Programme Outline

The MSc in Media and Communication Research degree is a one-year full time taught course providing students with a comprehensive grounding in the theories, approaches and research necessary for studying, analysing, and understanding media and communication processes in both national and global contexts.

The course provides: extensive training in social science research approaches and methods; critical engagement with the latest theory and research on media, culture and communication; an understanding of the history and development of communication research; focused training in the theories, debates, approaches, and methods necessary for analysing and understanding media and communication processes in their social, cultural, economic and political contexts.

Course Structure and Assessment

The MSc in Media and Communication Research comprises a combination of core and optional modules, and a supervised dissertation on an approved topic.

Modules

Fuller details of postgraduate modules

• Contemporary Issues in Media and Cultural Studies - MS7000
• Managing and Communicating Research - MS7007
• Research Methods and Management I - MS7004
• Knowledge and Methods in the Social Sciences - MS7001
• Analysing Media Outputs MS7301
• Option 1 and 2*

Dissertation

Options

*Students choose two from the following range of options (the range of options on offer may vary from year to year):

• The International Context of Mass Communication - MS7006
• Film as Mass Communication -MS7010
• News Management, Communication and Social Problems - MS7027
• Technology, Culture and Power: Global Perspectives - MS7028
• Advertisting and Cultural Consumption - MS7030
• The Digital Economy - MS7033

• International Political Communication - MS7034

• Media, Celebrity and Fandom - MS7035

Assessment

Assessment for the MSc in Media and Communication Research Assessment is by means of essays, annotated bibliographies, research assignments, group projects and an individually supervised dissertation of 12,000-15,000 words on an approved topic.

Entry Requirements

Candidates should normally have at least at least a good second class honours degree in any discipline, though a Social Science degree would be particularly relevant, from an institution recognised by the University. Applicants who do not have a first degree, but who can demonstrate other relevant qualifications and/or experience may also be considered.

Where English is not the first language, students are required, prior to admission to the Department, to provide evidence of their proficiency in both written and spoken English. This should usually be a score of 6.5 in the British Council IELTS test or a score of 600 in the TOEFL. The University will also accept equivalent qualifications and further advice can be obtained from the Graduate Office. The University's English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) offers full-time preparatory courses in English Language and Study Skills for overseas students.

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