Journalism
Entry requirements
A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above in any related subject; other qualifications will be considered. Applications are encouraged from those with prior journalistic experience.
Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.
Months of entry
January, October
Course content
This journalism course offers you a fast-track but thorough grounding in practical journalistic skills. You will gain a strong working knowledge of the media industry and develop the cutting-edge skills you need to build, manage and navigate a career within today's media landscape.
Why choose this course?
- This course offers you a unique, multidisciplinary approach blending an academic emphasis with focused practical modules taught by established media professionals.
- It allows you to explore the political, social and cultural dimensions of news and media, while also mastering the vocational skills required to work across different genres, mediums and platforms of journalism and media production.
- If you choose to study the MA, you will have the opportunity to tailor your degree to your interests and gain valuable experience undertaking a major research project, either in the form of an academic dissertation or journalistic work suitable for publication or broadcast.
- Depending on your interests or career aspirations, you can also specialise by taking certain modules to graduate with an MA Investigative Journalism.
What you will learn
Engaging with a combination of academic modules that draw on theoretical traditions and the history of ideas to understand the issues we face today, you will learn from authors from a wide range of disciplines including politics, cultural studies and sociology. You will learn to analyse and apply their thinking on topical issues, such as the role that media should play in society, to contemporary issues such as disinformation, corruption and the culture wars.
In practical modules you will develop your skills in writing, creating, designing, researching and analysing across a range of journalistic specialisations and platforms. These are taught by established media professionals who will equip you with all the skills you need to write, research and communicate as a journalist, as well as how to design and produce print publications, audio and video.
How you will learn
The course is available for full- and part-time study. It has an evening timetable with classes taking place in the evening. You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops with an emphasis on interaction and engagement.
We offer this course as a Master’s, Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate. For the Diploma and Certificate you study fewer modules and do not complete a dissertation.
The MA course starting in October is part of our Birkbeck Flexible Master’s UK, which gives you the choice of how you want to study - on campus, online or via flexible learning, which combines both.
If you require a Student visa to study in the UK, you will only be able to apply for the on-campus study option for this course. Online and flexible options will not be available to you because they may affect the conditions of your visa.
Highlights
- In film, media and cultural studies, Birkbeck fosters an especially research-intensive environment. We offer an extensive portfolio of internationally respected courses that engage with the latest ideas and techniques in journalism, media and cultural theory, arts policy and management, film and television studies, creative marketing, digital culture and East Asian cultural studies.
- We also affiliate with a number of research centres and networks, including Birkbeck Interdisciplinary Research in Media and Culture (BIRMAC), Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image (BIMI), Vasari Research Centre for Art and Technology and the Centre for French, Francophone and Comparative Studies (CFFCS). You are welcome to attend our dynamic programme of seminars, events and guest lecturers organised by affiliated research centres and networks.
- Birkbeck was ranked as one of the top four universities in the UK for its Art and Design research in the most recent 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
- We offer a number of bursaries for postgraduate students.
On successfully graduating from this journalism course, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:
- high-level oral and written communication skills, both journalistic and academic
- the ability to work across different media platforms, formats and genres
- research and analysis skills
- the ability to work as part of a team.
Graduates can pursue career paths in journalism, the media, or public relations. Possible professions include:
- journalist
- editor
- researcher
- social media manager
- professional communications and public relations role.
Jobs gained by some of our BA and MA graduates include:
- Producer, BBC News
- Research Manager, BBC News
- Project Coordinator, Sony Interactive Entertainment Ltd
- Marketing Manager, Red Deer
- Broadcast Journalist, LBC, Classic FM, Capital and Heart
- Staff Writer, Field Gibson Media
- Communications Officer, Bristol Water
- Staff Reporter, European Medical Journal
- Executive Producer, Mongolian Media Council
- Business Analyst, GSK
- PR Director, Notable.
Graduates from this course have also gone on to be employed by Al Jazeera and Vice.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.
Information for international students
If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.
If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.
Please note, if you require a Student visa to study in the UK, you will only be able to apply for the on-campus study option for this course. Online and flexible options will not be available to you because they may affect the conditions of your visa.
Qualification, course duration and attendance options
- MA
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- Online learningis available for this qualification
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- Online learningis available for this qualification
- PGDip
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- PGCert
- part time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- MA
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- MA
- full time12 months
- Online learningis available for this qualification
- part time24 months
- Online learningis available for this qualification
Course contact details
- Name
- Student Advice Service
- studentadvice@bbk.ac.uk
- Phone
- +44 (0)20 3907 0700