Course summary

Understand how media and communications shapes our social, cultural and political discourse – and how you can make a material impact on the world through effective strategic communication. Our new MA Media & Communications course is aimed at those who wish to pursue a career in communications, public relations and social marketing. Throughout the year, you will combine creative and professional skills with critical engagement of social issues such as regional development, social inclusion, economic policy and sustainability, meaning that you will be prepared top work with organisations that have a strategic, communicative, social and political focus. Having both an academic and practical focus, many of your sessions will be seminars and workshops, alongside a handful of lectures so you are able to engage with some of the academic and intellectual foundations of media theory, the public sphere and communications practices such as framing and reframing. You will develop your digital and professional skills while gaining the critical skills to analyse communications and messaging across different sectors and channels. This means that you will be equipped with a strong awareness of media language and impactful storytelling, while being able to tailor your content and communications to wide range of different audiences. You’ll also have the chance to engage with those working in the communications industry in the third sector, NGOs and policy think tanks through live projects, guest speakers and case studies. This programme is a professionally oriented course that puts an emphasis on authentic assessment. This means that many of your methods of assessment will mirror those found in professional practice. In your Final Project, you will be writing and designing your own communications strategy for a defined piece of policy or a campaign, and detailing how it will achieve its strategic objectives and win over hearts and minds. When pitching and designing your own communications strategies, you will have the opportunity to specialise in causes and campaigns that are important to you. You will complete your MA with the powerful understanding of how different types of media can be deployed to facilitate social and cultural change, and be well placed to enter numerous industries that require multi-skilled communications professionals to further their aims and objects through effective storytelling, communications, public relations and marketing.