MA in Global Media & Transnational Communications
Ioannis, MA in Transnational Communications & Global Media
1 year full-time or 2 years part-time. On completing this programme you will be able to (re)enter the workplace, return to your creative pursuits, activism, or advocacy project or, if you wish, continue onto further research with up-to-date knowledge about the facts and fictions around these trends.
Deadlines: If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an earlier application deadline – 14 February is the deadline if you're applying for AHRC funding. Applications received by these deadlines are guaranteed consideration; we will consider later applications on a case by case basis.
Due to the popularity of this programme we ask you for a deposit of £450 to secure any offer made to you after applying for the programme. The deposit will be credited against your tuition fees when you enrol. Please note: You will only be required to provide a deposit if you are offered a place, you do not need to pay a deposit in order to apply.This programme in particular looks for applications that include:
- at least two, but no more than three references; one of which needs to be an academic reference*.
- an academic transcript of undergraduate and other degrees, completed or pending
- a personal statement outlining your motivations for applying to this programme, aims and ambitions, and current research interests
- a CV for returning students or those with working experience
- An up-to-date IELTS or TOEFL Language certificate proving the requisite language level, where required (more information below).
* References - our departmental preference is for referees to upload a confidential reference to the on-line admissions system. Please make sure to select the option for your referees to be automatically notified of the need for them to submit a reference on your behalf.
Places still available
Find out more about applying
You should have an undergraduate degree (BA, BSC or equivalent) of at least upper second class standard in a relevant subject. You also need to show:
- a demonstrable interest in examining the intersection of broad sociocultural, political and economic trends with those specific to the (global) media sector and ICTs; in theory and practice.
- interest in being open to doing comparative study in an international setting
- a readiness to engage in intercultural and interdisciplinary approaches to your field of interest
- If your first language is not English, you normally need a minimum score of 7.0 in IELTS (including at least 6.5, preferably 7.0 in the written and reading elements) or equivalent. Find out more about our English Language requirements.
The Department of Media and Communications may offer fee waivers for this programme. Check the most up-to-date information on our departmental awards page.
Find out more about funding opportunities for home/EU applicants, or funding for international applicants.
Please see Tuition fees.
Please see more detailed information about the core courses, options, and programme specifications.
Please see Staff research interests.
Contact Dr Marianne Franklin\n
This programme engages with issues about life in a multimedia and global age from an international, cross-cultural perspective. It is particularly suited for those interested in exploring the bigger picture as well as the nitty-gritty of how changes in the media and everyday communications impact on society, culture, and politics; e.g. the push and pull between local and global cultural flows, national, ‘post-national’ and transnational policy-making, myths and realities about the shift from face–to-face to web-based communications, citizen and professional media, power and revolution behind-the-screen and on the street, the production and consumption of media messages in war-time, digital diplomacy, traditional and emerging media goods and services.
The Global Media & Transnational Communications MA explores the increasingly complex mediascapes of the 21st century by studying cases and perspectives from different countries in a critical and comparative way. It provides students with the necessary scholarly knowledge and experience-based understanding of real and imagined changes in the media industries and communication networks at home and abroad. We study their impact on everyday life, the workplace, cultural, social, and political institutions by:
- exploring the challenges traditional media sectors face as news, entertainment, and services go global & converge on the web
- critically studying the past, present, and future of the internet and information and communications technologies
- examining changes to communicative cultures, media production, and services in a ‘post-Web 2.0’ context
- thinking about how ordinary people, businesses, governments, and multilateral institutions (mis)use ICT
- looking more closely at how local communities, governments, and transnational corporations look to influence media futures
- researching differences in how people, cultures, and countries access and use media and communicate across borders
- debating the implications of the digital divide, media censorship, and digital surveillance by governmental and commercial agencies
- reading, watching, and hearing how artists, creative entrepreneurs, power elites and ordinary people respond to technological and social change
Distinguishing Features: this programme's content, structure, and assessment takes an interdisciplinary and innovative approach to:
- reading, thinking, and articulating challenging ideas
- conducting individual and collaborative research
- accessing and contributing to current debates
- incorporating practitioner and activist perspectives
- teaching and learning that is both research-led and student-inspired
- supporting excellence in individual and group projects
Activities: Based on a horizontal communication model of teaching and learning, the core programme is organized around lectures, participatory workshops, student presentations, written work, informed debates.
- It features guest speakers from around the world and various media and communications domains
- It involves students in creating their own media-based projects, such as our prize-winning live Video Conference event with international partners
- It looks to foster original research dissertation work, formal presentation and collaborative skills
Staff, guest speakers, and research students on this programme are affiliated to the Centre for the Study of Global Media & Democracy, the School of Mass Communications at Texas Tech University (USA), the United Nations Internet Governance Forum, Edinburgh Law School, Le Monde diplomatique, a number of international NGOs, activist and advocacy groups, international scholarly and media networks.
The Global Media & Transnational Communications MA attracts budding scholars, media practitioners, activists, and advocates from many regions, with a variety of educational and professional backgrounds. It is particularly suitable for those wanting to move their knowledge and analytical skills up a level for further study as well as for those who have experience of studying or working in the media and cultural sectors, non-profits and other third sector organisations, alternative media, the arts, grassroots and international advocacy and activism. Graduates find work and excel in all these domains.
What you study
Along with two compulsory (core) courses, research skills module and dissertation, you can choose from a range of theory and practice optional courses from Media & Communications as well as other Goldsmiths departments. For more about the core programme structure and content click on more detailed information.
Assessment
Individual and group presentations; live video/web conferences, examined essays and research papers; qualitatively assessed assignments and discussion leading; dissertation.
Skills
Goldsmiths is a place where we aim to support and develop students to express themselves creatively and self-critically in theoretical, creative, practical and/or professional pursuits.
You will be equipped with new insights and ideas, analytical skills and practical knowledge about how both traditional and newer media, familiar and cutting-edge information and communication technologies, and computer-mediated communications actually operate and contribute to society, culture, and politics in contemporary settings.
Careers
The ethos of the Department is one which looks to achieve a healthy balance between scholarly pursuits and practical skills; we look to develop all-round thinkers and doers who can, and do contribute to the cultural and professional life of their communities and countries.
Graduates from this programme go on to work in government departments, broadcasting, online media, PR and advertising, international NGOs and non-profits, intergovernmental organizations, the entertainment industry, the arts and cultural sectors; for example:
- the BBC World Service
- NBC
- Carnegie Foundation
- European Parliament/European Commission
- Greenpeace
- NGOs and charities
- national newspapers in South Korea, Brazil and Slovenia
- independent media
- museums
- governmental departments
Register your interest
If you register your interest in this programme we will keep you informed about open days and send you relevant further information. If you subsequently decide to apply for this programme you will be able to use the same login details to apply.
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