| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2025-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
Media and Broadcast Production
Overview
This PG Diploma is an intensive programme providing you with a solid foundation in media-based storytelling by combining in-depth research methods with a practical, hands-on approach to learning. It will teach you how to record and edit in audio and video formats; how to research, produce, script, and edit your own material, whether it is short features or long-form documentary; and how to produce stories for radio, TV, and interactive online platforms. To do this, you’ll also learn effective interviewing techniques. This MA will teach you how to identify a good story and then how to research and pitch it for a successful commissioning outcome.
Whether you want to be a broadcast journalist, a radio or podcast producer, a videographer, a documentary filmmaker, a media production/communications specialist, a post-production editor or immersive media practitioner, our practice-centred approach will strategically position you to work for any aspect of radio or podcasting; factual TV; documentary and informational production. On completing this MA, you will have numerous factual media outputs under your belt in radio/podcast, TV, documentary, interactive and experimental hybrid formats. This will be the basis of a robust work portfolio with which you can then enter the work market.
The programme is designed to appeal to graduate students in the Humanities and Social Sciences, particularly those with backgrounds in English, politics, history, journalism, cultural studies, and creative writing. Previous academic study of or practical experience in areas of the media is beneficial but not essential. This would also interest those from other disciplines who want to retrain and have already had some relevant media industry experience.
Media and Broadcast Production highlights
Industry Links
We have strong links to the BBC and relationships with local and global media organisations. We have industry professionals as guest speakers, both from Northern Ireland as well as internationally: foreign correspondents, award- winning directors and producers, photographers, editors or script writers. Students can take part in a range of talks, events and have regular opportunities to engage with the vibrant media scene in Northern Ireland and the international media landscape.
Career Development
Students will use equipment and facilities acquired and designed in collaboration with BBC NI and other industry representatives. The Media and Broadcast Diploma is taught from the Sonic Arts Research Centre, the home of the world-renowned Sonic Lab. Students have opportunities to explore hybrid forms of storytelling using industry-level cameras, editing software and facilities.
World Class Facilities
Based in the School of Arts, English and Languages, the Diploma in Media and Broadcast Production offers a robust, hands-on production experience combined with rigorous academic research, enabling students to leave with a rich portfolio of self-produced, shot and edited factual stories in audio and video formats; radio and TV documentaries; and thorough understanding of modern media and broadcast landscapes.
Student Experience
Students are encouraged to develop their own interests throughout the degree, guided by the staff, whose expertise is wide-ranging, covering broadcast journalism, factual (audio and video) documentary production, hybrid storytelling, interactive media, virtual reality, media research & analysis and communications.
Course Structure
- Full Time Semester One: Three compulsory modules Semester Two: Two compulsory modules and one option
- Part Time Year One, Semester One: Two compulsory modules Year One, Semester Two: One module Year Two, Semester One: One compulsory module Year Two, Semester Two: Two modules
Modules
Core Modules
- Media and Memory: Uses of the Past (20 credits)
- Research Methods (20 credits)
- Broadcast Journalism (20 credits)
- Hybrid Storytelling (20 credits)
- Documentary Practice (20 credits)
Optional Modules
- Gothic/Horror Television and Audio (20 credits)
- Interactive Media (20 credits)
Entrance requirements
Graduate
Normally a strong 2.2 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in an Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences subject.
Applicants with qualifications below 2.2 Honours degree may be considered if they can demonstrate appropriate relevant experience.
Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 15th August 2025 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal prior to the deadline stated on course finder. Notifications to this effect will appear on the application portal against the programme application page.
The University's Recognition of Prior Learning Policy provides guidance on the assessment of experiential learning (RPEL).
International Students
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English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. *Taken within the last 2 years.
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.
Tuition Fees
Northern Ireland (NI) 1 | £4,867
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Republic of Ireland (ROI) 2 | £4,867
England, Scotland or Wales (GB) 1 | £6,167
EU Other 3 | £14,333
International | £14,333
1EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.
2 EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.
3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.
All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Additional course costs
There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.
Career Prospects
This programme is designed to offer a range of highly useful skills, experience and understanding regarding broadcasting and contemporary media, which are useful in a range of careers, including broadcasting, journalism, marketing, press and public relations, advertising and teaching. Some students choose to continue their studies to MA and/or PhD level on a chosen specialised topic in Media and Broadcast Production.
Employment Links
Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
Module Details
Media and Memory: Uses of the Past
This module examines theories of memory in relation to global media cultures, looking in particular at the intersections of memory with visual media such as documentary, television, and photography. Memory studies has emerged over the last few decades as an interdisciplinary and global field of study drawing on cultural studies, media studies, trauma studies, psychology and sociology. Memory is thus a key site where concepts of national identity, heritage and human rights are mediated and disputed. The module considers foundational concepts such as cultural memory, technologies of memory, remediation in the digital era and nostalgia, connecting classic texts in media/memory studies, which are still influential in the field, with contemporary issues and audiovisual material. Media have always been important in the way we remember events and construct notions of self and community. Our individual and social memories are becoming increasingly intertwined with (and reliant on) media data and technologies. Media are the ultimate conveyors of the contradictions of contemporary memory: ephemeral and artificial in one sense, but also enduring and authentic in another. The module will address questions such as: How do still images construct our remembrance of the past and the self? How does television mediate our collective consciousness? How can documentary be seen as spaces of memory?
Research Methods
This module is focused on developing students’ skills and understanding of concepts relating to conceiving and planning independent projects, using the development of a potential dissertation as the focus. Material covered will include practical techniques for developing projects from conception to planning, with a particular focus on academic projects, including practice- based research. Students will consider the applicability of different research methods, and issues associated with research. They will also be expected to undertake their own research, putting these concepts and skills into practice, in developing and proposing a project suitable for a Masters dissertation.
Broadcast Journalism
This module introduces students to the skills required to produce broadcast material. Using practical sessions, it teaches industry standard broadcast gathering skills. Students will learn the technological skills needed to operate digital recorders and edit sound, as well as the practical skills required to carry out effective interviews and perform pieces to camera. The module also covers the ethical frameworks around producing and broadcasting broadcast material and relates that to the UK regulatory framework. Throughout the module the students will gain an understanding of how the process of newsgathering impacts on broadcast outputs. The module also utilises BBC staff and facilities, giving students a valuable insight into the industry.
Hybrid Storytelling
Misinformation, image and sound manipulation and “post-truth” discourses all pose increasingly significant threats to the status of fact and factual media and the democratic culture it underpins in Western societies.
The development of these practices have bred deep suspicion and a burgeoning rejection of the observational mode of storytelling, a staple of conventional audio and audio-visual factual media.
This module is intended to do two things:
- Study the rise and development of misinformation, image and sound manipulation and “post-truth” discourses and act as an essential primer on these developments for students entering the contemporary broadcast industry
- Study various creative responses – primarily hybrid story forms – that can serve as antidotes to the above threats by bolstering the factual thrust of projects they are working on
This module is intended as an equally balanced hybrid of theory and practice, which enables students to build on and interrogate broadcast skills they know well through either media practice or media consumption Students will engage with theory in the following area: documentary studies, postmodernism semiotics, post-structuralism, post-truth discourse, narratology and genre experimentation, among others.
They will be exposed to examples of audio and audio-visual work which exemplifies creative responses to misinformation, notably hybrid forms where fiction (or fictive strategies) is commandeered in the service of strengthening of the veracity of factual information for audiences living in our “post-truth” era.
Students will have the opportunity to develop and apply some of these strategies in their own factual broadcast practical work on the module. They will also have the opportunity, through written work, to demonstrate their ability to critically analyse concepts covered during the course of the module.
Documentary Practice
This module develops the skills needed for students to produce a character- focussed, narrative-driven, industry-standard documentary or series of mini- documentaries suitable for broadcast. The work will draw on documentary and story theory to incorporate narration, interviews, natural sound, sequence and scene building, and sound design. The module takes students through the production process from the initial idea to pitch to project design, material gathering, scripting, editing and final export. Media ethics and regulation is a core part of documentary practice as it is learned on this module. Keen attention is given to various administrative processes associated with documentary production. The module also examines the history of the documentary form and analyses various evolutions and developments in the form.
Gothic/Horror Television and Audio
This module focuses on the Gothic and horror as mode and genre across television, radio and podcasting. While perpetually popular, and often the subject of cult followings, Gothic and horror productions have regularly been sidelined, looked down on and treated with bemusement. Yet Gothic provides a useful framework for considering the spectral, domestic nature of media, while horror provides ways of examining and understanding cultural constructions around taste, society, and contemporary fears, such as those around identity, power and climate. This module will examine the Gothic and horror from a number of angles, considering their relationships to medium, audience, industry and culture, giving students the grounding from which they can apply and develop these frameworks in their own research projects.
Interactive Media
This module introduces the production of interactive and non-linear forms of new media as emergent alternatives to traditional linear forms of media.
New media is explored through both a practical exploration of interactive formats; and by considering critical debates around aesthetics, power, force, significance and form in a series of new media texts, artefacts and systems.
The module situates practices in an environment that is ceaselessly evolving and explores new technologies such as virtual reality, immersive media and interactive documentary for web/mobile devices.
This module offers a practical introduction to software authoring tools and an exploration of disruptive new technologies as they emerge.
