MA International Public and Political Communication

About the course

This degree offers students an advanced understanding of cutting-edge debates concerning media, power and democracy both nationally and internationally.

Rooted in our ground-breaking academic research, and offering practical, hands-on experience of political communication, this masters programme offers a route into PhD study and a solid foundation for careers in lobbying, journalism, public relations and more.

Your career

A masters from Sheffield is the mark of someone who thinks differently. Graduates from our applied courses are creative, disciplined journalists.

They’re working in radio and television, newspapers and magazines, print and online, across the UK and internationally.

The BBC, Guardian, Daily Mail, Channel 4, Sky and Wall Street Journal all employ Sheffield journalists.

About us

Our teaching staff are professionals who have worked at the highest level in newspaper, magazine, radio, television and online journalism. This is a great place to learn practical skills. Three quarters of our research is rated world-leading or internationally excellent. The discussion of ideas about journalism, its past, present and future, is part of all our courses.

We have strong links with the industry. We send our masters students on a three-day field trip to London, visiting national news organisations for briefings on current developments with senior editors and meeting politicians and political journalists.

Guests from the media industries, regulators, campaigning groups and research institutes give lectures in the department. Broadcast editors run radio and television newsdays, and print and online production editors bring their expertise to newspaper, web and magazine exercises.

Work experience

If you’re taking one of our applied courses, we encourage you to go on a work placement of one to three weeks during vacation time. Employers regularly notify us as opportunities come up and we have a dedicated work placement administrator to help you find a placement that’s right for you. Our students often find a work placement leads to a job after graduation.

Professional accreditation

All our applied postgraduate courses are accredited by the main professional bodies representing the media industries: the National Council for the Training of Journalists, the Broadcast Journalism Training Council and the Professional Publishers Association. Our International Political Communication and Global Journalism programmes are not accredited and have limited practical content.

Real-world learning environment

The University has invested £3 million in a superb new home for the department in 2014, with four large newsrooms designed to simulate a real working environment. The print newsroom is equipped with 30 PCs, all of which have access to the latest print production software such as Adobe Indesign, Incopy and Photoshop. You’ll also have access to a Press Association newsfeed, telephones, daily newspapers and Sky TV.

The broadcast newsroom is equipped with industry-standard software for radio production. We have a state-of-the-art radio studio and digital audio recorders. Students on the applied MA courses learn how to create packages, put together live news bulletins, shoot professional news pieces on HD TV cameras, and use Apple Final Cut X to cut rushes together. They acquire the skills needed to prepare text, audio and video content for publication online. These degrees also show how to use audio recorders, video and stills cameras to gather content. In the web newsroom, students use audio, video and image editing software to create their own sites.

Studentships

There are a limited number of external bursaries for UK students on the Print, Magazine and Broadcast courses, from the AHRC, Scott Trust and Journalism Diversity Fund. Please see our web pages for details.

Core modules

• Research Methods
• Comparative Perspectives of Public and Political Communication
• Introduction to Political Communication
• Media, Society and International Crises
• Public and Political Campaigning
• Communicating With The Media
• Political Communication in Times of War, Crisis and Terrorism

Dissertation

You can choose to focus the project in one of the following ways:

• Dissertation (International Public and Political Communication)
• Work-Based Dissertation

Teaching and assessment

We teach through lectures, seminars, workshops and research exercises. You’re assessed by essays, examinations and a dissertation.

Visit the MA International Public and Political Communication page on the University of Sheffield website for more details!