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Journalism with Media Studies at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

7Dec
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Are you a budding critic, publisher, or journalist? Our BA (Hons) Journalism with Media Studies degree course gives you a critical understanding of the media field while providing a grounding in journalism disciplines and techniques. You'll learn from published media researchers and expert journalists, as well as using professional-grade media analysis and production facilities. You’ll also develop transferable skills you'll be able to use in any profession. With the option of taking industry placements and the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) qualifications, you can tailor your study on this course to fit your ideal journalistic or media career. Course highlights

  • Get further professional qualifications by taking National Council for Training Journalists (NCTJ) exams
  • Refine your practice by learning from published media researchers and journalists with written and broadcast experience in local, regional, national and international journalism
  • Learn more about the journalism and media industries by meeting visiting professionals from industry bodies – past guests include Dream Team FC, The Times, Novara Media, Sky News, and the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street
  • Gain valuable industry experience by taking optional placements throughout your degree
  • Enhance your teamworking skills by collaborating with other students on other courses within the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries
  • Capture information at up to 100 words per minute by taking shorthand training
Work towards your NCTJ Diploma On this course, you can choose to take the examinations that lead to the industry-recognised NCTJ Diploma in Journalism. If you want to do the full NCTJ diploma alongside your degree, apply for our BA (Hons) Journalism course instead. Careers and opportunities Writers, journalists, and media professionals are needed across a wide range of sectors, with communications and marketing being the most popular. Due to the shift to digital and online platforms to adapt to the pandemic, this demand has grown. The non-specialist skills you'll graduate with will also help widen your career options. The majority of our graduates are in professional roles within two years of graduating, with some progressing to postgraduate study or taking further teacher training to become educators. Graduate areas Our graduates have gone on to work in areas such as:
  • online, newspaper, magazine and broadcast journalism
  • social media
  • public relations
  • marketing
  • corporate communications
  • publishing
  • teaching (with further study)
Graduate roles Job roles our graduates have taken on include:
  • campaign assistant
  • editorial assistant
  • PR and marketing assistant
  • trainee reporter
  • journalist
After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Academic Skills and Career Planning (20 credits)
  • Global Screens (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Media Studies (20 credits)
  • Journalism in Context (20 credits)
  • Media Law and Regulation (L4) (20 credits)
  • Reporting (20 credits)
Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Feature Writing and Media Research (20 credits)
  • Media Networks: Exploring Digital Culture (20 credits)
Optional modules in this year include:
  • Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)
  • Factual Media Production (20 credits)
  • Investigative Journalism (20 credits)
  • Media, Culture and National Identity (20 credits)
  • Mobile Journalism (20 credits)
  • Press and Public Relations (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience (20 credits)
  • Propaganda (20 credits)
  • Screen Media (20 credits)
  • Social Media and Journalism (20 credits)
  • Specialist Journalism (20 credits)
  • Student Enterprise (20 credits)
Year 3 There are no core modules in this year. Optional modules in this year include:
  • Celebrity and Society (20 credits)
  • Cultures of Consumption (20 credits)
  • Digital Media and Democracy (20 credits)
  • Dissertation (40 credits)
  • Global Journalism and Human Rights (20 credits)
  • Journalism Special Investigation (40 credits)
  • Magazines: Print Media in a Digital World (20 credits)
  • Media Fan Cultures (20 credits)
  • Money, Government and Power (20 credits)
  • News, War and Peace (20 credits)
  • Placement (20 credits)
  • Representing Science in the Media (20 credits)
Placement year (optional) On this course, you can do an optional work placement year after your 2nd or 3rd year to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year. We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through:

  • essays and close textual analysis
  • in-class tests
  • media artefacts
  • seminar presentations
  • a 10,000-word dissertation
  • post-placement assessment
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.The way you’re assessed may depend on the units you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
  • Year 1 students: 22% by written exams and 78% by coursework
  • Year 2 students: 17% by practical exams and 83% by coursework
- Year 3 students: 10% by practical exams and 90% by coursework

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
PTE Academic62An overall score of 62 with a minimum of 59 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
75%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
75%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 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

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2024/25): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,385 EU – £1,385 (including Transition Scholarship) International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Journalism with Media Studies at University of Portsmouth - UCAS