General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course. However, we may ask applicants to write a short essay, provide a video statement, attend an interview or respond to a set of questions.

Core modules

Approaching Global Media

The module explores interdisciplinary perspectives in order to understand how the media and communication industries operate. In this module you will gain an overview of the various disciplinary approaches taken in the academic understanding of the global media. Drawing on perspectives from Sociology, Cultural and Communication Studies, amongst others, the module will deepen your understanding of the historical, social and political contexts in which the media industries are located, and help to shed light on the contemporary landscape in which they operate.

You will also examine the place of the media industries in creating a 'global' society and engage with debates about economic and cultural globalization. The latter part of the module you will consider the role of the global media in shaping and transforming a global public sphere. Further examination of the structure and organisation of the media and cultural industries will help to reveal what is at stake in the proliferation of channels and flows of media messages around the globe.

Creativity, Communication and Technology

In this module you will evaluate the impact of creativity, communication and technology upon personal, local, national and global issues. Creative media communication is central to most innovation today, and is an effective way of researching the power of media and exploring new levels of value creation. The latest research exploring alternative media, community media, digital media, open source and new communication dynamics will update your understanding. From crowd sourcing to citizen journalism, mobile connectivity to convergence, peer-to-peer and civic participation, you will investigate the creative use of communications and technology in the current globalized media ecology. Engagement with innovative media studies research methods will provide the tools for investigating global media and communication in more depth.

Whilst paying attention to the impact of creativity and technology on media discourses, forms, practices and industries, you are also expected to be creative in this module. Our sub-focus is on creating communication for personal, local, national and global impact. Using simple media tools, you will develop your ideas on how personal, local, national, or global issues can be constructed creatively for private, public or third sector political and cultural economies.

Applied Communication Project

In this practice based module you will focus on contemporary challenges in media and creative industries. You will engage with professionalsand practitioners and respond to their inputs by developing a creative media project. You and your group will address that challenge through research, creative and strategic thinking and communication planning/research. This module is one of our Applied Practice Modules. It is project-based, and 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, which is a substantial piece of independent research on a topic of your choice. The module 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 be equipped with a broad understanding of research methods in the cultural, creative and media industries field.

Plus the following:

Major Project

The Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies is an interdisciplinary centre for teaching and research in the fields of cultural and media policy and the creative industries. The commitment to interdisciplinarity is reflected in our Major Projects, where you will be encouraged to draw on approaches from across the humanities and social sciences in producing your work. Successful projects can emerge from creative engagement with scholarly debates, from the design and analysis of original empirical work, or from some combination of these. This openness of approach is also reflected in how Major Project research can be represented.

Optional modules

Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:

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

All students will take one optional module. There are four core modules, which also includes their course-specific applied management module. The bespoke applied management module for this MA is ‘Applied Communication Project’ (as above). This module gives you the opportunity to apply your learning in practice- or industry-related contexts.

Read more about the MA in Global Media and Communication on the Centre's website.Link opens in a new window

Teaching

You will learn in an international environment through interaction with academic experts and industry practitioners.

The core modules are taught through a combination of lectures, workshops and student-led presentations and discussions. These sessions are complemented by self-directed learning and access to resources and activities in a virtual learning environment.

The course is designed to facilitate participation and critical reflection and in some modules you will have the opportunity to apply your learning in a professional 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.

Class sizes

We traditionally limit class size to 20-35 students on each of the three taught Master's courses.

Typical contact hours

Typical contact hours range between 6-10 hours each week for core teaching – this excludes additional tutorials, workshops, and research seminars.

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
• A major project (written dissertation of 12,000 words) on a research topic of your choice

Additional course costs

For all MA courses, the cost of field trips or off-campus assignments are estimated to cost between £100-£200, although this will depend on which option module has been chosen or the nature of a project or placement undertaken for an applied management module.

Reading Lists

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform.

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue.

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department. 

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

Your career

Graduates from the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies have gone on to work in television, film, communications, data analysis, arts and educational organisations, research, PR, publishing and have even set up their own businesses. 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.

Our graduates have gone on to work for employers including: Acacia Avenue, Barclaycard, BBC, British Embassy, Bankside Films, The Economist, EMEA, Facebook, Fox Networks Group, Global Influencer, Google, The Academy of Urbanism, OVO, Penguin Random House and Sky.

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 of roles from creative director, editor and consultant, to project manager and communications expert.

We have a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

• Discovering Careers in the Creative Industries
• Careers in Radio Film and Television
• Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
• A history and DIY Guide to setting up and running a Theatre Company

Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies

We are internationally renowned for our excellence in the teaching and research in the policy, management, development, enterprise and industry of culture, media communication and creativity. Our approach is based on a critical engagement with both the practical realities of working in the cultural sector and the ideological and conceptual questions which lie behind them.

Find out more about us on our website.Link opens in a new window

Our Postgraduate Taught and Research courses

• Arts, Enterprise and Development (MA)
• Creative and Media Enterprises (MA)
• Cultural Policy Studies/Creative Industries/Media and Communication (MPhil/PhD)
• Global Media and Communication (MA)

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your taught course fees  

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2022/23 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

How to apply

Applications are now open for courses that start in September and October 2025.

Applications will close on 2 August 2025 for students who require a visa to study in the UK, to allow time to receive a CAS and complete the visa application process.

How to apply for a postgraduate taught course