Global Media MA

Program Overview

Global Media MA

Overview

The Global Media MA course is designed for those who work in, or want to work in, the media industries. It offers a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to global media, examining key developments in the media and communications industries associated with the logic of globalisation.

Course Structure

The course is taught in lectures and seminars by the team from Westminster's top-rated Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI). It is based on continuous assessment, with a focus on developing a clear and comprehensive understanding of communication and the mass media.

Core Modules

• Global Media: This module provides an overview of contemporary developments in global media and communication industries and their impact on cultures worldwide.
• Researching Media and Communication: This module introduces students to the main methods of communication research, covering quantitative and qualitative methods, and the theoretical reasoning behind different methodological approaches.
• Advanced Independent Study: This module provides guidance on how to conduct a major piece of independent research, supplemented by group work and individual supervision.

Option Modules

• Communication Policy and Power: This module offers a comprehensive introduction to the dynamics and processes that shape communication policy, examining key theories and concepts of policy-making.
• Political Economy of Communication: This module introduces students to the political economy approach to analysing the production, distribution, and consumption of media content.
• Policies for the Digital Age: This module explores key policies shaping the dynamic landscape of the networked digital media environment.
• Media and Communication Theory: This module covers a range of theoretical approaches to studying media and communication, acquiring an understanding of the historical contexts in which these ways of thinking emerged.
• Chinese Media: This module introduces participants to the Chinese media in the context of a world order changing on account of the growth in wealth and power of several countries, in particular, China.
• Communications Policy and Global Development: This module provides an overview of the theoretical and practical history of communications within the development process of middle and lower-income economies.
• Media, Activism and Politics: This module offers a critical assessment of the role of media in political mobilisation, social movements, dissent, wars, conflicts, elections, and political and social crises.
• Media Audiences in the Digital Age: This module begins with an overview of media audiences and goes on to analyse audiences and media institutions, passive/active audiences, media influence and effects, and ethnography and media audiences.
• Digital Media Business: Strategy and Entrepreneurship: This module requires students to work in teams, developing a digital media business idea and submitting it individually as a lean feasibility study.
• Sociology of News: A critical study of the news media in the context of current society, linking broader patterns of social change to a critical study of mass media and the techniques to steer them.
• Artificial Intelligence and Society: This module explains what AI is and offers a systematic overview of what is behind AI, looking into the controversies and challenges related to AI.
• Podcast Production: In this module, students learn about the different facets of podcast making, exploring genres and the production techniques required for specific formats.

Entry Requirements

• A minimum of an upper second class honours degree (2:1) or a lower second class honours degree (2:2) in a humanities or social sciences discipline and/or have relevant professional experience.
• If the first language is not English, students should have an IELTS 6.5 overall, with at least 5.5 in each element.
• Applicants are required to submit one academic reference.

Fees and Funding

• UK tuition fee: £9,700 (Price per academic year)
• International tuition fee: £17,500 (Price per academic year)
• Alumni discount available
• Funding schemes available to help fund studies
• Scholarships available to eligible postgraduate students

Teaching and Assessment

• Teaching methods focus on active student learning through lectures, seminars, workshops, problem-based and blended learning, and where appropriate practical application.
• Assessment types include practical and coursework, with a focus on developing a clear and comprehensive understanding of communication and the mass media.

Research Groups

• Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI)

Supporting You

• Study support – workshops, 1-2-1 support and online resources to help improve academic and research skills
• Personal tutors – support students in fulfilling their academic and personal potential
• Student advice team – provide specialist advice on a range of issues including funding, benefits, and visas
• Extra-curricular activities – volunteering opportunities, sports and fitness activities, student events, and more

Course Location

• Harrow Campus, based in north-west London, just 20 minutes from the city centre by train.