Course Director: Dr Carolina Bandinelli

Teaching:

You will learn in an international environment through interaction with academic experts, external tutors and industry practitioners. The core modules are taught through a combination of seminars, workshops, student-led presentations, readings and applied online and offline tasks. You will be engaging in discussions and debates about strategic communication processes and will undertake media and communication projects by negotiating and constructing strategy ‘briefs’ or creative projects. Self-directed learning and access to resources and activities in a virtual learning environment blend with these sessions. Depending upon your selection of option modules, you will also have the opportunity to apply your learning in a real world context. The course will enhance your research, writing and communication skills through guided and autonomous reading, group projects, presentations, case studies, reports, critiques and assignments that may require engagement with audio-visual technologies.

You will experience being strategic and reflexive with media and communication, through live briefs and applied tasks on the modules and with your fellow students through collaborative projects. Throughout the degree, you will also be guided and supported through personal tutorials so that your postgraduate study at the Centre will equip you with the professional skills you need for your chosen career path.

Contact Hours:

Typical contact hours range between 6 – 10 hours each week for core teaching (face to face and online) – this excludes additional workshops, research seminars and any guest speaker sessions.

Class Sizes:

There are between 25 - 30 students on each of the four taught Master's courses.

Assessment:

• All coursework.
• Written assignments come in a variety of forms: essays, case studies, evaluations, reports, proposals, portfolios and business plans.
• Group presentations and tasks, team building exercises, and creative and practical projects.
• Major Project represents a significant body of research and writing on a topic of your choice supervised by an experienced researcher.

Core Modules:

The core modules offer an overview of the commercial, political and cultural frameworks within which the media and communication industries operate and a deeper understanding of communication strategy.

As a student on the MA in Global Media and Communication you will complete four core modules leading to the Major Project:

Approaching Global Media

This module explores interdisciplinary perspectives in order to understand how the media and communication industries operate

Creativity, Communication and Technology

This module analyses the processes, content and platforms of media and communications with a focus upon creative thinking and technology.

Applied Communication Project

This module is one of our Summer term Applied Practice Modules. It is project-based, gives you the opportunity to apply your learning in situ or in practice related contexts.

Research Design

This module aims to prepare you for your Major Project (see below.) It will equip you with a broad understanding of relevant research methods from which to select an appropriate approach for your own project. It will introduce you to ethical dimensions of research. It will equip you to write an effective proposal (including research questions, rationale, explanation and justification of research methods, identifying relevant literature and data sources). By the end of the module you should be ready to submit your proposal and equipped with a broad understanding of research methods in the cultural, creative and media industries field.

The final part of this Masters course is the 'Major Project'. You will critically reflect upon the multitude of ways to navigate and understand the complexity of global media and communication by planning and conducting your own major research project, supervised by a scholar in the field. To find out more details please visit this page.

Optional Modules:

In addition to your four core modules and major project you will be able to determine the appropriate balance between applied and theoretical work by completing one optional module from a list available to all taught Masters students within the Centre [there is also the opportunity to choose an option module from outside the Centre].

Previously these modules have included:

• Cultural and Media Work
• Developing Audiences for Cultural Organisations
• Media, Policy and Markets
• The Global Audience

To view the full list of optional modules available in greater detail, please visit this page.*

* The modules mentioned above and on our optional modules page may be subject to change. Please read our terms and conditions for more detailed information.

The course is designed for students seeking managerial careers and entrepreneurial roles in the media industries or the communications departments of public and private sector organisations. The course is equally popular amongst UK graduates and those from countries where the media and communications industries are experiencing rapid growth and negotiating the challenges of the global digital economy.

Past students have taken up managerial roles in corporate branding, marketing and communication, public relations, community media, digital media, social and participatory media, media production, publishing (print and digital) and media research. Our graduates are multi-skilled, self-starters who can fulfil a variety roles from creative director, editor and consultant, to project manager and communications expert.

The course is also an excellent platform for PhD study if you are considering a research career in academia or industry. To find out more about PhD study at the Centre, please visit this page.

We maintain close links with Centre alumni who regularly notify us of job opportunities and work closely with advisors in the University Careers Centre who also offer specialist workshops and advice sessions.

This course will not be suitable if you are seeking practical-operational training in media production, journalism, digital design or technology development. To learn more about students who have graduated or are soon to graduate from this course, look at our Digital Stories page.