Course summary

The Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge is department is ranked first for Sociology in the Guardian's Best Universities league table. The UK's 2021 Research Excellence Framework ranks our department second overall in the UK, and joint first for the research environment. And the QS World University rankings list our department as 6th of 330 sociology departments across the world. The MPhil in Sociology of Media and Culture pathway provides students with the opportunity to study the nature and transformation of media and cultural forms at an advanced level. The programme gives students a firm grounding in the theoretical and empirical analysis of media and culture and enables them to study particular media and cultural forms in-depth, examining their transformations over time and their impact on other aspects of social and political life. The MPhil in Sociology of Media and Culture pathway provides students with the opportunity to study the nature and transformation of media and cultural forms at an advanced level. The programme gives students a firm grounding in the theoretical and empirical analysis of media and culture and enables them to study particular media and cultural forms in-depth, examining their transformations over time and their impact on other aspects of social and political life. There are three elements to the pathway: 1. A core course of eight 2-hour sessions covering some of the major theoretical contributions to the study of the media and culture and some key substantive topics. There are also substantive topics which vary from year to year depending on availability of academic staff. 2. All students will receive training in research methods and take a course on research methods which includes sessions on philosophical issues in the social sciences; research design; data collection and analysis in relation to quantitative and qualitative methods; reflection on research ethics and practice; library and computer skills. Students will also have the opportunity to take courses and attend lectures on many other aspects of research method and design and will select these courses in discussion with their supervisor. 3. All students will write a dissertation on a topic of their choice that allows for theoretically informed empirical analysis of some aspect of media or culture in contemporary societies. The choice of dissertation topic is made in consultation with your supervisor, who can advise you on the suitability and feasibility of your proposed research and on research design. A dissertation workshop provides the opportunity to present aspects of your dissertation work and to receive constructive feedback from course teachers and fellow students.