Global Media and Communication (MA)

at University of Warwick

This course combines rigorous research of global media products, content and technologies with the creative skills needed. You will take an interdisciplinary approach to develop an oversight of media, communication, culture, politics, power, business, marketing and creativity. It will deepen your understanding of these complex dynamics and practices, preparing you for a career in this fast-changing industry.

You will explore the role of ideas, beliefs and values in media production and consumption. You will also learn how media products and content enable us to communicate creatively and effectively across global markets and cultural borders. You will consider how media can inform new kinds of professional practice and anticipate future developments.

Core modules

Major Project

The Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies is an interdisciplinary centre for teaching and research in the fields of cultural and media policy and the creative industries. The commitment to interdisciplinarity is reflected in our Major Projects, where you will be encouraged to draw on approaches from across the humanities and social sciences in producing your work. Successful projects can emerge from creative engagement with scholarly debates, from the design and analysis of original empirical work, or from some combination of these. This openness of approach is also reflected in how Major Project research can be represented.

Approaching Global Media

The module explores interdisciplinary perspectives in order to understand how the media and communication industries operate. In this module you will gain an overview of the various disciplinary approaches taken in the academic understanding of the global media. Drawing on perspectives from Sociology, Cultural and Communication Studies, amongst others, the module will deepen your understanding of the historical, social and political contexts in which the media industries are located, and help to shed light on the contemporary landscape in which they operate.

You will also examine the place of the media industries in creating a 'global' society and engage with debates about economic and cultural globalization. The latter part of the module you will consider the role of the global media in shaping and transforming a global public sphere. Further examination of the structure and organisation of the media and cultural industries will help to reveal what is at stake in the proliferation of channels and flows of media messages around the globe.

Creativity, Communication and Technology

In this module you will evaluate the impact of creativity, communication and technology upon personal, local, national and global issues. Creative media communication is central to most innovation today, and is an effective way of researching the power of media and exploring new levels of value creation. The latest research exploring alternative media, community media, digital media, open source and new communication dynamics will update your understanding. From crowd sourcing to citizen journalism, mobile connectivity to convergence, peer-to-peer and civic participation, you will investigate the creative use of communications and technology in the current globalized media ecology. Engagement with innovative media studies research methods will provide the tools for investigating global media and communication in more depth.

Whilst paying attention to the impact of creativity and technology on media discourses, forms, practices and industries, you are also expected to be creative in this module. Our sub-focus is on creating communication for personal, local, national and global impact. Using simple media tools, you will develop your ideas on how personal, local, national, or global issues can be constructed creatively for private, public or third sector political and cultural economies.

Research Design

This module aims to prepare you for your Major Project, which is a substantial piece of independent research on a topic of your choice. The module will equip you with a broad understanding of relevant research methods from which to select an appropriate approach for your own project. It will introduce you to ethical dimensions of research. It will equip you to write an effective proposal (including research questions, rationale, explanation and justification of research methods, identifying relevant literature and data sources).

By the end of the module, you should be ready to submit your proposal and be equipped with a broad understanding of research methods in the cultural, creative and media industries field.

Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:

• The Mediated Self
• Marketing and Markets
• Media, Policy and Markets

All students will take a total of 3 option modules which also includes their course specific applied management module. The bespoke applied management module for this MA is Applied Communication Project. This module gives you the opportunity to apply your learning in practice- or industry-related contexts.

Minimum requirements

2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

English language requirements

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.
   

The University carries out an initial fee status assessment based on information provided in the application and according to the guidance published by UKCISA. Students are classified as either Home or Overseas Fee status and this can determine the tuition fee and eligibility of certain scholarships and financial support.

If you receive an offer, your fee status will be stated with the tuition fee information, however we are awaiting guidance from the UK government regarding fee status for EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals and their family members living in the UK for academic year 2021/22 onwards. We are not able to confirm the fee status for these students until the relevant eligibility criteria have been confirmed. Once we have received further information from the UK government, we will provide you with an update on your fee status and let you know if any additional information is required. If you believe your fee status has been incorrectly classified you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire (follow the instructions in your offer) and provide the required documentation for this to be reassessed.
 

Graduates from the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies have gone on to work in television, film, communications, data analysis, theatre, museums, art galleries, events, festivals, UN agencies, NGOs, charities, arts and educational organisations, research, PR, publishing and have even set up their own businesses.

Our graduates have gone on to work for employers including: Acacia Avenue, Barclaycard, BBC, British Embassy, Bankside Films, The Economist, EMEA, Facebook, Fox Networks Group, Global Influencer, Google, The Academy of Urbanism, OVO, Penguin Random House and Sky.

We have a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

• Discovering Careers in the Creative Industries
• Careers in Radio Film and Television
• Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
• A history and DIY Guide to setting up and running a Theatre Company