MA by Research/Professional Practice in Digital News and Media
The programme supports a vibrant research community with regular research seminars to enable you to advance your knowledge and skills.
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Course overview
About the Course
Given the increasing role of digital media in all walks of life, the volatility of global politics, and full-scale assaults on the values and independence of traditional journalism, there has never been a more important time for universities to work with the industry not just to train but educate and inspire the best writers, designers and investigators.
Buckingham’s new MA Digital News and Media by Research or Professional Practice is designed to achieve this aim by encouraging you to propose, research and complete a substantial project (the equivalent of a research dissertation) in Digital News or Digital Media to the highest of industry and academic standards.
Listen to award-winning journalist and Course Director Professor Barnie Choudhury explain the concept behind the degree here.
The programme supports a vibrant research community with regular research seminars available to attend in person or online, to enable you to advance your knowledge and develop valuable transferable skills. You will benefit from networking with internationally-recognised practitioners in a rich diversity of fields.
The Professional Practice route to the MA also offers practising journalists the opportunity to reflect on and critique their professional work in an academic setting. Students following this route will provide a substantial body of work accumulated during their professional career and/or during their period of MA registration, and then produce a detailed critical and reflective commentary to form the main body of a portfolio, which is submitted in place of the Final Project. Full details are given in the Regulations for the programme.
Entry Requirements
Normally, an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline at 2.1 or above from a recognized university will be required, and for non-native speakers of English, an IELTS (or equivalent) score of 6.5 or above or above. Exceptionally, where applicants have 5+ years’ work experience at senior level in a relevant career/industry sector and can demonstrate prior experiential learning, this will be accepted as a substitute for formal HE qualifications.
Teaching & Assessment
Instruction is through one-to-one supervision and a research seminar programme with guest lectures from industry professionals, delivered face-to-face and/or online. The course is assessed by means of the Final Project or Dissertation (120 credits at Level 7), which are preceded by three Project Preliminaries (60 credits at Level 7) comprising an Extended Research Proposal, an Annotated Literature Review or equivalent, and an Intermediate Essay or sample of Work-in-Progress sample.
After Your Course
During terms 3 and 4 (terms 5-8 for part-time students) you will wherever possible be seconded to media companies and organisations whose work matches your research and professional interests. They will provide mentors and make use of your work as appropriate. A range of media employers in the UK and internationally, including Reach plc, Eastern Eye, ITV Central, the Bauer Group, the BBC, The Tindle Newspaper Group, have agreed to act as informal industry partners. After your course you will have excellent contacts through whom to pursue employment opportunities.
Fees & Scholarships
The fees for this course are:
| Start | Type | First Year | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Jan 2025 Full-time (1 Year) Research | UK | £8,267 | £8,267 |
| INT | £14,500 | £14,500 | |
Jan 2025 Part-time (2 Years) Research | UK | £4,134 | £8,267 |
| INT | £7,250 | £14,500 | |
Jan 2025 Full-time (1 Year) Professional Practice | UK | £8,267 | £8,267 |
| INT | £14,500 | £14,500 | |
Jan 2025 Part-time (2 Years) Professional Practice | UK | £4,134 | £8,267 |
| INT | £7,250 | £14,500 | |
Sep 2025 Full-time (1 Year) Research | UK | £8,267 | £8,267 |
| INT | £14,500 | £14,500 | |
Sep 2025 Part-time (2 Years) Research | UK | £4,134 | £8,267 |
| INT | £7,250 | £14,500 | |
Sep 2025 Full-time (1 Year) Professional Practice | UK | £8,267 | £8,267 |
| INT | £14,500 | £14,500 | |
Sep 2025 Part-time (2 Years) Professional Practice | UK | £4,134 | £8,267 |
| INT | £7,250 | £14,500 | |
Jan 2026 Full-time (1 Year) Research | UK | £8,267 | £8,267 |
| INT | £14,500 | £14,500 | |
Jan 2026 Part-time (2 Years) Research | UK | £4,134 | £8,267 |
| INT | £7,250 | £14,500 | |
Jan 2026 Full-time (1 Year) Professional Practice | UK | £8,267 | £8,267 |
| INT | £14,500 | £14,500 | |
Jan 2026 Part-time (2 Years) Professional Practice | UK | £4,134 | £8,267 |
| INT | £7,250 | £14,500 |
The University reserves the right to increase course fees annually in line with inflation linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI). If the University intends to increase your course fees it will notify you via email of this as soon as reasonably practicable.
Course fees do not include additional costs such as books, equipment, writing up fees and other ancillary charges. Where applicable, these additional costs will be made clear.
Scholarships
- Postgraduate First-Class Scholarship – 33% discount for graduates with a first-class honours degree recognised to UK standard
- Buckingham Postgraduate Scholarship – 25% discount for Buckingham graduates with a 2:1 undergraduate degree; 33% discount for those with a first class degree