Global Journalism and Public Relations MA

Study level: Postgraduate
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In our increasingly digital world, journalists are frequently called upon to report on diverse global issues and this course prepares you for global journalism and public relations practice and analysis, covering all areas of journalism, from legal and ethical issues to interviewing, writing, broadcast and web skills.

Year of entry

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time

Duration

1 year full-time
16-24 months (with professional experience)

Course code

AHT016

Start date

September 2025
January 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

Covering key areas ranging from legal and ethical issues to interviewing, writing, broadcast and web skills, this course prepares you for global journalism and public relations practice and analysis in a digital and diverse world.

  • Benefit from our current links with the media industry, including ITV and the BBC, and previous links with Al Jazeera and Africa-based media and online outlets here in the UK and elsewhere including the USA2.
  • The course is taught by experienced tutors with decades of practical journalism and public relations experience, and in addition, you will have opportunities2 to attend guest lectures by top as well as upcoming journalists and public relations practitioners, including alumni (subject to availability).
  • Gaining hands-on experience2, you will be expected to work as part of a team on group projects, such as a magazine (see our Magcloud site) and a global collaborative newscast themed around pressing contemporary issues.
A star in the centre of a rosette.

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

City buildings next to a tree.

Top 5 Student City in England (Coventry)

QS Best Student Cities Index 2025

Why you should study this course

  • You will be taught and mentored very well by a highly experienced teaching team, whose former roles have included contributing to Al Jazeera’s global media analysis show ‘The Listening Post’, managing communications and PR in Oxford, and editing commercial magazines.
  • We have links with the journalism-media industry, including BBC and ITV in the UK, so we host high-profile guest speakers (subject to availability), who in the past have included a BBC Director-General, Channel 4 founder, a highly respected Channel 4 News anchor and a famous BBC Newsnight presenter.
  • We help you to acquire the essential knowledge and practical skills needed for a successful career in global journalism or public relations as we get you used to working with multiple forms of media – generating traditional print, audio and video content, all the while embracing new technologies and creating parallel digital content, including social media, blogs and web-based content.
  • You get opportunities to work individually and as part of a team on live projects such as a magazine, a global collaborative newscast and student union publications-broadcasts, among others2.
  • Facilities4 include newsrooms equipped with industry-standard hardware and software, a modern TV studio, radio studios and Media Loan Shop for professional equipment.

The Global Journalism and Public Relations MA course helped me build a portfolio that prepares me for job hunting as a professional journalist. I got the unique opportunity to gain an in-depth knowledge of journalism and communications, leading me to be named joint-winner in the broadcasting (television) category of the Midlands Media Student's Awards 2023.

Rima Ayoubi, Global Journalism and Public Relations MA, quoted 2023
Rima Abreu

What you'll study

If you’re interested in a career in the media industry worldwide, our course is a comprehensive interdisciplinary introduction as well as an advancement of global journalism and public relations knowledge, which is underpinned by a hands-on approach to professional practice from the outset.

In the final stage of your course, there is an opportunity2 to explore issues in global journalism that interest you further through an extensive individual research project, with support and guidance from specialist tutors. Past students have considered anything from the use of diasporic media by British Bangladeshis in Birmingham to the coverage of Africa in Chinese media or fake news images in Digital Age.

Modules

With professional experience option

The professional experience opportunity2 enables you the opportunity 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 fee, 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

The course covers journalism theory and practice, and specialist knowledge and techniques specific to global journalism and public relations.

Each module is taught over approximately 11 weeks with formal course teaching typically taking place over two to three full working days per week. The specialist staff include  former news and features writers with wide experience in global news reporting and academic research. Other tutors include specialists in magazines, digital media and emerging platforms, as well as public relations. 

Teaching methods include:

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Presentations
  • Group projects
  • Workshops
  • Practical newsroom/news day sessions.

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 10 contact hours per week in the first two semesters. 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 27 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.

The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.

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 could vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods include:

  • Portfolio (of stories)
  • Reflective essays
  • Group work (only for formative/interim evaluation to inform final individual submission)
  • Presentations (live class presentations are only for formative/interim evaluation to inform your final submission)
  • Projects

Please note that final and summative assessments are predominantly individual submissions and assignments, even where elements are derived from group or collaborative work/projects.

The Coventry University assessment strategy aims to ensure that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.


International experience opportunities

Our course is designed to reflect the increasingly international context of journalism - this is reflected strongly in the course curriculum. Content includes conflict/war situations, governments and inter-governmental organisations, markets and business, civil society and non-governmental actors. You may have opportunities2 to undertake preparatory research before visiting a foreign country or covering an international event and areas include finding and relating with fixer/s, timelines/zones and deadlines, cultural contexts, technological and environmental factors, security considerations, ethical and legal dilemmas.

You will be given opportunities2 to engage with international students at home and abroad, for example, through collaborative online international learning projects such as Pop-up Newsroom and Global News Relay. We also offer a range of short visits and field trips abroad2, which are reviewed annually. Recent field trips have included Kenya and Tanzania to cover the urban environment and tourism, as well as Bangladesh, Malaysia, Gibraltar and Italy to write about landscape, culture and food.

The most exciting moments on this course are those in which students have glints in their eyes, like when their course magazine is just published online or ‘hot off the press’ prints arrive on campus, after they’ve watched the broadcast of their segment on Global Pop-up News and Global News Relay, or when they rub shoulders with prolific and distinguished guests during high-profile events such as the Global Peace Forum hosted by our Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations.

These challenging yet rewarding undertakings help students build their portfolios, confidence and networks useful for professional experience and employability.

Dr Fred Mudhai, Global Journalism and Public Relations MA Course Director, 2023
Learner on laptop

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold an honours degree of 2:2 or above in any subject. Applications from candidates with relevant experience will be considered on an individual basis.

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.

Typical entry requirements

Applicants should hold an honours degree of 2:2 or above in any subject. Applications from candidates with relevant experience will be considered on an individual basis.

Each application will be considered on its merits and the final decision will be made by the course director.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 5.5

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)  
Not available
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

Our facilities4 help develop your practical skills so you feel prepared to enter the workplace and inspire your passion for journalism.

You will have access to professional equipment via our dedicated Media Loan Shop and our newsrooms, TV studio, video editing suite and radio studios.

Two male students presenting in a TV studio to a camera in the foreground.

Television Studio

You’ll have access to our on-site television studio The Tank, offering specialist equipment such as large cameras, mixing facilities and fibre-optic wiring throughout.
 

Exterior front of the Ellen Terry building.

Media Loan Shop

Our media loan shop provides you with access to the equipment and support you need to excel in your studies – from basic audio recorders to professional cameras and expert advice from our technicians.

Students taking photographs

Radio Studios

Two radio studies, one digital and the other analogue, are available for radio-audio journalism classes as well as student bookings for independent work.


Careers and opportunities

Upon successful completion of this course, you should know how to:

  • create content that exhibits awareness of global events and issues to professional standards, for broadcast, print, online-digital and social media
  • understand how global journalism and PR work and how they relate to politics, international relations, business and society in general
  • apply a wide range of journalism and communication skills as well as knowledge, to the production of content that exhibit global awareness, to professional standards
  • work creatively, sustainably and independently within professional situations, employing a range of journalism and public relations strategies and techniques
  • critically evaluate and analyse the broad range of factors that impinge upon professional and creative activities within global journalism and the broader communications industry
  • demonstrate the ability to identify and successfully engage with a range of audiences, genres and media platforms within global journalism and public relations
  • confidently prepare to apply for job roles within journalism, media, communication and PR.

This course prepares you for a broad range of positions in regional, national or international journalism, media, communications and PR – as a researcher, reporter, writer, editor or presenter, for example.

Career prospects are vast and varied, from established national and international media outlets, broadcasting organisations, newspapers and magazines, to emerging broadcast contexts, such as web-based text journalism, web-TV and web-radio.

Our Talent Team is on hand to offer tailored career and enterprise support if you wish to gain employment or take advantage of professional practice opportunities within course-specific industries2. The course equips students for work in a wider range of careers that require transferable knowledge and skills such as global awareness, research, writing and communication with specific or general audiences including via various media. Our dedicated enterprise officers also can offer valuable assistance on how to begin as a freelancer/entrepreneur.

Where our graduates work

Due to the focused and transferable skills that the course offers, our graduates have secured jobs in diverse areas that include TV reporter and presenter at Porto Canal channel in Portugal, radio reporter with German public broadcaster NDR in Hamburg, staff journalist at a Turkish news agency foreign desk, freelance journalist, managing editor for a specialist UK outlet on camping and caravanning, web publisher at global public relations and advertising agency Cheil, marketing for retail chain Sonae MC in Portugal, public relations and marketing communications with London-based Four Agency Worldwide, strategic relationships at associate director level with UK regulator Ofqual, digital workplace manager in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Canada-based international investment agency Colliers and senior administrator at Coventry City Council.

This course has helped me in jump-starting my career as a journalist. The many journalistic projects I got to participate in because of this course helped me in building a professional portfolio that I can be proud of.

Jana Buxbaumova, Global Journalism and Public Relations MA, 2022/23.
Lancaster Library on a  bright day

How to apply

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