Communication, Culture and Media MA

Study level: Postgraduate
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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 2025
January 2026
May 2026

At Coventry University, we continuously review the courses we offer to ensure we reflect industry-relevant emerging best practice and technology. As a result, this course is undergoing continuous improvement assessment and will be launched with a renewed curriculum starting in September 2025. Module content and titles will be updated. Course title, learning outcomes and assessments may also change. We expect our new curriculum to be fully updated by January 2025. Please return to this page to see the final course details.


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.

  • 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 the ‘Modules’ section for more information.
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Rated Gold Overall

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023

Five stars in a speech bubble.

5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities

QS Stars University Ratings

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Top 5 Student City in England (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2025

Why 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. 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).


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, placing 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.

We will also provide you with the opportunity to explore the feelings and emotional responses created by contemporary media and culture – together we will discover new ways of making sense of and creatively interpreting our 21st century world.

Modules

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 are opportunities to hear from guest speakers2, 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 eight 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.

Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. 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.


Entry requirements

Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.

Standard entry requires a good undergraduate degree on the British model in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Equivalent qualifications from overseas and professional qualifications are also acceptable.

We recognise a breadth of qualifications, speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

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Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

You can view our full list of country-specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall (with at least 5.5 in each component area)

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

Student Full-time Part-time
UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man 2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £11,200 | £15,200 (with prof. experience)  
Request fee information
EU 2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £11,200 | £15,200 (with prof. experience) per year with EU Support Bursary**
2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £18,600 | £22,600 (with prof. experience) per year without EU Support Bursary**
Not available
International 2025/26 fees TBC
2024/25 fees - £18,600 | £22,600 (with prof. experience)  
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 fees3 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).

*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.


Facilities

You will benefit from studying on our well-equipped, modern campus. Our aim is to offer you sector-leading facilities in a dedicated environment4. 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

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

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.

recording equipment

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