Course information

Length

1 year full-time or 2 years part-time

Course overview

The Postgraduate Diploma in Media and Communications offers a broad look at many aspects of the media – sociological, economic and cultural. It invites you to think critically about the larger, global media worlds of the present age, and about your own place in society.

The programmes aims to provide comprehensive insight into the field of Media and Communications. You will explore the subject from an interdisciplinary approach, combining the two dominant perspectives which organise the field of inquiry. On the one hand, you'll discover the sociological or political-economy discussion of media institutions, with its characteristic emphasis on the social power of media organisations; and on the other, the domains of subjective identities in mediated societies, which draws more from the intellectual traditions of cultural studies. This will borrow from a range of different academic disciplines: sociology, anthropology, geography, psychology, literature and history.

The Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies has been ranked 2nd in the UK for 'world-leading or internationally excellent' research (Research Excellence Framework, 2021) and 12th in the world (2nd in the UK) in the 2022 QS World Rankings for communication and media studies.

Gain a broad skill set

You will gather the required specific skills and knowledge relating to studying media. However, the programme also allows you to engage more widely in critical thought, providing a broad and applicable skill set. The skills you'll gain will not only be appropriate for future employment within media industries but will also be applicable to many other areas of employment.

Varied learning opportunities

The Postgraduate Diploma offers a range of teaching styles to aid your learning. You'll be guided to work independently from the outset, and encouraged to think through intellectual issues for yourself.

To ensure your progress is carefully monitored throughout the course you'll be offered a range of seminars and different types of tutorials (with personal tutors and module leaders). This progression supervision includes an early, non-assessed essay to help to indicate your progress, and identify any ongoing problems.

Your essays will require different kinds of theoretical input and different kinds of information-retrieval. In consultation with tutors, you will be guided to the most appropriate intellectual approaches, and to the most appropriate archives, libraries or electronic sources. Much of the initial work of trying out ideas takes place in the seminars, where you'll construct a dialogue with your classmates as much as with your tutor. Here you have the opportunity to learn how to present your ideas succinctly, to discriminate between different traditions of critical thought, and also to listen to other, perhaps competing, lines of argument.

By and large the optional modules are taught by a mix of lectures, seminars and tutorials, although there are some variations. Some options offer a greater input of workshop organisation.

Support for your career

The Postgraduate Diploma is primarily aimed at students who want to develop their skills or retrain. The Careers Service provides central support for skills enhancement, running The Gold Award scheme and other co-curricular activities that are accredited via the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR). The Department has strong industry links and hosts a range of events that bring together industry experts, academics and students.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Lisa Blackman.

What you'll study

Full-time mode

Compulsory modules

Module title Credits
Introduction to Media and Communications Theory 30 credits

Optional Modules

Optional modules equal to the value of 90 credits, chosen from an approved list published annually.

Part-time mode

Year 1: Compulsory modules

Module title Credits
Introduction to Media and Communications Theory 30 credits

Optional modules

Optional modules equal to the value of 30 credits, chosen from an approved list published annually.

Year 2: Optional modules

Optional modules equal to the value of 60 credits, chosen from an approved list published annually.

Download the programme specification.

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

Entry requirements

Applicants will normally have, or expect to gain a first degree of at least upper second class standard (or equivalent).

International qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Fees, funding & scholarships

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2024/2025 academic year.

  • Home - full-time: £TBC
  • Home - part-time: £TBC
  • International - full-time: £13640

If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.

Additional costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.

There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments. Please check the programme specification for more information.

Funding opportunities

Find out more about postgraduate fees and explore funding opportunities. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.

How to apply

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