Journalism

Entry requirements

A 2:1 degree, but we’ll consider mature students with relevant professional experience. Excellent writing and communication skills are essential. Good computing and word-processing skills are desirable.

Months of entry

September

Course content

About the course

Accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Learn to write stories that punch their weight with every word. You’ll start with pressurised workshops in our newsroom, then you’ll be given your own patch. You’ll report from courtrooms and from council meetings where local politicians are taking decisions about people’s lives.

We’ll also prepare you for the multimedia environment by teaching you how to create audio and video for the web and how to use social media effectively.

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.

Core modules

Researching News; Law for Journalists; Ethics and Regulation; Power and Society; Writing News; Advanced Print Journalism; Journalism Portfolio/Dissertation (PGDip students don’t do this module). Print students will also learn Teeline shorthand.

Examples of optional modules

A range including: Global Journalism; Journalism, Globalisation and Development; Researching Social Media; Propaganda, Media and Conflict; News and Civil Society; Journalism Politics and Public Debate; Journalism in Britain.

Information for international students

Overall IELTS grade of 7.5 with a minimum of 7.5 in each component, or equivalent.

Fees and funding

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.

Qualification and course duration

MA

PGDip

Course contact details