Year 1 (national level 4):

• Introduction to Social Media (20 credits)

Social media is becoming an integral part of daily life. This module gives a broad introduction to a fast-changing field, placing particular emphasis on building practical skills needed to create, maintain and sustain a social media reputation (‘Brand of Me’). It will also look at the challenges presented to ‘traditional’ media practice by networked digital communications and encourage you to critically examine the ever-changing boundaries between public and personal.

• Introduction to PR Theory and Practice (20 credits)

Learn the theory and practice of public relations, enabling you to position PR within a business context. Trace the emergence and development of PR through analysis of case studies and theoretical models. Develop key skills in planning, strategy, team working, news release writing and communication skills across a range of media.

• Introduction to Digital Media Cultures (20 credits)

Study an introduction to digital media culture, historically referred to as the study of cyber culture or ‘new media’. Encounter an historical overview of pertinent technological developments ranging from the origins of the internet, the personal computer, video games and mobile media devices. Address various digital media phenomena such as cybercrime, piracy, digital publishing, online gaming and social networking.

• Essential Journalism (20 credits)

Examine the role of the journalist and the range of practical skills needed to produce news, magazine and sports content including research, newsgathering, interviewing, copy presentation and writing style. You will work independently in the newsroom every week producing stories and features for your portfolio and websites.

• Community Engagement (20 credits)

Gain the essential knowledge and skills required to effectively build and participate in digital communities. Develop your awareness of the historical trajectories, current, and future trends affecting and shaping the digital community sector. Explore examples of both good and bad practice when considering community relations across a range of digital platforms. Build, sustain and engage with small-scale communities, employing preparatory data analytics and community management strategies.

• Essential Media Law and Regulation (20 credits)

What you can say and when you can say it. Essential for media professionals.

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article. 

Year 2 (national level 5):

• Social Media: Theory and Practice (20 credits)

Learn how to plan a small-scale social media strategy around specified conversion goals. Discuss how social media management is influenced by social media advertising and the latest digital marketing trends including the rise of visual marketing, the emergence of pay-to-play and the rise and role of mobile technology.

• Data Analysis and Visualisation (20 credits)

Create visual, interactive and written data-driven content. Develop your knowledge and practical skills in relation to statistics, data analysis, spreadsheet functions, database management, data scraping, programming languages, big data, statistical software, visualisation tools and data storytelling techniques.

• Shoot. Edit. Share. (20 credits)

Develop a suite of skills and grow your confidence in the key components of video production. Learn procedures and techniques needed to produce and self-shoot, short form video for a unique consumer. Draw on traditional film and video techniques of shooting, editing, sound-design and digital graphic/after effects.

• Practical Public Relations: Strategy and Theory (20 credits)

Examine the key elements in the process of creating a PR strategy for a real world client. Understand the importance of research and ethical codes that aim to guide practitioners in the minefield of modern day PR practice.

• Placement and Practice (20 credits)

Gain valuable experience during a one-week placement and learn how news organisations work.

• Optional module (20 credits)

Select from a range of Arts and Creative Industries modules (availability and timetable permitting).

Final year (national level 6):

• Multiplatform News (20 credits)

Apply your knowledge to a portfolio of original work using a wider range of journalistic styles. Combine traditional and digital methods of reporting and gather a variety of stories for your portfolio, including those produced using experimental and emerging online techniques.

• Advanced Community Engagement (20 credits)

Develop your understanding of user behaviour within the context of digital communities and community engagement. Analyse how social media platforms serve as listening and outreach tools for building awareness and promoting issues, as well functioning as sources of valuable data-generation. Through tools such as internet forums, message boards, blogs, wikis, podcasts, picture and video sharing services, and social networking, you will develop skills to leverage social media applications as powerful alternatives to mainstream communication channels.

• Practical Project (40 credits)

Generate an original idea for a social media management project suitable for a client, brand or media organisation. Build and engage with audiences throughout the production and the dissemination of your project. Pitch your idea to tutors and peers in a presentation, followed by a question and answer session in which you must defend your pitch.

• Advanced Public Relations (20 credits)

Learn about the economic value of corporate reputation and goodwill along with the implications for corporate responsibility and community relations. Learn how to carry out a communications audit to establish whether the practice matches the theory. Continue to develop your practical skills in a wide range of PR techniques, including speechwriting and acting as a spokesperson.

• Optional module (20 credits)

Select from a range of Arts and Creative Industries modules (availability and timetable permitting).