BA (Hons) Mass Communications
University of Hertfordshire
Key Information
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Campus location
Hatfield, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
4 - 5 years
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 13,450 *
Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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* international students full time, part time £1680 per 15 credits / UK students full time £9250, part time £1155 per 15 credits / EU students full time £13450, part time £1680 per 15 credits
Scholarships
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Introduction
"Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, examinations may be replaced by an alternative form of assessment during the academic year 2021/2022. Please refer to the Programme Specification on these pages for further details."
Why choose this course?
Do you want to join the next generation of media professionals?
This powerful, practical course will give you the skills and agility to thrive in a rapidly changing industry. You’ll explore the nature of language, communication, and the media. Write news, features, and fiction. Study films, music, and celebrity. Design magazines, websites, and a fascinating, successful future.
The media world is evolving fast. Digital and social media are developing at breakneck speed and changing the way we talk to, learn from, and understand each other. Here at Hertfordshire, our mass communications course focuses on communication and media practice, encouraging you to be entrepreneurial and professional, with a diverse set of sought-after creative skills.
You’ll have a whole range of opportunities, including exploring publishing and PR, examining the ethical and legal aspects of journalism, developing your voice as a writer, studying the context behind films, spending a life-changing year abroad, or taking a year-long work placement.
The course is strongly linked to industry and taught by a team of media academics and professionals. You'll have the opportunity to take part in industry events thanks to our affiliation to the Public Relations and Communications Association, one of Britain's top trade organisations for PR professionals, and attend the Media Matters guest lectures given by a range of media speakers from top journalists to our recent graduates. You'll meet media industry experts such as B.A. (Hons)Mass Communications graduate, Tobi Akingbade who is now a showbiz writer; Charlotte Jones who is now a global content manager in the beauty industry; and Uche Amako, who is now a sports writer. What’s more, you’ll study at a TEF Gold rated University. That’s the highest rating for teaching and support.
What's the course about?
You’ll learn how to create and publish content on a broad range of formats including print multimedia and within online platforms. You’ll gain a theoretical and critically reflective understanding of media whilst gaining practical skills as an author and designer of published material. Most of our courses are assessed by coursework.
The delivery of teaching varies according to the characteristics of each module. Many are taught via weekly lectures and weekly seminars. Workshops are used for modules where the degree of practical skills taught is enhanced by the supervision of experts in their field. Assessments range from writing a film review to creating digital stories or traditional essays.
In your first year, you’ll learn about how media is both global and local and the industries associated with it, you’ll have the option to try your hand at podcasting and video, to write like a journalist, become a film critic, or learn about what it takes to be a writer or study linguistics. You will choose four out of six subjects from Journalism, Film, English Language, Media Studies, Digital Media, and Creative Writing.
In your second year, you’ll build on the first learning about media research and the publishing industry, writing and broadcasting journalism, learning how to design a magazine or create a video documentary and making your own film as well as studying US Cinema. In Creative Writing and English Language and Linguistics, you will build on previous work by writing for the stage, for instance, or learning about Communication.
Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too. You’ll decide in your second year with us, so there is still plenty of time to think about this.
In your final year, you'll have a great range of options as you can take all four subjects or reduce them to three. In media, you’ll have the opportunity to create a project for a media client or design web pages like a professional, create a PR campaign or learn about what our interaction with celebrities says about globalised culture. In journalism, you can report on international stories or take journalism-related work experience or build a portfolio of pieces. In the film, you can study television drama, reflect on diversity and sexuality in US films, or study European crime films. For Creative Writing, the short story and thinking about the nature of reality beckon and in English Language and Linguistics a chance to build on the skills of understanding the meaning of language and how it is used in different cultures and contexts.
Your main campus is de Havilland
You’ll share this campus with students from business, law, sport, education, and humanities subjects. The student housing is close to our Sports Village which includes a gym, swimming pool, and climbing wall. You can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner in our on-campus restaurant or bar (in the newly built Enterprise Hub) on days you don’t feel like cooking. You can also use the common room to play pool, video games or just to hang out with friends. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.
This course includes the options of:
- Work placement
- Study abroad
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Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Curriculum
What will I study?
Degree programmes are structured into levels, 4, 5, and 6. These correspond to your first, second, and third/final year of study. Below you can see what modules you’ll be studying in each.
Level 4
- Introduction to Media Communications II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Global Media and Society II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Becoming a Writer II 15 Credits II Optional
- Introduction to Journalism II 15 Credits II Optional
- Journalism, Law and Ethics II 15 Credits II Optional
- Introduction to Film Criticism II 15 Credits II Optional
- Genre Fiction: Building Worlds II 15 Credits II Optional
- Language in the Media II 15 Credits II Optional
- Introduction to English Linguistics 1 II 15 Credits II Optional
- Genre, Style and Stars II 15 Credits II Optional
- Sound and Image Storytelling II 15 Credits II Optional
- Visual Communication II 15 Credits II Optional
Level 5
- Research Methods in Media Communications II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- The Publishing Industry II 15 Credits II Compulsory
- Language in Society II 15 Credits II Optional
- Forensic Linguistics II 15 Credits II Optional
- Language and Imagination: The Art of the Poem II 15 Credits II Optional
- Video Feature II 15 Credits II Optional
- Journalism Skills: Features II 15 Credits II Optional
- Film Production II 15 Credits II Optional
- New Media Branding II 15 Credits II Optional
- US Cinema: From Studio Era to Digital Age II 15 Credits II Optional
- Journalism Skills News II 15 Credits II Optional
- Mobile Media Design II 15 Credits II Optional
- Magazine Design II 15 Credits II Optional
Level 6
- Meaning and Context II 15 Credits II Optional
- Tell It Slant: Writing and Reality II 15 Credits II Optional
- Advertising II 15 Credits II Optional
- Corporate Communications II 15 Credits II Optional
- Online Journalism II 15 Credits II Optional
- Journalism Skills Portfolio II 30 Credits II Optional
- Television Drama II 15 Credits II Optional
- Euro-Crime on Page and Screen II 15 Credits II Optional
- Representation and Identity in Contemporary Media II 15 Credits II Optional
- Creative Writing Project Poetry II 30 Credits II Optional
- Creative Writing Project Prose II 30 Credits II Optional
- Creative Writing Project Script II 30 Credits II Optional
- Short Story Workshop II 15 Credits II Optional
- International Politics and Reporting Global News II 15 Credits II Optional
- Communication and Cultures II 15 Credits II Optional
- Professional Practice Publishing Project II 30 Credits II Optional
- Gender, Sexuality, and Diversity in American Film II 15 Credits II Optional
- Music, Celebrity and Media II 15 Credits II Optional
- Creating a PR Campaign II 15 Credits II Optional
- Web Design for Media Professionals II 30 Credits II Optional
Study abroad
An opportunity for an amazing experience, which will help make you stand out from the crowd. With more and more companies working internationally, the experience of living in another country can make a great impression on future employers.
This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a sandwich year abroad. The University has partnerships with over 150 universities around the world, including the USA, Canada, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, and closer to home in Europe.
If you study abroad between your second and third year of study, you’ll pay no tuition fee to the partner university and no tuition fee to us either. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.
Work placement
Graduate with invaluable work experience alongside your degree and stand out from the crowd.
This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a work placement sandwich year. It’s a chance to explore career possibilities, make valuable contacts and gain sought-after professional skills.
Our dedicated Careers and Employment team are here to help guide you through the process.
If you take up a work placement between your second and third year of study, at the University of Hertfordshire you’ll pay no tuition fee for this year. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.
What if I need support?
Every student is allocated a personal tutor to monitor and advise on their overall academic and personal development supplemented with drop-in skills sessions and specialist tutors to refine and polish their writing. Our Media Matters series of Media Industry talks and Creative Writing talks are career focussed, delivered by industry specialist professionals.
You might also want or need extra support during your time with us. Rest assured, no matter what you study, we’ve got you covered. For help with study skills, including referencing, essay writing, and presentations, you’ll have access to our academic support services. You can attend workshops, 1-to-1 sessions, and online tutorials. Both our Learning Resources Centres run drop-in study skills sessions. So, whether you want to improve your employment prospects through networking with our speakers, or need support to improve your academic work, we can help.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
What's next for my career?
Our graduates have an excellent record of gaining employment in media, publishing, teaching, and information management where their skills in analysis, communication, and evaluation are highly valued. Many of our graduates go on to higher levels of study engaging in research in their chosen fields. Whatever your future career plans, what is important to your potential employers is the range of intellectual, transferable, personal skills and experience you have gained and can demonstrate. We ensure our programmes are relevant to the world of work through active links with regional employers across a range of industries and professions.
Student Testimonials
English Language Requirements
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