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Course information

Department

Media, Communications and Cultural Studies

Length

1 year full-time; 2 years part-time

Course overview

The PGDip in Promotional Media: Public Relations, Advertising, and Marketing crosses the formalised boundaries established between media, public relations, marketing, and advertising.

You will explore contemporary issues in the fields of PR, Advertising, and Marketing, and develop techniques for analysing promotional media texts.

This PGDip will also equip you with specific skills that will provide opportunities for career enhancement. You will develop critical and cognitive skills in analysing and interpreting developments in the PR, advertising, and marketing sectors, learn to apply your knowledge and insights to new areas and projects.

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.

Develop valuable skills

The programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue careers related to public relations, advertising, marketing communications, and promotional campaigning. You will be encouraged to seek work experience in relevant institutions during the programme, although these are not compulsory and will not be organised by Goldsmiths.

You will also develop specialist 'routes' by choosing option modules, and provided with access to contemporary industry activity and case studies to gain an understanding of how your diploma can be used in a professional context.

Who should apply

The programme is primarily aimed at students who want to develop their skills or retrain. The Department has strong industry links and hosts a range of events that bring together industry experts, academics and students. The Academic Skills Centre works with academic departments offering bespoke academic literacy sessions and provides a programme of academic skills workshops and one-to-one provision for students throughout the year.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Clea Bourne.

What you'll study

Compulsory

You will study the following compulsory modules on this programme.

Module title Credits
Promotional Media I: Changing Fields & Contexts

Promotional Media I: Changing Fields & Contexts

30 credits

In this module, you'll explore PR, Advertising and Marketing as professional projects responding to changes brought about by the rise of digital platforms. One transformational change has been the emergence of new promotional specialisms such as:

  • programmatic advertising
  • digital content marketing
  • SEO marketing
  • social media management
  • UX design

You'll examine promotional professionals' response to digital platformisation against a backdrop of longstanding power asymmetries within promotional industries and the media. You'll also learn about cultural and institutional representations of promotional work, as well as discursive struggles within and between PR, advertising, marketing and emerging promotional fields. The pertinent issues and debates will be unpacked, drawing on a range of literature including digital media, sociology of professions and sociology of the body, power theories, as well as industry literature.

 30 credits
Promotional Media II: Campaign Skills & Techniques

Promotional Media II: Campaign Skills & Techniques

30 credits

In this module, you'll examine the skills and techniques used in Public Relations (PR), Advertising and Marketing - taking in promotional techniques as well as less-visible activities such as product development, market research and segmentation, 'dataveillance', together with programme measurement and evaluation, as well as ethics and cultural issues.

You'll explore PR, Advertising and Marketing as a set of increasingly platformised practices which help to deploy, shape and govern local and global discourses; as well as deconstructing promotional media work (advertisements, brochures, events, press communication, thought leadership, websites, etc). The pertinent issues and debates will be unpacked, drawing on a mixture of social communication and professional practitioner literatures.

 30 credits

Option modules

You will also study 60 credits of option modules from a list approved annually by the department.

Download the programme specification.

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

Between 2020 and 2022 we needed to make some changes to how programmes were delivered due to Covid-19 restrictions. For more information about past programme changes please visit our programme changes information page.

Entry requirements

Applicants will normally be expected to hold a good first degree in a relevant subject area. However, consideration will also be given to students without an academic background in a relevant subject area if they have professional experience in this area and are able to demonstrate their ability and commitment to the pursuit of a programme of rigorous academic study.

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 2023/2024 academic year.

  • Home - full-time: £6490
  • Home - part-time: £3245
  • International - full-time: £12810

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

Apply now

Find out more about applying.

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