MA Media and Politics

Overview

This programme was formerly known as MA Media and Communication: Media and Politics.

By studying the MA Media and Politics, students will develop an advanced knowledge and understanding of different forms of communication in their social, political, and economic contexts, focusing in particular on the relationship between news media, social media, and politics in contemporary societies.

The Media and Politics MA is a fantastic opportunity for you to engage with current debates about the constantly evolving role of media in national and international political life. The pathway uncovers the ways in which journalists and politicians attempt to set the political agenda or influence public opinion and also explores the ways in which the audiences, as public and as citizens, are involved in media as consumers and producers.

The pathway is built around core modules which focus on the theories and debates surrounding:

• the relationship between the mass media, politics and society
• the role and function of the media in a democracy
• the impact of mass media on global political processes
• research methods used in media and communication research.

You will develop skills that directly enhance employability, including applying critical reviewing skills, giving presentations, plus data management, problem-solving, team-working and research design and implementation.

You'll able to pursue your own specific research/study interest in political communication via a 12,000-15,000 word dissertation and by choosing two further modules from a range of other M-level modules provided by the department or wider school.

Career prospects

Student career development is a major interest for the department and we actively encourage students to integrate career planning into their academic studies. This is promoted through individual modules which have strong policy and career relevant aspects, and a close relationship with the University’s excellent Careers Service who provide bespoke sessions for students.

Through this programme graduates will enhance their career prospects in professional areas like government, media, journalism and public relations. While some positions in these fields often require the ability to conduct research or project-work and to demonstrate sustained and complex organisational skills in ways encompassed by this MA, its emphasis on oral and written communication skills as well as on IT-based presentation skills and research will be useful for many types of employment. As this is predominantly an academic degree, some former graduates of the MA have gone on to further academic study (PhD).