Journalism MA

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?

* 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 will I 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.

How will I learn?

The course is available for full- and part-time study with classes taking place in the evening. You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops.

We offer this course as a Master’s, Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate. The MA course starting in October gives you the choice of studying on campus, online or via flexible learning.

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.

Please note, courses starting in January will take place on campus only.

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.

Careers and employability

On successfully graduating from this course, you will have gained an array of transferable skills, including:

* high-level oral and written communication skills

* the ability to work across different media platforms, formats and genres

* research and analysis

* teamworking.

Graduates can pursue careers in journalism, the media, or public relations. Possible professions include:

* journalist

* editor

* researcher

* social media manager

* professional communications and public relations role.