Media & Journalism

This MA Journalism course is designed for graduates of disciplines such as social sciences and humanities who wish to pursue a career in journalism.

You develop skills in research and writing as well as engaging with contemporary debates around the news and media industries. Accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists, this programme incorporates the professional qualifications required to work as a newspaper journalist in the UK.

What you study

You learn news values, news story construction, news writing, and how to make audio and video for websites, as well as studying relevant aspects of law and public administration, and gaining competence in shorthand. You engage in reflective practice which will inform your future personal and professional development as a journalist. For your final degree project you undertake a self-conceived piece of independent research and produce an extended essay under the guidance of a nominated supervisor. The dissertation is designed to give you the opportunity to pursue an aspect of a field of journalism and the news industries which you find particularly interesting, and to develop a more specialised understanding of it.

How you learn

You approach the discipline of journalism from both a practical, professional perspective and from a critical, analytical point of view. It develops reflective practitioners with sophisticated transferable skills, and the ability to take responsibility for their own future learning and development. You will therefore be expected to read, research and produce media products, such as print stories, video and audio, in your own time. In taught sessions you experience a range of learning and teaching strategies to help you form both a theoretical and a practical understanding of the field of journalism. Your understanding of the subject is developed through workshops, seminars, group work and by producing content for the Tside website. You also get the opportunity to contribute to a professional news publications and organisations.

How you are assessed

You are assessed on a portfolio of practical journalism across a range of media platforms, as well as a range of presentations, essay assignments and examinations.

Career opportunities

A qualification and experience in journalism opens up a vast range of opportunities in all areas of the news and media industries, as well as associated disciplines such as public relations and copy writing.

Entry requirements

Each applicant is evaluated on an individual basis and their level of achievement, experience and appropriateness for the degree properly assessed. Applicants should normally have a first or 2.1 in a recognised undergraduate programme.

All candidates will be required to attend an informal interview, including a test of your written English and knowledge of current affairs. In the event that this poses a problem, arrangements can be made for telephone or Skype interviews and for online testing.

For additional information please see the undergraduate and postgraduate entry requirements in our admissions section

More information

• Media at Teesside Go behind the scenes to see our professional standard technical, production and teaching facilities. (8mins)
• Funding
  Do you need funding to do your BA Multimedia Journalism degree? Then why not see if you are eligible for financial help with your studies.
  Visit the Journalism Diversity Fund site to find out
• Tside
  All students get to produce work for our own news website called Tside. You can produce a range of news, sport, entertainment and feature stories with text, video and audio all included.
  Check out the work already produced by students
• Media & Journalism
  More information and courses in Media & Journalism