Course summary
We are living through a period of dramatic transformation, where technological innovation is becoming a major sociopolitical concern. New social pressures, such as climate change, are driving technological upheavals in areas like energy and transport, while advancements in technologies such as artificial intelligence (but also, for example, the blockchain, genetic engineering, autonomous systems, augmented reality, reusable rockets, and more) have the potential to create new social pressures. These dynamics are already disrupting our established social orders, creating a spectrum of opportunities and dangers. The interdisciplinary MSc in Digital and Technological Society is designed to provide students with the tools to grapple with these opportunities and dangers. Drawing on insights from disparate social sciences, it offers critical perspectives on, and interdisciplinary methods to research, the nature of technological change: the ways technology shapes society and the ways it is shaped by society. Students will study technologies not just as tools or artifacts, but as systems interwoven with social, cultural, political, and economic meaning and practice. The curriculum draws heavily on scholarship around digital systems but is designed to address a wide range of technologies: emphasising generalisable insights into society's relationship with its creations. Different unit options offer the opportunity to engage with different facets of modern technological development. We will ask how our social expectations come to shape our technological choices; how our technological choices structure our social relations; how digital technologies are fostering new cultural and economic forms; how we might recognise and govern the risks of innovation; and many other questions. The programme is designed to equip students with skills and knowledge that are highly sought after in the rapidly evolving technological and digital world. It takes advantage of the University of Bristol's broad expertise in the social study of technological systems. This expertise – exemplified by research centres such as the Bristol Digital Game Lab (BDGL), the Bristol Digital Futures Institute (BDFI), the ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures (CenSoF), the Jean Golding Institute for data research, and more – offers unique learning and networking opportunities for students.
Assessment method
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/media/postgraduate/admissions-statements/2025/msc-digital-and-technological-society.pdf
Entry requirements
You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or an international equivalent in any discipline. If you are currently completing a degree, we understand that your final grade may be higher than the interim grades or module/unit grades you have achieved during your studies to date. We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree. Specific module requirements would still apply. We will also consider your application if your final overall achieved grade is slightly lower than the programme's entry requirement. If you have at least one of the following, please include your CV (curriculum vitae / résumé) when you apply, showing details of your relevant qualifications: * evidence of significant, relevant work experience in one of the following sectors: NGOs, Government Departments, Think Tanks, Social Research Institutes (minimum of six months in a paid or voluntary role); * a postgraduate qualification in any discipline. See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/international/countries/
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £15100 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £15100 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £15100 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £15100 | Year 1 |
| EU | £32100 | Year 1 |
| International | £32100 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Provider information
University of Bristol
Beacon House
Queen’s Road
Bristol
BS8 1QU