Course summary

The Social Media and Digital Communication MA will give you the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of contemporary digital communication and its seismic impact on politics, culture and society. Social media has challenged how we understand communication, democracy, news, relationships, privacy, advertising and entertainment. Social media companies have captured the attention and imagination of hundreds of millions of people. They enable their users to develop and display their creativity, to empathize with others, and to find connection, communication and communion. But social media companies have also captured those users’ personal information, and turned their daily lives into commercial data through business models built around surveillance. The course examines social media as industries and as central sites for understanding the cultural politics of everyday life. It explores the meanings of sharing and privacy, of remix cultures and new forms of journalism, of new forms of communication and new forms of citizenship. It connects social media to other digital phenomena such as the internet of things, Big Data, and media convergence. In its core modules, learners engage with questions of media technologies and texts, of platforms and users, and of how networked digital media are adopted and adapted in an environment built around the convergence of personal and public communication. Option modules will allow you to develop specialist expertise in areas such as data and society, global media, or activism and politics. You'll develop high-level skills in research, critical thinking, and communication. This Master's is organised in the environment of the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI). CAMRI is a world- leading research centre that studies the role of media and communication in society. In the most recent UK national research audit, the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 83% of CAMRI’s research overall received the two highest ratings of ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. For research impact, 100% of CAMRI’s work received those ratings. Westminster is a leading provider in this academic discipline and is ranked top 15 among UK institutions for Communication and Media Studies in the QS World University Rankings 2022. The University is also ranked 4th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2022 for Research Quality in Communication and Media Studies.