What you will study
You will develop a range of professional, practical skills and knowledge that will equip you for a job in journalism, including news and feature writing, public affairs, online journalism, media law and shorthand. You will have the opportunity to report and write for our news website, the Kingston Courier, which is run by our postgraduate students. Using your acquired design skills, you'll learn to produce a print supplement to our University newspaper, The River.
Once you have achieved the PgDip, which runs over two semesters from September to May, you can continue on to the MA degree by researching and writing a dissertation or carrying out an equivalent work-based practical project. This will develop your critical thinking and analytical skills, and give you the chance to carry out independent academic research.
The core module is worth 60 credits. You'll be expected to complete 180 credits altogether.|
Modules: Full-time study
You can choose to study for either a PgDip or MA award. If you opt for the MA, you will have the opportunity to do a work-based final project, or a dissertation which allows you to focus on an area of interest and gain valuable research skills, as a potential gateway to a PhD.
Core modules
Practical Journalism Now: Multimedia Skills and Employability
60 credits
This module – which includes a two week work placement outside the university – aims to give students the practical skills needed to work as a journalist. You'll get a chance to practise your core skills of researching, writing, interviewing and editing, as you join the team running multimedia news website the Kingston Courier. You'll learn a wide range of skills, including video, podcasting, mobile journalism, data journalism and newspaper design, and also how to harness the power of social media and editorial analytics. During the course of the module, you will build a wide-ranging portfolio to showcase all of the skills learned on the MA, and learn how to best prepare yourself to find work as a journalist.
As well as counting towards your MA, this module leads to the NCTJ Essential Journalism and Essential Public Affairs exams.
Non credit-bearing modules taken as part of the NCTJ diploma
Court Reporting
0 credits
This module will give you an understanding of how the UK court system works, and get you ready to report from a variety of courts and hearings, including magistrates and crown courts, county courts and inquests. You'll get a chance to visit Kingston Crown Court - just across the road from campus - and practise your legal, shorthand and reporting skills. The module, which is not-for-credit, is taken by all students studying for the MA Journalism, and may also be of interest to MA Magazine Journalism students. It culminates in the NCTJ Court Reporting exam.
Shorthand (Postgraduate)
0 credits
All students on the MA Journalism course study Teeline shorthand, and the module is also available to those studying MA Magazine Journalism. Shorthand is an extremely useful skill for journalists, and one prized by employers: it generates trust with interviewees and increases the speed and efficiency of reporting. You will be taught Teeline, which uses written outlines derived from consonants, by a teacher of longstanding experience; the aim is to reach a speed of 100 words per minute (wpm) by the end of the course.
Shorthand exams at 60, 80 and 100 wpm, count towards the NCTJ diploma.
MA students also choose either the Journalism Dissertation or the Practical Project
Practical Journalism Project
60 credits
Students who wish to go straight into the workplace can opt to do a Practical Journalism Project module while they work, in lieu of a dissertation. This module includes a piece of academic research as well as a portfolio of journalism produced as a working journalist. You will also be asked to reflect on your practice, considering how you can learn from your experience and develop as a journalist. This module takes place between May and September, after core teaching has finished.
MA Journalism Dissertation
60 credits
Students wishing to undertake a substantial piece of academic work can opt to take the dissertation module, which is carried out between May and September, after core teaching has finished. Once you have narrowed down your area of interest, you will be given a supervisor who will work individually with you to help you develop your ideas, frame a hypothesis and conduct appropriate primary and secondary research. The MA dissertation is a good bridge for any students wishing to pursue further study, at PhD level or beyond.
Optional modules
Feature Writing
30 credits
Whatever the type of magazine - from quality Sunday paper supplements to women's lifestyle monthlies - features dominate content. This module encourages students to look critically at feature writing in all its forms and to analyse exactly what makes a great feature. You will learn how to generate winning ideas, research those ideas thoroughly, and turn that research into eye-catching copy. You will also learn how to pitch ideas to publications, and be encouraged to pitch for real during the course.
Broadcast Journalism
30 credits
This module aims to teach students the principles and practice of broadcast journalism. You will learn to use a variety of industry-standard software and hardware, and acquire the technical skills necessary to produce quality radio and television packages. You'll learn about broadcast regulation, find out how to pitch stories to potential employers, and develop your presentation skills, receiving voice coaching and taking part in radio and television news days. Alongside traditional methods of broadcast, you will consider what opportunities the internet offers for both storytelling and live reporting.
As well as counting towards your MA, this module leads to the NCTJ's Broadcast Journalism exams.
Journalism Specialism
30 credits
This highly practical module allows students to explore in depth, and actively engage with, a range of journalism specialisms which could include: sports journalism, fashion journalism, investigative data journalism, creative non-fiction, foreign correspondence, environmental journalism, business journalism, arts and entertainment journalism, health and science journalism or political journalism.
Students will develop the researching, writing, reporting and digital skills they acquired through prior learning to produce professional copy and other outputs pertinent to each specialism, such as social media, video and data visualisations. They will apply their newly-gained specialist knowledge and acquired skills to the production of a portfolio of cutting-edge specialist journalism.
The practices of each area of specialist journalism will be placed in a context throughout the module. Through a series of lectures and in-class discussions students will gain insight into each specialism and how it works. They will acquire an appreciation of the historical, cultural, global and economic issues which specialist journalists must understand. The module prepares students to pursue jobs within specialist beats upon graduation.
Optional placement year
Many postgraduate courses at Kingston University allow students to do a 12-month work placement as part of their course. The responsibility for finding the work placement is with the student; we cannot guarantee the work placement, just the opportunity to undertake it. As the work placement is an assessed part of the course, it is covered by a student's Student Route visa.
Module
Professional Placement
120 credits
The Professional Placement module is a core module for those students following a masters programme that incorporates professional placement learning, following completion of 120 credits. It provides you with the opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills to an appropriate working environment, and to develop and enhance key employability skills and subject-specific professional skills in your chosen subject. You may wish to use the placement experience as a platform for your subsequent major project module, and would be expected to use it to help inform your decisions about future careers.
