Communication, Culture and Media MA
Study level: Postgraduate
Do you enjoy following important issues of the day or wish to pursue a media-based career? We engage with contemporary developments and debates in media, communication and culture.
Year of entry
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study mode
Full-time
Part-time
Duration
1 year full-time
2 years part-time
16-24 months (with professional experience)
Course code
AHT080
Start date
September 2023
January 2024
Course overview
We will develop your abilities to question, critique and make your voice stand out from the crowd on topical debates around feminism, identity in a digital world, global and transnational media events, international media industries, distribution networks, memes and viral campaigns, among others.
- Our course was one of the first in the postgraduate field of communication, culture and media in the UK.
- You will have the option to apply for a ‘professional experience’ opportunity2, designed to further develop your skills and knowledge with the aim of maximising your employability prospects. See modules for more information.

Joint Top Modern University for Career Prospects
Guardian University Guide 2021 and 2022
5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities
QS Stars University Ratings
Top 5 UK Student City (Coventry)
QS Best Student Cities Index 2023Why you should study this course
- Our theory-into-practice approach blends the study of media and culture with an exciting range of active assignments and real-life projects to develop creative, critical and digital skills of relevance in the professional world.
- We create a supportive and collaborative environment where students and staff work together on important and topical issues. You could find yourself tasked with hosting your own photographic exhibition, arranging professional academic conferences or taking a trip to the capital cities of France, Germany or the Netherlands (subject to availability and additional costs2). Alternatively, you may be invited to collaborate with one of our many professional partners – for example, with companies like ESL Games, who host professional live games tournaments (subject to availability2).
- Study is based in a converted 1930s art deco cinema, which offers a range of purpose-designed spaces, including our new TV Studio ‘The Tank’ and the Media Loan Shop4. We currently have a global creative community with students from several different countries and highly respected staff, who have published internationally recognised research in journals and books (staff may be subject to change).
- Taking full advantage of our extensive networks, we host guest lectures (subject to availability), which in the past have included senior academics from the UK, Finland and Turkey with expertise including media fandom, cult film/TV and audiences in the digital era, the sociology of science and technology, including ethnographic studies of scientific culture, information technology and the internet, on gender, media and the body, and journalistic culture and news production in international news organisations.
- We also provide insight from research being conducted within the university itself, which encourages you to explore disruptive social and open media, creative archiving, immersive, mobile and interactive media. Our staff share their most recent knowledge with you, while our quarterly Media Research Seminars offer you the chance to network with internationally leading scholars (subject to availability).
Collaborations with other organisations
Our teaching is underpinned by meaningful, research-based and real-life projects, collaborating with our current network of international collaborators from countries including Finland, Australia, Japan and America (subject to availability2).
We create a supportive and collaborative environment where students and staff work together on important and topical issues. You could find yourself tasked with hosting your own photographic exhibition, arranging professional academic conferences or taking a trip to the capital cities of France, Germany or the Netherlands (subject to availability and additional costs2). Alternatively, you may be invited to collaborate with one of our many professional collaborators – for example, with companies like ESL Games, who host professional live games tournaments (subject to availability2).
What you'll study
"There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.” Audre Lorde, African American writer, poet and civil rights activist.
Our course is more than simply research-led, theory-based or practice-inspired; each module caters to new developments in media as a discipline, combining a distinct approach to creation, criticism and curation and places you at the forefront of contemporary thinking. We cover all aspects of media, communications and cultural studies, from digital media, transnational identities, screen and moving image, new workplace practices, academic research in a digital context, media distribution, international film markets and genres, and contemporary experiences of health, wealth and happiness.
Working at a higher degree level, there is the opportunity2 to work across cultures as media experts, creative, professional communicators and researchers in the arts and cultural industries. You will have opportunities2 to participate in experience-based learning– anything from running your own film festival to starting your own company - providing the chance to get real-life evidence of event management and project management, valuable in any profession.
With professional experience option
The professional experience opportunity2 enables you to apply for optional professional experience in semester 1, which, upon successfully securing an opportunity, will extend the duration of your master’s to either 16, 20 or 24 months. The professional experience provides an opportunity for you to develop expertise and experience in your chosen field with the aim of enhancing your employability.
Please note that the optional professional experience modules incur an additional tuition fee3, which for one semester of professional experience is £1,333.33, for two semesters of professional experience is £2,666.67, and for three semesters of professional experience is £4,000.
Professional experience may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Professional experience opportunities are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of our Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the professional experience option.
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How you'll learn
During the course you’ll be encouraged to engage with a range of media – digital archives, film and moving images, traditional media forms, arts and arts-based practices, academic literature, photography and more.
As well as traditional teaching methods, such as lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, we offer skills training in video editing, Photoshop, digital publishing and content management and also organise a number of practical sessions.
There’s opportunities to hear from guest speakers, our own Media Research Seminars, and opportunities to attend a number of field trips, from Leicester and London to Paris (subject to availability and additional costs2).
This course can be offered on a part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Request further information about part-time study.
Teaching contact hours
The number of full-time contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is likely to be around 8 contact hours per week. The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 300 hours each semester, depending on the demands of individual modules.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2023/2024 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Assessment
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending on the module.
Assessment methods include:
- Group work
- Presentations
- Reports
- Projects
- Coursework
- Individual Assignments
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
International experience opportunities
The nature of course content is inherently international, studying media and cultural practices throughout the world. You will have opportunities2 to hear from practitioners and academic experts from across Europe. We also organise a range of field trips overseas2 – previously to Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris, where students work in groups to carry out bespoke research projects and produce film, photography or data collection to address important research questions (subject to availability, application, meeting visa requirements and additional costs).
Entry requirements
Typical offer for 2023/24 entry.
Fees and funding
2023/24 tuition fees.
Student | Full-time | Part-time |
---|---|---|
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £11,200 | Request fee information |
EU | £11,200 per year with EU support bursary** £18,600 per year without EU support bursary** |
Not available |
International | £18,600 | Not available |
For advice and guidance on tuition fees3 and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page.
We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
- Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
- Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).
Please note that the optional professional experience modules incur an additional tuition fee3, which for one semester of professional experience is £1,333.33, for two semesters of professional experience is £2,666.67, and for three semesters of professional experience is £4,000.
Professional experience may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Professional experience opportunities are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of our Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the professional experience option.
*Irish student fees
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
**EU support bursary
Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in-line with that of UK students. Students studying a Degree with a Foundation Year with us are not eligible for the bursary.
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How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?
We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Your fee status determines your tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available to you. The rules about who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees for higher education courses in England are set by the government's Department for Education. The regulations identify all the different categories of student who can insist on paying the home rate. The regulations can be difficult to understand, so the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has provided fee status guidance to help you identify whether you are eligible to pay the home or overseas rate.
If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you the home rate. You only need to find one category that you fit into.
Facilities
Coventry University is home to superb facilities4 in our new Arts and Humanities building which is planned to open in 2023. You can also access high-standard professional media equipment via our Media Loan Shop, including prosumer media equipment (i.e. 4K and HD video cameras, DSLR cameras, tripods, audio equipment, lighting – Canon, JVC, Sony)4.

Television Studio
Where applicable, you’ll have access to our on-campus TV studio The Tank, with its specialist TV studio equipment, including large cameras, mixing facilities and fibre-optic wiring throughout.

Photography Suite
The photography suite is a superb facility that includes virtual drum scanning, photography studios, black-and-white print darkrooms, free black-and-white film processing, and a digital print bureau.

Media Loan Shop
As a student, you’ll have access to Coventry University’s specialist Media Loan Shop. This well-stocked facility offers an extensive range of specialist, professional photography and film equipment.
Careers and opportunities
Upon successful completion, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of cutting-edge theoretical frameworks, concepts, ideas and ways of understanding the world that help make sense of the complexity of contemporary media.
- Critically engage and interpret complex bodies of thought, and understand the relationships between and within frameworks for thinking.
- Evaluate a number of competing and contradictory theories, concepts and ideas and be able to reconcile differences and reason through their own theoretically informed thinking and practices.
- Produce, make, create and craft a broad range of artefacts (e.g. film production and distribution, conference/seminar/symposium organisation, exhibition, curatorial projects, installations, websites and other digital content) relevant to the context and engage in appropriate and thoughtful methods of advertising and promotion to ensure your work is visible and accessible to a global audience.
We provide a range of exciting opportunities to produce industry-related work and self-directed portfolios that are geared towards creating graduates who could work either in the UK or abroad. Past projects have included ‘JuneParis’, ‘Checkpoint/Counterpoint’ and ‘Rescheduled’, which have presented research through photographic and digital arts, with data produced in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris2.
We focus on developing your creative capacity, enhancing your skills in creating, making and producing, giving you the confidence to respond to the media as it happens with meaningful and academically informed outputs (e.g. digital profiles, exhibitions, artefacts such as film and photography). With these skills, you should be well placed to take up roles in a range of creative sectors, ranging from advocacy and other forms of applied communications, academic research and scholarship, start-ups, arts, and particular industries within media sectors (e.g. film, journalism, cultural criticism, television, journalism, digital publishing).
Where our graduates work
Recent graduates have gone on to study for PhDs in the UK, Africa, China and America. Our students have gone on to work in: digital music services in The Netherlands, as research posts at the Five College Women’s Centre, Massachusetts USA, in PR companies in Saudi Arabia, in government organisations and broadcasters in Africa, and as producers in TV stations in China. Our graduates also regularly go on to set up their own companies across the globe.
How to apply
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UK students
To apply to study for a postgraduate course at Coventry University, you can apply online.
For further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form.
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International students
Full-time international students applying to start in September should apply directly to the university. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.
How to applyFor further support for international applicants applying for postgraduate degree view our International hub.
You can also download our International guide which contains lots of useful information about our courses, accommodation and tips for travel.
Get in touch with us today for further advice and guidance.
Chat with our admissions team.
Complete our contact form.
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Disclaimers
Coventry University together with Coventry University London Campus, CU Coventry, CU London, CU Scarborough and Coventry University Online come together to form part of the Coventry University Group (the “University”) with all degrees awarded by Coventry University.
1Accreditations
The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery.
2UK and international opportunities
Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or International opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel COVID and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the visa requirements, please contact the International Office.
3Tuition fees
The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.
For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.
4Facilities
Due to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
Student Contract
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2023/24 contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
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