Journalism, Media and Culture BA
Modules and learning
Modules
The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.
Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage.
Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.
Featured module
Multimedia Journalism IThis hands-on module will introduce students to the key skills of newsgathering, interviewing, writing and editing for online news production.
You will be introduced to the principles and practices of multi-platform journalism, focusing on the skills needed to master multimedia technology. You develop your writing skills and explore the role of media and culture in contemporary society from a historical and theoretical perspective.
Modules
You will expand your skills across print, magazine, online and broadcast journalism, and learn about regulations, legislation and ethics relevant to the media industries.
You will tailor the degree to your interests by choosing from a wide range of optional modules, such as broadcast journalism, magazine publishing, conflict and crisis reporting, race, culture and identity, media, democracy and the public sphere, feminist approaches to media analysis, documentary film-making, public relations, advertising and marketing.
Modules
You only take the following module if you are studying abroad:
Student Exchange: Semester 1
You will expand your skills across print, magazine, online and broadcast journalism, and learn about regulations, legislation and ethics relevant to the media industries.
You will tailor the degree to your interests by choosing from a wide range of optional modules, such as broadcast journalism, magazine publishing, conflict and crisis reporting, race, culture and identity, media, democracy and the public sphere, feminist approaches to media analysis, public relations, advertising and consumption.
Modules
Compulsory modules
You take the following compulsory module:
Journalism and Media Research Dissertation (40 credits)
You also take one of the following modules – but you may take the other as one of your optional modules:
Multimedia Journalism II (20 credits)
JesmondLocal: Advanced Newsroom Practice (20 credits)
Modules
Information about these graphsWe base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They are based on the modules chosen by our students in 2022-23.
Teaching time is made up of:
- scheduled learning and teaching activities. These are timetabled activities with a member of staff present.
- structured guided learning. These are activities developed by staff to support engagement with module learning. Students or groups of students undertake these activities without direct staff participation or supervision
Teaching and assessment
Teaching methods
Teaching is through lectures, seminars, practical workshops and regular one-to-one tutorials.
In Stage 3 you undertake a research project that accounts for one-third of your time.
Assessment methods
You'll be assessed through a combination of:
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Assessments
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Assignments – written or fieldwork
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Coursework
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Dissertation or research project
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Examinations – practical or online
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Portfolio submission
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Practical sessions
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Presentations
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Skills and experience
Practical skills
You will have opportunities to develop your practical skills through opportunities to work for The Courier, Newcastle University's award-winning weekly student newspaper, our student radio and television stations or local media projects like Jesmond Local: Advanced Newsroom Practice module, a digital news hub where you can develop and explore new models of journalism.
You'll have the opportunity to take part in international pop-up Newsroom events, where – along with students from across the world – you'll take part in a 24-hour rolling global reporting project, focused on current issues.
Business skills
You will develop a comprehensive portfolio of work, produced to industry standards, including works of written news, features, reviews and a multimedia package that features text, audio and/or video as well as social media.
You'll also have the opportunity to add broadcasting and radio packages to your portfolio.
Research skills
You'll undertake a Journalism and Media dissertation in the final year of your degree. This gives you the chance to demonstrate your learned knowledge and develop your techniques and understanding around independent, in-depth research.
Your dissertation will build on a range of compulsory and optional theoretical modules that you will be able to study throughout your course on pertinent topics such as media and power, gender studies, race, culture and identity, celebrity culture, PR, advertising and consumption, digital discourses or conflict and crisis reporting.
