Journalism | MA | University of Lincoln

Gary Stevens - Programme Leader

Gary was a member of staff at the BBC for more than 20 years and has worked on all aspects of radio production and presentation - including for BBC World Service in Beijing and Cairo. He continues to maintain and update his own professional radio skills, and has worked on a number of educational projects with a former BBC colleague and the British Council. He has presented four series of radio programmes for the British Council.

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Welcome to MA Journalism

This programme aims to provide the professional and practical training needed for a career in the exciting world of journalism. It also offers an academically rigorous approach to critical analysis of the subject.

Students will have the opportunity to develop a hands-on, multiplatform perspective of the journalistic world, with the chance to specialise in a medium of their choice. An assessed work placement enables students to gain hands-on experience and there may also be the opportunity to hear from guest speakers who are leading names in the industry. Previous speakers have included Head of ITN programmes for ITV news Richard Frediani; Editor-in-Chief (digital) of Empire magazine James Dyer; BBC Director of London 2012 Roger Mosey; and former Head of Channel 4 News Dorothy Byrne.

Journalism at Lincoln has a close working relationship with BBC Radio Lincolnshire and a partnership with local news provider Lincolnshire Live and its sister publication the Lincolnshire Echo. The Lincs Live team is based on campus and students have opportunities to work alongside its professional journalists during the course. On campus, there are opportunities to gain experience in community radio, a multiplatform website, student newspapers, television, and magazines.

How You Study

Students can learn in lectures, seminars, and practical workshops. This will incorporate 'newsdays' which replicate industry newsrooms.

Teaching usually takes place on two full days per week. Where possible, core sessions are scheduled on Thursday and Friday, although students may be required to attend on other days of the week depending on module options. Across the year, students will select two from a range of optional modules, studying one in each term.

An Introduction to Your Modules

† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.

Advanced Research Methods 2023-24JOU9200MLevel 72023-24This module provides the opportunity to develop a methodological understanding and to receive support and advice on the final project. You will then be expected to prepare a written proposal for a dissertation, a documentary project, or a portfolio of articles.CoreEssential Reporting 2023-24JOU9203MLevel 72023-24This module introduces students to the processes of newsgathering and writing news and features for a range of platforms. It aims to develop a critical understanding of editorial processes in news organisations and a working knowledge of how news and feature ideas are generated and packaged for different markets and readerships.CoreJournalism Production 2023-24JOU9204MLevel 72023-24This module introduces students to the editorial and production skills required for multiplatform and digital news production. The module focuses on newsgathering and preparing news content for broadcast and online. Students can work in a newsroom environment under appropriate time constraints, experiencing the pressures of operating as a multimedia journalist across a range of broadcast and web-based platforms, including social media.CoreMA Journalism - Final Project or Dissertation 2023-24JOU9170MLevel 72023-24The Final Project or Dissertation module consists of either a dissertation, portfolio of articles, radio or television documentary or chapters for a book or webpages. You are expected to spend the final term during the summer on self-directed learning, having already decided on the form of project that you will produce. You will be allocated your own tutor for support and guidance. This final project provides an opportunity to research and make an in-depth study of your chosen study area.CoreMedia Law 2023-24JOU9156MLevel 72023-24This module introduces students to the areas of the law most likely to be encountered in the practice of journalism and the practice of PR and related communications activities. Students will investigate the interaction between journalism, PR, communications and the law, and gain a clear insight into the relationships between journalists and officials, PR/communications practitioners and their clients/employers, and how information is communicated to an increasingly diverse public.CoreSpecialist Journalism Production 2023-24JOU9201MLevel 72023-24From a digital first perspective and focusing, in particular, on news and feature content in your specialist field(s) of interest, this module aims to develop the key skills of journalism through regular practice, including newsgathering, writing and interviewing, and live output production with text and audio and video output as required. Online skills will be used throughout, including social media to drive consumers to the content. The journalism and features produced will be outward facing, using techniques of electronic newsgathering, digital and non-linear editing, production/journalism for online and print, and an appropriate range of live news broadcasting techniques. On this module, you are expected to take up a work placement in one or several different media organisations of your choice. The module provides prior guidance, together with career advice. Tutors will help with research of the employment market, as you arrange international, national or local work placements, and will support you as you build an individual career profile, CV and work experience portfolio.CoreArts Reporting 2023-24JOU9165MLevel 72023-24This module provides an opportunity to critically explore the various genres of journalistic writing about the arts and popular culture. The module deals with the skills of the reviewer, whether in literature, film, exhibition, TV, theatre, or the creation of other media artefacts. The module aims to: - Develop skills in arts and cultural reporting, reviewing & profile/ feature construction through attending cultural events, consuming cultural products, meeting cultural workers, in a variety of environments. - Encourage students to develop a range of different approaches in review features, and to reflect critically on them. - Explore critically the various genres of journalistic coverage of the arts and popular culture, from fine arts to television. - Acquaint students with the key concepts and debates concerning the principal forms of artistic expression. - Examine processes by which critical judgements are translated into journalism.OptionalComparative Media History 2023-24JOU9168MLevel 72023-24OptionalContemporary Issues in Sports Journalism 2023-24JOU9164MLevel 72023-24This module explores the sports journalism industry and the work of sports journalists. Sports journalists are no longer just match reporters and commentators. They have a role to play in the greater industry of journalism, as court reporters, political correspondents and news gatherers. This module aims to enable you to expand your knowledge of sport and sports journalism, exploring issues in sport such as drugs, racism, hooliganism, economics, media and the history of sport and sports journalism. The module will also reflect on the cultural and sociological impact of sport and major sporting events, such as the World Cup and the Olympic games.OptionalEthics in Science and Environmental Journalism 2023-24JOU9163MLevel 72023-24This module aims to provide an in-depth reflection on philosophical issues and an opportunity for students to consider more fully the kind of dilemmas that they are likely to encounter as working journalists in the field of science and environmental reporting.OptionalInternational Human Rights (Journalism) 2023-24JOU9167MLevel 72023-24This module aims to highlight the importance of a critical and comparative knowledge of human rights issues to the practice of journalism. You have the chance to explore human rights issues (such as privacy, confidentiality and freedom of expression) that are particularly relevant to the practice of journalism.OptionalJournalism and Contemporary Cinema 2023-24JOU9185MLevel 72023-24This module is designed to enable you to explore and develop an understanding of issues in journalistic film criticism in their historical, cultural and institutional context, with the aim of assisting you in the writing and production of your own reviews for specified outlets and audiences.OptionalJournalism and Literature 2023-24JOU9166MLevel 72023-24This module aims to explore the relationship between literary production and different genres of journalism through detailed case studies of significant writers including Daniel Defoe, William Hazlitt, George Orwell, George Sand, Dorothy Parker, Truman Capote, Hunter S Thompson, Ernest Hemingway and Arundhati Roy.OptionalTelevision News Production (M) 2023-24JOU9169MLevel 72023-24In this module you will have the exciting opportunity to present your own TV News bulletins, prepare and produce TV packages and develop your skills as a TV journalist. Television news is one of the fastest moving, most exciting and highly rewarding platforms in the media. A TV journalist can go from presenting news bulletins to live outside broadcasts and breaking the latest news in the space of a working day. Based in the Lincoln School of Journalisms TV Newsroom, you can learn how to use industry standard camera and editing equipment. You can be trained to use a TV studio gallery and have the chance to produce and present your own TV news bulletins and programmes.Optional

How you are assessed

Assessments are a mixture of essays, presentations, portfolios of journalism, broadcast media packages and timed examinations.

The University of Lincoln's policy on assessment feedback aims to ensure that academics will return in-course assessments to you promptly - usually within 15 working days after the submission date.

Students on this programme are expected to complete an assessed work placement as part of the course.

Tutors can help with research of the employment market, help to arrange international, national or local work placements, and support students as they build their individual career profile, CV, and work experience.

Please note that students are expected to cover their own travel, accommodation, and general living expenses during their placement.

Fees and Funding

For eligible students, there are more ways than ever before to fund your postgraduate study, whether you want to do a taught or research course. For those wishing to undertake a Master's course, UK students can apply for a loan as a contribution towards the course and living costs. Loans are also available to those who wish to undertake doctoral study. The University offers a number of scholarships and funded studentships for those interested in postgraduate study. Learn how Master's and PhD loans, scholarships, and studentships can help you fund your studies on our Postgraduate Fees and Funding pages.

Programme Fees

Programme-Specific Additional Costs

For each course you may find that there are additional costs. These may be with regard to the specific clothing, materials or equipment required, depending on your course.

With regards to text books, the University provides students who enrol with a comprehensive reading list and you will find that our extensive library holds either material or virtual versions of the core texts that you are required to read. However, you may prefer to purchase some of these for yourself and you will be responsible for this cost.

Entry Requirements 2023-24

First or second class honours degree or equivalent professional experience.

If you have studied outside of the UK, and are unsure whether your qualification meets the above requirements, please visit our country pages https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/studywithus/internationalstudents/entryrequirementsandyourcountry/ for information on equivalent qualifications.

Overseas students will be required to demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 7.0 overall, with a minimum of 6.5 in each element. For information regarding other English language qualifications we accept, please visit the English Requirements page https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/studywithus/internationalstudents/englishlanguagerequirementsandsupport/englishlanguagerequirements/.

If you do not meet the above IELTS requirements, you may be able to take part in one of our Pre-session English and Academic Study Skills courses. https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/studywithus/internationalstudents/englishlanguagerequirementsandsupport/pre-sessionalenglishandacademicstudyskills/ . These specialist courses are designed to help students meet the English language requirements for their intended programme of study.

Accreditations

The School has become one of the first institutions in Europe to be awarded a 'Recognised for Excellence' accolade by the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA).

A Newsroom Environment

The teaching of journalism at Lincoln takes place in small groups within a newsroom setting, proving plenty of opportunities for one-to-one interaction with tutors. The programme has a careful balance of practical skills, using multi-platform media, and theory, providing students with the knowledge and intellectual skills needed to understand the world of modern journalism.

The School of English and Journalism maintains close working relationships with the BBC and Lincolnshire Echo newspaper. On campus, there are opportunities to gain experience in community radio, a multiplatform website, student newspapers, television, and magazines.

Days Taught

Where possible, core sessions are scheduled on Thursday and Friday, although students may be required to attend on other days of the week depending on module options. Full time students should expect approximately 12 hours of contact time per week and should be prepared to undertake at least two hours of self-study for every taught hour.

Career and Personal Development

Core modules are designed to support and prepare students for a career in journalism. There are a number of opportunities to gain relevant experience by working for campus media, including the community and student radio stations, a multiplatform website, and the student newspaper.

In a digital age of convergence, journalists must be multi-skilled in a variety of disciplines including research and analysis. Graduates of Journalism MA have the opportunity to develop these skills.

Alternative employment opportunities may lie in the related areas of promotional, lifestyle, technical, and feature writing, public relations, business-to-business, and corporate communications.

Postgraduate Events

Find out more about how postgraduate study can help further your career, develop your knowledge, or even prepare you to start your own business at one of our postgraduate events.

Find out More

Key Information

MA Journalism