Television Journalism (MA)

This course gives you unique access to the television journalism industry with 96% employment rate in the TV or related industry and tailored work placements every week.

Who is it for?

This course is suitable for students with a first degree looking to become good all-round television journalists capable of working in newsrooms, on multi-media and in documentaries and current affairs. Applicants should have an interest in video and TV films and have a broad general knowledge including lifestyle, sport and politics. While this course is NOT about TV presenting, it's important that you aren't afraid to be in front of the camera and even more important that you are keen to write and provide material for others to present. Vitally, you should want to communicate using moving pictures and be excited by the wonderful world of television!

Professor Sir Paul Curran, President says this about Journalism at City

"Journalism at City began as a postgraduate department in 1976 and has developed some of the most respected MA Journalism courses in the country. Alumni include the BBC's Sophie Raworth and BBC Head of News James Harding, Sky News' Dermot Murnaghan, Editor of The Sun Tony Gallagher, Justine Picardie, Editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar UK, Channel 4's Ramita Navai and Al Jazeera's Barbara Sheera. Recent graduates are reporters, producers, editors and web content providers, across platforms ranging from the Financial Times and the BBC to Buzzfeed and Vice TV. I will be inviting all former staff and alumni to join us for our 40th birthday party and to celebrate City's MA Journalism courses and their future on 9th February 2017."

Objectives

The MA in Television Journalism has unparalleled contact with the TV industry and each Wednesday in term one and two, students work in the TV journalism industry. The course is designed for a cohort of between 30 and 40 students subdivided into teaching groups of around 15 with personal contact with Professor Lis Howell, and Sally Webb,  film-maker on award winning programmes like Tonight with Trevor McDonald and documentary series including Panorama. Students make half hour documentaries in teams of three in term three and these films have won awards like Guardian Young Journalists of the Year; The BJTC documentary award; and been re-worked for broadcast on BBC 2's ‘Newsnight'. The course is grounded in news production but also branches out with a Question Time programme which has included guests such as Jeremy Corbyn; Stephanie Flanders; Jon Snow and Yasmin Alibi Brown plus may more.

Accreditation

This degree is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC)

Requirements and how to apply

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold an upper second-class honours degree or the equivalent from an international institution. Consideration will also be given to mature applicants with substantial work experience in radio and/or television journalism. Students whose first language is not English are advised to apply for the International Journalism MA, which is designed specifically for students from outside the UK.

All complete applications will be considered and shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an open day and interview at the Institution.

Pre-requisites

You should hold an upper second class honours degree or the equivalent from an international institution.

Applicants must demonstrate a knowledge of TV news and current affairs. We expect a high standard of general knowledge relating to politics, international news, sport and entertainment.

Television Journalism applicants would be well advised to have work experience with a TV company or student TV, but this is desirable rather than essential. You should be able to demonstrate an interest in visual media.

Other Suitable Qualifications

As well as new graduates, we also welcome mature applicants with substantial work experience in radio and/or television journalism.

English requirements

If English is not your first language, you must get a minimum overall score of 7.0 in the IELTS English language test, including at least 7.0 in the writing component of the test and no lower than 6.5 in any other component. Students from outside the UK might wish to apply for the International Journalism MA, which is specifically designed for a global cohort.

Visa requirements

If you are not from the European Economic Area / Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa or entry clearance to come to the UK to study.

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course. There are different rules for:

• Students on courses of more than six months
• Students on courses of less than six months
• Students on a pre-sessional English language course.

If you require a Tier 4 student visa to study in the UK, you cannot undertake any City courses on a part-time basis.

For more information see our main Visa page.

How to apply

Applications for 2018 are now open.

• MA Television Journalism

You will expected to submit the following:

1. One application form (not yet available)
2. A copy of your degree transcript. We require one of the following: an original transcript; a copy certified by your institution; or an electronic scan of your transcript. If you have not yet graduated, you will be required to submit your degree transcript as soon as it is available. You will not be able to register as a City student without having supplied your degree transcript.
3. Details of your work experience in journalism. Applicants should be able to demonstrate commitment to journalism through relevant work experience. Please provide a copy of your CV.
4. Two written critiques:

• write a critique of 200 words on a factual documentary broadcast on TV at any time in the last six months
• write a critique of 200 words on a news TV programme broadcast at any time in the last month

Teaching and learning

All MA Journalism courses at City are practical, hands-on courses designed for people that want to become journalists. As a result, much of your coursework will be journalistic assignments that you produce to deadline, as you would in a real news organisation.

Some courses are taught in lecture theatres but most are small-group workshops that allow you to develop your journalistic skills and knowledge with the support of our expert academics.

Teaching hours are between Mondays to Fridays during working hours, and occasionally outside those times.

Assessment

Assessments vary from module to module but include coursework, practical work both in groups and individually, a Final Project, a written timed test, and essays.

Activities include lectures, practical work in groups and individually, personal tutorials, and independent learning

This pathway is taught by professors, senior lecturers and lecturers, with industry practitioners as Visiting Lecturers, and a number of key industry visiting speakers.

Modules

All of our Television Journalism MA students must undertake underpinning core modules in Ethics, Rules and Standards and a Final Project. As a Television Journalism student you will have specialist core and elective modules that complement these projects.

Core modules

• Journalism Ethics (30 credits)

You put practical journalism in an ethical context with case studies and there are discussion groups in term two.

• Final Project (30 credits)

You bring your skills together to make a film/radio feature or documentary, depending on the course you have chosen.

• Newsgathering for TV and Radio (30 credits)

You learn the theory of finding and producing news for TV and radio. You take a weekly news and current affairs test; and learn how to write basic copy for broadcast news.

• Newsdays and Studio Production (30 credits)

You undertake 15 news-days where you cover a designated area and produce a local news programme. You also look at longer form production like documentary and feature making.

• Introduction to Data

You will learn up-to-the-minute journalism skills using statistics and data to provide and substantiate stories.

On MA Television Journalism you will make a “Question Time” style programme in the studio.

On MA Broadcasting Journalism you make a multi-media radio based offering, producing a two-week long radio as-live radio station.

• UK Media Law (15 credits)

You learn the basics of UK Media Law to enable you to work in a UK newsroom

• Political Headlines (15 credits)

You learn the structure of British Government and how it works; and you meet journalists who report and present it.

Elective modules

• Journalism Innovation (15 credits)

You learn how to pitch an idea for a new, entrepreneurial sort of journalism.

• Social & Digital Journalism (15 credits)

Download the relevant programme specification

Recommended reading

How to prepare for our Journalism MA courses

Barbara Rowlands, MA Journalism Programme Director, offers the following advice to prospective City Journalism students. The advice applies for all MA Journalism courses:

"Get work experience on local, regional or national newspapers, magazines or regional broadcast stations. Check a news website every day (not just Twitter). Immerse yourself in current affairs, watch documentaries such as Dispatches and Panorama, listen to Radio 4's Today programme and watch BBC Newsnight. If you say you don't know who the Home Secretary is because you've been too busy doing your finals, you won't get a place. If you let your general knowledge slip while you are trekking round Thailand in the summer, you will suffer. Read the appropriate media, whether that's the Financial Times, New Scientist or Marie Claire - and most importantly, for broadcasters and TV students, watch and listen.

Read books about journalism by top journalists and develop an appetite for brilliantly-written newspaper and magazine features. Take an interest in some of the issues covered and develop your own perspective on them. Develop a professional online presence. Start to read/watch/listen as a journalist (ie. critically), and begin to question why something is news, how and why it is structured as it is and why specific words and images are used. Look at how the story is used across media platforms."

Career prospects

Our postgraduate television journalism course has 100% employment rate according to graduates responding to the 15/16 DLHE survey.

Alumni include BBC's Sophie Raworth and famous names such as :

• Dermot Murnaghan (Sky News)
• Barbara Serra (Al Jazeera)
• Jo Whiley (BBC Radio)

Recent graduates of the MA Broadcasting include:

• Ramita Navai, Emmy Award-winning documentary maker
• Chris Mason (BBC Political Reporter)
• Isobel Webster (Sky News)
• Darren McGaffrey (Sky News)
• Minnie Stephenson (ITN)
• Cordelia Lynch (Sky News Washington)

100% of graduates in employment or further study six months after completing the course Type%In employment100Work and study0Further study0Unemployed0

Find out more about the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey 2015-16