Program Overview

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Communication, Culture and Media MA

Course Overview

This course aims to cultivate the necessary creative, critical and digital skills for professional success.

• Analyse, critique, and challenge traditional and contemporary perspectives within cultural studies and critical theory, while simultaneously engaging with current frameworks and practices in the media and communications sectors.
• Develop your ability to critique both traditional and latest theoretical frameworks, concepts and ideas to the advanced and specialist levels.
• Challenge traditional approaches to media and communications as you engage with a range of real-world case studies, including artificial intelligence-generated content, short-form video platforms and influencer culture.

Why You Should Study This Course

Key features include:

• Bringing theory into practice through hands-on, critical and creative media projects
• An interdisciplinary approach at the intersections of diverse media and communications-related disciplines, providing key transferable skills to navigate the global creative industries with agility and innovation
• Personalised professional development, empowering you to find and develop your voice as a media professional as you prioritise your interests, skills and career goals, through opportunities for bespoke and personalised projects
• A collaborative ethos, in which you can explore and exchange ideas and knowledge with students from related courses and industry collaborators in a creative environment that fosters innovation and teamwork
• Access to industry-standard equipment and facilities, and a multidisciplinary team of scholars, to explore and test new media technologies and emerging communication channels, and produce an industry-ready professional portfolio

Collaborations

Endorsement: Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA)

Coventry University and the RSA have collaborated on a module concerning social and ethical responsibility. You will be entitled to 12 months Fellowship of the RSA so you can access all RSA resources and platforms during your period of study. Once you have successfully passed the Professional Practice and Innovation module, you will receive an RSA digital credential.

Modules

• Digital Screen Cultures (30 credits)
  • Further your understanding of contextual and critical approaches to digital media as a socio-cultural phenomenon. The module focuses on the ways in which audiences engage and interact with and disseminate the digital media they consume.
• Global Media Industries and Systems (30 credits)
  • Explore the political, socio-economic, cultural, policy, technological and regulatory factors in which global media industries and practitioners operate, including film, journalism, public relations and communication. The module is informed by contemporary academic and industry research, with the exploration of contemporary case studies. Learn about media industries’ organisational policy and regulatory frameworks.
• Professional Practice and Innovation (30 credits)
  • Explore and investigate the ecologies of the creative industries, considering the connection between independent, commercial and public sectors. This module is designed in collaboration with the RSA, and upon successful completion, you will receive a digital credential from the RSA.
• Research Methods (30 credits)
  • This module explores the theoretical, conceptual, investigative and practical tools needed to develop effective and ethical research in the field of communications, culture and media. The module will focus on and critically engage with the nature of methodology and contemporary issues and debates in the research of media texts, institutions and audiences. Engage in key debates and study the frameworks of research design in contemporary media to improve your research skills and apply them in professionally focused research projects.
• Global Public Relations and Communication (30 credits)
  • Develop an advanced understanding of the relevant skills, strategies and dominant theories of the public relations industry. Module content expands reflective awareness of contemporary issues in the field of global public relations and communication practices, including their application on digital platforms and channels. Develop your practical and theoretical skills and an awareness of working practices in professional public relations through connections with industry representatives and the support of the module team.
• Independent Project (30 credits)
  • You will manage to completion, a substantial piece of independent research practice that is informed by the wider contexts of your discipline, empowering you to conduct either an empirical or a practice-based research project. You are allowed to undertake a bespoke project based on your research, professional interests and engagement with your relevant field of study.

How You'll Learn

Intensive module delivery should advance and challenge your skills and knowledge rapidly, reflecting the fast-paced and dynamic professional practices of contemporary media industries.

Teaching and learning methods may include:

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Presentations
• Group projects
• Workshops
• Practical sessions

Teaching and Learning Hours

As a full-time postgraduate student, you will study modules totalling 180 credits each academic year. A typical 30-credit module requires a total of 300 hours of study. Study hours are made up of teaching and learning hours, and guided and independent study.

Teaching Hours

Teaching hours will vary, depending on where you are in your studies, but on average, you will have between 8 and 12 teaching and learning hours each week. You will also have the opportunity to attend optional sessions, including time with a Success Coach or to meet with staff for advice and feedback.

Guided and Independent Learning

Throughout your studies, you will be expected to spend time in guided and independent learning which will make up the required study hours per module. You will be undertaking a variety of activities, learning through guided background research, planning and preparation, studio activity, creative practice and making, reviewing what you have learned and completing assignments. This can be completed around your personal commitments. As you progress towards the end of your studies, you will spend more time on independent learning.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which could vary depending on the module. Assessment methods may include:

• Reports
• Tests
• Essays
• Exams
• Practical coursework
• Assignments
• Viva
• Presentations

Entry Requirements

Typical entry requirements:

• UK: An honours degree 2:2 or above (or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline. If you do not have formal qualifications but possess professional experience at an appropriate level in a related field and/or other relevant training and experience, you may be admitted with lower qualifications. This decision will be based on an interview and the submission of supporting materials that demonstrate your experience and achievements.
• International: An honours degree 2:2 or above (or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline. If you do not have formal qualifications but possess professional experience at an appropriate level in a related field and/or other relevant training and experience, you may be admitted with lower qualifications. This decision will be based on an interview and the submission of supporting materials that demonstrate your experience and achievements.

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 5.5

Fees and Funding

• UK, Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man: £11,200
• EU: £11,200 per year with EU Support Bursary, £18,600 per year without EU Support Bursary
• International: £18,600

Facilities

• Our postgraduate journalism courses have a dedicated area within the Ellen Terry Building consisting of three interconnected rooms that currently comprise two newsrooms, one of them doubling as a seminar room and the other as a Mac Lab with Adobe software.
• There is access to two fully equipped radio studios, and your practical teaching and technical instruction takes place in the Tank TV Studio in The Hub.
• You will have access to industry-standard equipment, including cameras and microphones through our media loan service.
• Access Adobe Creative Cloud software on your personal laptop through a dedicated student license.

Careers and Opportunities

On successful completion of this course, you will be well-positioned for roles in a variety of creative sectors, including advocacy and other forms of applied communications, academic research and scholarship, start-ups, the arts, and various sectors within the media industry.

You could seek positions in areas such as:

• Academia
• Marketing
• Radio/podcasting
• Social media management
• Social media commerce sectors
• Editorial positions
• Advertising executives
• TV and film production
• Scriptwriting
• PR account executive
• Digital journalism
• Social commerce

Where Our Graduates Work

Successful graduates of this course have gone on to further their careers as:

• Endemol producer
• Hollywood producer (Kevin Del la Noy)
• Social media managers and executives
• Advertising executives
• Film festival programmers
• Government and advisory positions across the globe
• Public relations managers
• Academic and teaching positions in faculties across the world, such as Nigeria, India and China
• Media influencers
• Social commerce executives
• E-games producers.