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Universities United Kingdom Cardiff University Courses Journalism and Communications (BA)

Journalism and Communications (BA)
at Cardiff University

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Tuition Fee £ 18,700
Country Rank-
Duration36 Months
Score IELTS: 6.5

Program Overview

Leading the way

Put yourself at the forefront of Journalism and Communications in an internationally recognised and high-ranking school.

Capital connections

Cardiff is thriving; take advantage of growing media and creative industries plus links to BBC Wales and Media Wales, situated next door.

State of the art facilities

Including a specialised onsite library, bright study spaces and six newsrooms.

Journalism now

Delve into pressing present day issues such as mediation of political violence, internet governance and body image.

Placement opportunities

Develop the skills, confidence and connections to accelerate your career.

On a practical level, you will produce portfolios (including digital portfolios), practise journalistic writing skills across a number of platforms including online, broadcast, print and magazines, pitch ideas for new editorial products and businesses, and use a variety of software to produce graphic outputs, blogs, apps, and social media campaigns.

While you will be able to take a number of practical modules, the emphasis of the degree is academic and analytical. You will be able to follow a clear journalism and communication path throughout the three years of study.

Crucially, you will gain the ability to research, write and critique your own written projects according to highest academic standards, and utilise modern information technology in researching and presenting. You will develop your ability to work both independently and in groups.

Finally, the course will develop and hone your awareness of the practical and economic forces which frame the media, cultural and creative industries, leaving you ideally placed to work in any field where communication skills are required.

While Journalism and Communications in particular is a product of our extensive and growing communications environment, the course also benefits from our experience teaching and researching both journalism and media studies from national and international perspectives.

While this course is both challenging and academic in nature, it does NOT provide vocational journalism training.

Course Content
Course structure

The BA in Journalism and Communications is a three-year, full-time, modular course. Most modules include 12 weeks of teaching and the rest of the semester is devoted to exams and other kinds of assessment, along with the processes of marking and exam boards.

Welsh-speaking students will have the opportunity of undertaking their first-year seminars through the medium of Welsh.

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2022/2023 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2022.

Year one
All of our Single Honours degree programmes share a common first year. This is designed to give you a sound foundation in all of the contemporary and historical contexts of journalism, media and culture. It also introduces you to the practicalities of high-quality academic writing, analysis and research.

In total six core 20-credit modules are taught mainly using a lecture/seminar format. During your lectures you will be introduced to new ideas and approaches and carry out more applied and team-based work in your seminars.

Year two
You will study two core modules, one in each semester and four optional modules, taught mainly using a lecture/seminar format although the tasks developed in seminars will be more ambitious.

You will be expected to develop research protocols, both on your own and in groups, and will begin to experiment with and design methodological procedures (such as survey methods, ethnography, and content and discourse analysis).

By the end of year two, you will have the skills necessary to write a dissertation in year three.

Year three
Year three consists of an optional dissertation and a choice of elective modules allowing you to specialise in your areas of interest. While a number of these will be based on a lecture/workshop format, the range of teaching methods will be more diverse and involve assignments of greater complexity and challenge.

You will conduct independent research and apply theoretical ideas and approaches to practical and/or analytical work.
Entry Requirement
A level
ABB-BBB

Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard A level offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.

International Baccalaureate
32-31 overall or 665 in 3 HL subjects.

GCSE
Grade B or grade 6 in GCSE English Language.

IELTS (academic)
At least 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each subskill.

TOEFL iBT
At least 100 overall with a minimum of 20 in each subskill.

PTE Academic
At least 70 overall with a minimum of 62 in all communicative skills.

Trinity ISE II/III
III: at least a Merit in all components.
Fees & Scholarships
Tuition fees for 2022 entry

Fees for home status
- £9,000
Fees for overseas status
- £18,700
Career Prospect
Our students have an excellent reputation for finding employment after they graduate.

The most recent DLHE data (2016/17), shows that 96% of our graduates reported they were in employment or further studies within six months of graduation.

Career roles

Our graduates find their skills to be helpful in a range of communications and public relations roles. Our alumni benefit from their ability to write copy quickly, effectively and for a specific audience. Our graduates often succeed in business due to their ability to structure a coherent written and verbal argument when pitching their business ideas.

Some of our graduates utilise their newfound knowledge of current affairs and world politics to pursue a career in journalism.

Because our undergraduate degrees do not provide journalism training or a journalistic accreditation, many chose to progress on to our Masters courses, such as broadcast, magazine, news or computational journalism, to gain their practical training.

In fact, you will gain skills applicable to a range of modern media driven jobs, recent career pathways and roles have included:
- TV Production – Producer and researcher
- Advertising – Copy writer and campaign manager
- Public Relations – Account manager and writer
- Teaching – Various disciplines
- Journalism – Local reporter and blogger
- Movie Production – Writer and producer
- Publishing – Writer and copy editor
- Communications – Press/communications officer

Cost Of Studying At Cardiff University

Interest rates as low as 8.9% ^*

250K+

Students Assisted

800Cr+

Loan Amount Disbursed

5000+

Loans Sanctioned

Check Loan Eligibility

Journalism and Communications (BA) at Cardiff University