MA Media, Culture and Society

Our course will allow you to study contemporary media and culture from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. Taught by leading experts in the fields of media and cultural studies, journalism, politics, economics, law and international development, it will ask you to examine the role of media in global citizenship, as well as helping you understand the workings of media law and economics, and the different media systems.

Through your choice of optional modules, from a range that includes practical media options, you will be able to tailor your degree to meet your interests, focusing on the aspects of media and society that you feel are most important and most fascinating. In your Master’s dissertation, you will take the exploration of your interests even further.

Over the course of your MA you will develop a variety of useful, transferable skills, including the ability to provide clear and stimulating presentations, to analyse and defend a point of view, to conduct research, and to present ideas lucidly and logically. We’ll also help you to develop research skills, enabling you to write a high-quality dissertation.

You may also have the opportunity to take part in our annual trip to Brussels. Lasting two to three days, it is a fantastic opportunity to meet journalists and other media specialists, and to develop your media skills.

As a member of our postgraduate community you will have the opportunity to attend numerous events and talks during your time here. We regularly attract distinguished lecturers, with previous guests including Gary Gibbon, Political Editor for Channel 4 News; Anne McElvoy of The Economist; Owen Jones, author and columnist for The Guardian; Shami Chakrabarti, former director of Liberty; Michael Cockerell, BBC documentary film-maker; and John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons.

ABOUT

Studying and working in the media requires an acute awareness of the way media and culture shape people’s understanding of - and responses to - their world. From the daily routines to the grand designs of contemporary society – from the election of a president to the fall of a government – it’s almost impossible to make sense of national or world events without understanding the role media and culture play.

And making sense of it all depends on knowledge of the social, economic, political and legal factors that help in the production, distribution and consumption of media content. This, in turn, relies on an understanding of the arts and humanities and the social sciences, economics, politics and the law, and media and cultural studies.

Our MA will help you investigate and reflect upon how media and society are linked. You’ll explore the practical and professional implications of these links, and you could develop skills to enable you to work in the media.