an online platform through which communication between students and lecturers takes place and where student projects are uploaded. As the main theme of the programme is collaborative media, this pedagogical approach leaves room for experimentation, and students are encouraged to use collaborative media during this process.
After graduating, you will have the qualifications necessary to work in media and communication. The skill set and knowledge you develop during your studies are valuable to the fast-growing creative indutries. Companies, government, and organisations are other possible employers as they become increasingly dependent on communication and media in their business. This programme is for those of you who want to take an active role in the development of the media field. It also provides a foundation for further post-graduate studies.
After completing the programme students should be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
1) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of media and communication studies, including both an overview of the field and deeper knowledge of specific parts of the field as well as insight into current research and development work
2) demonstrate specialised methodological knowledge in media and communication studies
Competence and skills
3) demonstrate the ability to integrate knowledge and to analyse, assess and deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations even with limited information
4) demonstrate the ability to independently identify and formulate issues and to plan and, using appropriate methods, undertake advanced tasks within predetermined time frames
5) demonstrate the ability verbally and in writing to report clearly and discuss his or her conclusions and the knowledge and arguments on which they are based in dialogue with different audiences
6) demonstrate the skills required for participation in research and development work or employment in some other qualified capacity
Judgement and approach
7) demonstrate the ability in media and communication studies to make assessments in relation to relevant disciplinary, social and ethical issues and also to demonstrate awareness of ethical aspects of research and development work
8) demonstrate insight into the possibilities and limitations of research, its role in society and the responsibility of the individual for how it is used
9) demonstrate the ability to identify the personal need for further knowledge and take responsibility for his or her on going learning
Master's Degree (60 credits).
Degree of Master of Arts (60 credits) in Media and Communication Studies
The Media and Development MA is an interdisciplinary course that teaches main theories, concepts, case studies and practical media skills around the theme of media and development and its implications for less developed countries. The course will provide you with a unique blend of theory and practice teaching, aimed at deepening your knowledge of the history of communications within the development process of emerging economies. It will critically evaluate the impact of international and regional institutions from a critical political economic perspective. Teaching by academic staff, guest lecturers and other carefully selected staff from development organisations will provide you with an overview of the policies, actions and impact of state and non-state institutions within the area of communication media and development.
A distinctive feature is its emphasis on the practical role of communication media in development. You will participate in media production workshops and take part in our internship programme, offered in partnership with media and development organisations in London. As part of the work experience module, students participate in an extensive NGOs and media seminar series featuring experts and panel discussions. The work placement programme is in line with the University of Westminster’s strategy of nurturing of the critical practitioner.
The course team is led by Dr Winston Mano and includes Professor Daya Thussu, Professor Christian Fuchs, Professor David Gauntlett, Professor Naomi Sakr, Dr Anthony McNicholas, Dr Xin Xin, Dr Anastasia Kavada, Dr Maria Michalis, Dr Roza Tsagarousianou, Dr Tarik Sabry, Paul Majendie, Geoffrey Davies and Michaela O’Brien. Visiting Lecturers include Jackie Davies, founder and Director of the Communication and Development Network (C4D) (http://www.c4d.org), a community of professionals working in communication for development. As a peer network the C4D Network is aimed at communication for development practitioners plus allied development workers, donors, academics and communication experts from the BBC, UN and major development organisations. The joining criterion is an engagement in communication for development - either professionally or through academia. Students on the Media and Development MA have the option to join the C4D network and each can do a fellowship/internship with the network during the course.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Core modules
One Semester One module from the below:
Semester 1 (option modules)
One Semester Two module from the below:
Semester 2 (option modules)
We have strongly developed links with media and development organisations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, C4D, BBC Media Action, Internews Commonwealth Public Media Alliance.
Our large network of alumni keep our name and reputation alive in the industry.
Graduates apply for posts in development organisations based in London such as OneWorld, Oxfam, Save the Children, Red Cross, ActionAid, Panos, DfiD, Intermedia, BBC, Institute of War and Peace, Christian Aid and War on Want. Some students were able to build on knowledge, skills and their background in working for governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations (in Romania, Pakistan and India) and a range of international business organisations, including the BBC. The course also prepares students for further studies and for a higher degree, e.g., a PhD. Some students apply for PhD Scholarships advertised by the Faculty of Media, Arts and Design and they were all encouraged to join the Communication for Development Network (C4D) which meets once a month in London.
We are aware that the range of skills needed is exceptionally diffuse, and that students on the course hope to develop careers in a variety of fields in many different countries. We are also aware that we are preparing you for careers in a rapidly changing job market and the structure of the course allows you take advantage of change, and not to be its victim. It, therefore, would be misleading and unhelpful to place too much emphasis on acquiring a precise set of skills drawn from one part of the media and development sector. Finally, with a view to your professional development planning, the course is designed to give you a wide-ranging and critical knowledge of the development industry that you plan to enter.
Social Media, Culture and Society MA offers a flexible, interdisciplinary exploration of key contemporary developments in the networked digital media environment. It will benefit those seeking to develop their understanding of contemporary communication and its societal, political, regulatory, industrial and cultural contexts.
Social Media, Culture and Society MA provides students with the opportunity to focus at postgraduate level on:
This Master's is organised in the environment of the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI) and its Centre for Social Media Research. CAMRI is a world-leading research centre that studies the role of media and communication in society. It has become known as the Westminster school of critical media and communication research. The analysis of social media, culture and society is one of its research specialisms. In the most recent UK government research audit, the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 42.2% of CAMRI’s research was classified as world-leading and 37.5% as internationally excellent, which makes it one of Britain’s four leading media and communication research institutions.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
In semester one, students must select two elective modules from the two thematic groups below (any combination of modules is applicable):
In semester two, students must select two elective modules from two thematic groups below (any combination of modules is applicable):
More information on modules and groups to which they belong to can be found below.
Core modules (semester one)
Option modules (Semester One)
Core modules (Semester Two)
Optional modules (Semester Two)
The Social Media, Culture and Society MA will benefit those seeking to develop their understanding of contemporary communication and its social, political and cultural contexts. This degree will be of particular interest to those who plan to work in the creative industries, as well as those already working in this field. Social Media, Culture and Society MA will also be of interest to students working in non-profit sectors, including NGOs and advocacy groups. The degree will help those seeking a competitive edge in a careers market that values high-level skills in communication, research and critical thinking.
The course also provides an excellent preparation for those wishing to continue their studies to PhD level. Around 10% of graduates of the course are now undertaking PhDs. Others work in the social media start-up scene in London, or work as journalists and in a range of industries and non-profit sectors.
The course is designed for recent graduates seeking a career in traditional and new media organisations. It provides a combination of business and media skills designed to equip you to take up an entry-level position in today’s media organisations.
You will learn how media organisations are engaging with the challenges resulting from the emergence of digital media technologies and platforms. The course introduces you to the processes by which media organisations develop their corporate strategies, business plans, marketing and production operations as they respond to radical change in the commercial environment.
The course is designed to enable you to find and take up work placements and internships at media organisations in London during the course of your studies. Our students have successfully completed internships at TV production companies like the BBC, technology companies like Google, as well as many other multimedia, advertising and news organisations in London. Some have successfully started their own businesses in the UK.
Whether you are planning a career in a media organisation or seeking to create your own new business start up, the MA International Media Business aims to provide the analytical insight, operational knowledge and planning skills you will need to prosper. The course is taught alongside a suite of Masters courses in Westminster’s highly successful Centre for Creative Industries Management.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Core modules
Optional modules (Semester 1)
Optional modules (Semester 2)
International Media Business students have gone on to work for many social media business including Facebook, Youtube, Google as well as traditional media firms like Sky, Disney and Bloomberg. They have also worked as creatives and digital content producers for small and large business including Land Rover, AEG and BSI Global. Others have continued their education at PhD level.
This is an exciting and highly innovative course (developed in collaboration with the Media Diversity Institute) that seamlessly combines theory and modules providing or containing hands-on practical training in journalism or campaigning and public relations related to social and cultural diversity.
The course will give you the opportunity to study and research the main ways in which social scientists analyse the role of the mass media in the social construction, representation and understanding of difference and social diversity and get a critical understanding of the social and media structures and journalistic practices that impact upon these processes. It will also equip you with practical skills that will enable you to produce your own media product on a topic related to social and cultural diversity.
The course combines a portfolio of theory modules aimed to develop your knowledge and critical understanding of the processes of managing and making sense of cultural diversity, key issues in intercultural communication and of various aspects of the sociology of news with a number of practice-oriented modules intended to give you first hand experience in the practice of inclusive journalism.
Drawing upon this unique combination of rigorous theoretical engagement and specialist practical training, this course is designed to equip you with a comprehensive conceptual/theoretical grounding and the practical skills to engage in responsible media coverage of diversity, to practice culturally informed and inclusive journalism and to develop a career (whether practical, strategic, or research-based) involving understanding and responding to the challenges of social diversity.
Our teaching staff are highly experienced academics and journalism professionals with expertise in inclusive journalism.
Extra accreditation: In addition to your final degree, upon successful completion of certain module components or additional work you can be awarded study certificates by external accrediting bodies such as the Broadcast Journalism Training Council and Adobe.
Practical work experience: In addition to their programme of studies, we work hard to ensure that MA Diversity and the Media students are offered opportunities to gain valuable experience with media and NGOs whose work is relevant to their programme of studies and enhances their employability after graduation. We have established partnerships with the Media Diversity Institute, TAG International Development and The Prisma/The Multicultural Newspaper which offer paid or unpaid internships that give our students the opportunity to work in the UK or overseas or to contribute to the production of media content. In the past our students have also gained experience by participating in the Pearson Diversity Summer Internship Programme and other similar schemes. We place particular importance to such opportunities as these help our students to build upon their academic and practical work and further develop the skills that will enable them to embark on their chosen careers.
Hands-on media training: In addition to the accredited curriculum, the MA includes a number of training sessions in the use of cameras, sound and editing as well as in the Adobe Creative Suite.
The course offers two study routes to suit your future plans: You can choose one of two routes for the award: the Dissertation Route or a Practice Route culminating in a final project.
The following modules are indicative of what you study on this course.
Semester 1 (core modules)
Semester 1 (optional modules)
Semester 2 (core modules)
Semester 2 (optional modules)
This course is designed to attract a mix of new graduates, often with a media-related degree or work experience, and people who have already worked in journalism, but want to enhance their understanding of social diversity and their skills in the area of inclusive journalism. It is suitable for existing media professionals that want to reflect on their practice as journalists, as well as students who want to pursue a career in the media, national and local government, IGOs and NGOs or who intend to embark on a relevant research/academic career. It will be a valuable asset for civil servants and local authority staff, NGO workers working on immigration, equality, social inclusion and cohesion and community regeneration whose duties involve communication and media work.
We welcome proposals for research in any area connected with media, communications, digital media, cultural theory and practice.
We give priority to those with proposals for research within the areas of interest of our staff.
Research degrees in this department have two elements:
Supervisors and their students form loose research teams, sometimes on a joint basis with another group. When you apply, please indicate your intended research area and any preference for a particular supervisor.
You'll be assessed by a thesis and viva voce.
Find out more about research degrees at Goldsmiths.
Having celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2013, Goldsmiths’ Department of Media and Communications is one of the oldest and largest media departments in the UK. It is also unique in its diversity of approaches to, and articulations of, the disciplinary conjunctures around media and culture.
The department has equal research strengths in media and communications and in cultural studies research, in humanities and in social sciences approaches, and in theory- and practice-driven work. Its work spans a wide range of topics and modes of enquiry – from philosophical studies of technology and human life to sociological investigations of media production and use; from issues of identity, embodiment and becoming to post-feminism, queer theory and critical race studies; from global screen studies and transnational investigations of media and culture to news’ role in contemporary democracy.
The Department’s research falls into five main strands which make up our research groupings:
(1) Media and Democracy: building on the work of the Leverhulme programme on the media’s contribution to democracy, including the changing nature of journalism and political communication; studying globalisation in relation to issues of diaspora and nationhood
(2) Economy, Culture and Communication: investigating communication and discourse in finance and financial media; everyday representations and understandings of the economy and economic life; creative labour, neoliberalism and organisational practices in the arts and cultural industries; the impact of the promotional professions (branding, PR, marketing) on the economy, culture and society
(3) Media Futures: bringing together humanities and social sciences approaches to understanding the changing role of media technologies and global media flows in society, economy and science
(4) Gender, Feminism and Contemporary Cultures: connecting the long tradition of work within the Department on culture, representation, embodiment and affect to its specific strengths in gender, race, sexuality and labour in national and international contexts
(5) Screen Cultures and Media Arts: consolidating the long-standing focus on screen cultures within the Department, as concentrated within the Leverhulme programme, combined with an exploration of media arts such as photography, video, digital imagining, sound and performance.
Many of the projects undertaken within the Department are collaborative in nature - such as the work conducted under the umbrella of Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre, funded with a 2006 Leverhulme grant to study the design and significance of various contemporary media spaces. Members of the Department have also received funding from AHRC, British Academy, British Council, Carnegie Trust UK, Council for British Research in the Levant, ESRC, EPSRC, Guggenheim Foundation, Higher Education Academy, Hong Kong Research Grants Council, JISC, London Centre for Arts and Cultural Exchange, Media Trust and Open Society Foundation.
As well as working on collaborative projects, members of the Department have published many books with high-impact international presses, on a diverse range of topics: affect and emotion, artificial intelligence, bioethics, the body and experience, branding, broadcasting, democracy, film history, the future of journalism, media geographies, the mediation of power, post-feminism, postcolonial politics, sound and video cultures.
Members of the Department edit leading academic journals, including Body and Society, Culture Machine and its sister project, Photomediations Machine), Global Media and Communication, International Journal of Cultural Studies, Subjectivity and photographies.
Find out more about research in the Department of Media and Communications.
We aim to develop students who are able to express themselves creatively and self-critically in theoretical and/or practice work. You'll develop research skills, presentation skills, an understanding of the workings of the media and their broad cultural and social impacts and an understanding of the pleasures of media consumption.
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Media Studies at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
A research degree in Media Studies gives you the chance to pursue a project based around your own passions and interests in Media Studies, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects outside academia (in the private sector, the Civil Service, or education).
The Media Studies research programme will give you the freedom to explore a topic of your own choosing in Media Studies 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 enrolled on the MA by Research in Media Studies, 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 including those of Media Studies 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 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 Media Studies degree typically lasts from one year (full-time study) to two years (part-time study).
The MA by Research in Media Studies is ideal for those who want:
- an MA qualification in niche areas where taught programmes are not offered;
- the experience of a research degree without committing to a PhD.
Research proposals are invited on any topic in Media Studies for 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 Media Studies please contact Professor Julian Preece ([email protected]).
We have expertise in a number of areas within Media Studies:
• Film studies, in particular European Cinema and Hollywood;
• Global media and international communication;
• Digital media and social activism;
• Migration and communication;
• Digital media and the history and philosophy of technology;
• Baudrillard and postmodernism;
• McLuhan and the Toronto School.
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