Overview
Digital, mobile and social media have transformed the Journalism business. This professionally-accredited course is primarily focused on your employability and aims to provide you with skills and techniques necessary to make your mark in any area of the journalism and communications industry.
Our Journalism, Publishing and PR courses are ranked 8th in the United Kingdom by the Guardian University Guide 2020 and will help you become ambitious, informed and versatile media professionals ready to succeed in newsroom, platform or media organisations.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
To ensure an optimised and continual student experience, the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedTeaching Excellence
Taught by lecturers who are experts in their fieldCourse essentials
A degree which offers you more, at no extra costAccreditation and Professional Recognition
This course is accredited and recognised by the following bodies:
Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC)
This course is currently accredited by Broadcast Journalism Training Council for the 2021/22 entry. If there are any changes to the accreditation of this course, we would notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
Related Links
Building Redevelopment
We are currently in the process of a major redevelopment of our Faculty of Arts and Humanities buildings. The building will be open to the public as well as students, and will feature an expansive gallery space.
Creative Community Hub
We hope that you are all staying safe in these uncertain times. Creative activities can really help fill the days, while we are spending more time at home and we have some ideas to keep you busy.
Employability
We are at the forefront of delivering enterprise and employability as part of our undergraduate programme and our employability unit co-ordinates the delivery of this for all students.
What our students say...
Having spent three years building my skills within the media industry, developing strong people skills and confidence, and gaining valuable experience both in class and doing work placements, I came out with a fantastic degree and started a job related to my interests within two weeks of finishing.
Course information
Our accredited* BA Journalism degree develops graduates who can operate across multiple platforms, are context-aware and equally comfortable in a traditional journalism environment as they are working with disruptive forms of media practice.
The focus is on news-gathering and storytelling, which will provide a wealth of transferable skills including self-confidence, excellent written and verbal communications and technical skills that can be applied to other areas of the communications industry.
Coventry is ranked the 8th best university in the country for ‘Journalism, Publishing and Public Relations’ (Guardian University Guide 2020) and here, you’ll be taught by journalists and academics with experience across print, digital and broadcast around the globe.
You’ll also have the opportunity to apply for industry placements (subject to application,availability,additional costs and meeting applicable VISA requirements). Previous students have secured placements at Sky, the BBC, ITV, Coventry City football club, heat magazine and the New York Times amongst many others.
We regularly invite guest speakers to our universityand recently, students have heard from a Channel 4 documentary producer/director, a BBC6 Music DJ, the diplomatic correspondent of the Times, a producer for Sky Sports, the head of Instagram and Snapchat for LADbible and a literary agent.
* This course is currently accredited by Broadcast Journalism Training Council for the 2021/22 entry. If there are any changes to the accreditation of this course, we would notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
91%
of students agreed that our staff made the subject interesting
NSS, 2017
Course Specification
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Modules
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.
Our Journalism courses are ranked 8th in the United Kingdom by Guardian University Guide 2020
In more detail...
If you have a passion for writing, producing, presenting or digital and a nose for a story, this course will prepare you to immerse you in the world of contemporary journalism with lots of opportunities for location work, live projects, inspiring talks from visiting media professionals and exciting professional placement opportunities (subject to availability).
As this course is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC)*, we consider it to be a forward-looking degree that aims to assess trends within the media environment by aiming to offer a multi-platform approach to journalism in order to try to better prepare you for this dynamic industry.
To recognise the fact that, in the real world, journalism is increasingly produced on the move or filmed from location, we provide you with access to a mobile technology pack* featuring a high-end laptop with the latest industry-standard software to give you 24/7 access. For more information visit our Flying Start page.
We also encourage you to get outside the classroom - we’ve previously taken past students to Amsterdam and New York, where we’ve produced live content and visited world-famous media companies, as well as carrying out projects in Spain, London, Cardiff and Bristol (trips in the UK and abroad are subject to availability, meeting applicable VISA requirements and additional fees apply).
You will be expected to seek out and interpret stories for new and disparate audiences, produce news and features for mobile, online and broadcast platforms while also experimenting with new forms of practice across new technologies, all of which aims to develop your professional networks.
The course is designed to prepare you for an exciting and evolving environment that increasingly expects workers to display entrepreneurial innovation and respond to the emerging needs of both audiences and industry - while still offering traditional journalism opportunities.
Our previous graduates can be found working for Sky, the BBC and a range of newspapers and magazines, as well as careers beyond traditional journalism in digital fields such as social media management and content creation.
Described by the BTJC as a “cutting edge” course, which will “revolutionise the way the next generation of journalists gather and distribute news”(2019), it is hands-on from the start, with many of our students working at a professional level, for example, for the ITV Central television news team.
You have the opportunity to participate in news days where you could gain live experience in news production and potentially test your skills in a live environment.
Meanwhile, our professional partnerships and industry contacts mean you should have access to a range of targeted work experience opportunities (work experience opportunities are subject to availability, application, VISA requirements and additional cost), which has led previous students to work for the Daily Mail’s video department, BBC radio, Netflix and CBS Investigates. You will also get the chance to produce a diverse range of content for your portfolios on our student-run channels, or via the Student Union’s media outlets.
* This course is currently accredited by Broadcast Journalism Training Council for the 2021/22 entry. If there are any changes to the accreditation of this course, we would notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
- Access to professional broadcast equipment via our dedicated Media Loan Shop and studios.
- 92% of students said staff were enthusiastic about what they teach in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2016.
- Coventry University has been ranked 8th in the UK for ‘Journalism, Publishing and Public Relations’ in the Guardian University Guide 2020.
- Extensive specialist resources include a wireless suite of newsrooms, TV studio, video editing suite and radio studio. (Subject to availability)
- Excellent graduate employability – 100% of students in work or continuing their studies six months after graduation (DLHE 2014/15), almost two-thirds of those employed in professional level roles.
- We have links with employers nationally, including the BBC and Sky, and internationally in places as far afield a Europe, South Africa and the Falkland Islands, many of whom offer professional experience opportunities (subject to additional costs, application, availability and meeting applicable VISA requirements).
- Successful student track record in national competitions – with past students of previous years winning Journalist of the Year, Best Website (www.icov.co.uk) and Best Documentary awards from the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).
Access to professional broadcast equipment via our dedicated Media Loan Shop and studios.
Your main study themes are:
- Making journalism: We consider how and why journalism is put together. What makes news, where does it come from and how is it produced. You will be introduced to content production for print, web and broadcast news by studying the work of other journalists and professionals as well as your own practice in a critical context.
- Media law: You will be introduced to the legal, professional and ethical codes which underpin how journalists in the UK practice, including the Contempt of Court Act, the Magistrates’ Court Act, Defamation and examples of current professional ethical standards exemplified in codes of conduct, producers’ guidelines and style guides. The aim is to ensure that your work as a journalist meets the legal guidelines needed to avoid prosecution.
- Journalism and society: Focuses on understanding the complex relationship between the practice of journalism and broader society. Theoretical sessions will explore the context of the production of a range of journalism artefacts in historical, contemporary and emerging media landscapes to question the role and purpose of journalism in society.
The course can be studied over three years full-time, starting in September, which can be extended by an additional year if you choose the optional sandwich year, study abroad or on a professional placement year.
Based on a series of lectures, seminars, workshops, practical classes and one-to-one tutorials with teaching staff, we provide a focused approach to journalism which is underpinned by in-depth exploration of core traditional news-gathering, continuous production and experimentation in new and emerging forms of journalism. Collaborative learning across year levels will cement the foundations of your skills and knowledge in more sophisticated ways and should facilitate support from your peers. In addition, your personal tutor will review and discuss your progress with you and may be contacted for advice.
We cover the core principles of journalism – including storytelling, editing, explaining and interpreting information – which should prepare you to practise journalism or a specialist area as part of a freelance or portfolio career. Our staff can share their professional experiences and keep you up-to-date with their latest research, with expertise in areas such as new media and society and ICT in Africa, local news history and development, live broadcast, social affairs, entertainment journalism and global media.
We provide a real experience of working as a journalist and try to incorporate this into our teaching activities through our partnerships with organisations in Coventry and beyond. Previous opportunities have included collaborating with local news organisations, for instance covering the local elections for ITV. You could explore opportunities to practice court reporting, attending legal hearings in the Magistrates’ or Crown courts and producing your own reports of legal hearings or current issues in media law.
You will be taught in our wireless-enabled newsrooms, including our recently-refurbished radio studios and our state-of-the-art TV studio, The Tank (subject to availability and change).
Our excellent industry links enable us to host an exciting programme of guest speakers who have previously covered topics such as documentary film-making, TV news production, reporting from war zones, branding and magazine journalism. You will also have opportunities to take part in educational and cultural visits at home and abroad*, where you can develop your knowledge and skills through fieldwork and group project*. We have recently visited ITV Central and premier journalism conference NewsRewired in London, as well as producing pop-up projects in Cardiff, Bristol and London. Our students have also had the opportunity to travel abroad to New York* where they visited ABC News as well as producing live social media content from Amsterdam.
*Educational/cultural visits in the UK/abroad and trips abroad are subject to availability/change, application, meeting applicable VISA requirements and additional fees apply.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods include coursework, tests, essays, practical or project work, group work and presentations.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes. Assessments may include exams, individual assignments or group work elements.
On successful completion of this course, you will know how to:
- Make great journalism, whether that’s for digital, broadcast, print or social media.
- Understand how global journalism works and how it impacts society.
- Feel prepared when applying for potential future job roles within the media industry and you should have improved networks in order to do so.
On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Apply a breadth of journalism and communication skills and knowledge to professional situations.
- Work creatively, sustainably and independently within professional situations, employing a range of journalism strategies and techniques.
- Critically evaluate and analyse the broad range of factors that impinge upon professional and creative activities within journalism and the broader communications industry.
- Demonstrate the ability to engage with diverse communities across a range of media platforms.
- Identify and evaluate developing/emerging forms of journalism and communication.
In a typical teaching week, you will have approximately 15 ‘contact’ hours of teaching. This generally breaks down as:
- Personal tutorial/small group teaching: 2 hours of tutorials each week.
- Medium group teaching: 10 hours of practical classes, workshops or seminars each week.
- Large group teaching: 3 hours of lectures each week.
*Teaching hours are subject to change
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
In addition, you will be expected to undertake a further 20 hours of self-directed studying each week, including guided study using handouts, online activities in your own time.
Our course is designed to reflect the increasingly international context of journalism; reflected strongly in the course curriculum and the varied international experience of the teaching team which includes staff who have previously lived and worked in South Africa, India, Ireland and America.
You will be given opportunities to engage with international students from at home and abroad. Coventry University is one of only two UK universities to have previously participated in the Pop-Up Newsroom 2018, a global cooperative project which brings together students from the UK, Netherlands, Bulgaria, India, the United States and Lebanon in a virtual newsroom to report on issues of global significance at a local level. Our past first and second year students have previously taken part with news days focusing on the refugee crisis and an international women’s day. Previous second-year students also collaborated with students from 13 universities in seven different countries as part of the Global News Relay (2018)initiative, an international collaboration of college journalism, multimedia and public relations students which broadcasts news live across the world.
We encourage you to try to broaden your theoretical, cultural and practical references, providing opportunities to broaden your horizons by applying to study abroad on a sandwich year*. Past students have studied media and journalism at universities in Spain, Sweden, the United States and France, among others. We also offer a range of short visits and field trips abroad*, which are reviewed annually. Recent fieldtrips have included Amsterdam and Malaga (subject to availability and additional costs).
At Coventry University, you can enjoy a whole host of multicultural and multilingual activities, such as the international film club and the French and Spanish conversation clubs. You can learn another language with the university-wide Add+vantage Scheme or the Linguae Mundi programme.
*Studying abroad/short visits and field trips abroad are subject to availability/change, application, meeting applicable VISA requirements and additional fees apply.
Global ready
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2018/19, we provided a total of 5,469 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Much of this travel is made possible through our Global Leaders Programme, which enables students to prepare for the challenges of the global employment market, as well as strengthening and developing their broader personal and professional skills.
Explore our international experiences1st for
international experiences
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni 2016/17
5,469
Student experiences
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2018/19
12,000
and counting
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally since 2016
12
global programmes
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
What our students say...
The best thing about being a student at Coventry is the programmes for students, the diversity and the wealth of resources. The facilities on my course are amazing! The city of Coventry is growing and has a lot for students.
Entry Requirements
What our students say...
The exemplary facilities and teaching support have ensured that I have the experience and knowledge to make it in the outside world. I did a year in Spain which has broadened my perspective and boosted my self-confidence. The thing I like most about my course is the people – it’s a great, friendly learning environment that encourages everyone to get involved.
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
For more information, please visit our Finance pages.
Course essentials at no extra cost
We're committed to communicating study costs clearly to make sure you're not faced with having to make any unexpected payments.
This is why our ‘Flying Start’ package provides you with a few course essentials. Your full-time fee for an undergraduate degree will cover the following:
UK field trips
Any mandatory site visits and trips within the United Kingdom.Key material
This can include core textbooks, software and equipment.Laser prints
1,000 A4 sides of black and white laser printing credits per year.Optional year
Pay no tuition fees for optional work placements or study abroad trips.EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
What our students say...
I very much enjoyed my time on the Journalism course. There are regular visiting speakers from across all sectors, all of whom bring their own experiences and ideas, and work with students on projects. Last term, our year worked on CoventryTV, a new hyperlocal TV station.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
We put employability at the centre of the course from the outset by preparing you for a potential future career in the media. The learning environment will recreate a working rolling news environment, with practical assignments and deadlines; it is purposefully designed to try and equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to work in a professional multi-platform environment.
We will provide you with to the opportunity to discover and produce real stories across different forms of media and our current industry accreditation* means that you will be strongly supported when seeking work placements and internships**.
In the process of exploring journalism and communication skills you will have the opportunity to develop throughout the course and this will prepare you for a wide range of potential future careers in other areas, such as PR, social media content and marketing, politics, commercial business and publishing.
In addition, our Talent Team offer help and support if you wish to seek to gain employment or look at professional practice opportunities within course-specific industries. Our dedicated enterprise officers also offer valuable assistance on how to begin as a freelancer/entrepreneur and you could also benefit from the insight you could gain during field trips** and attending events hosted by guest speakers.
* This course is currently accredited by Broadcast Journalism Training Council for the 2021/22 entry. If there are any changes to the accreditation of this course, we would notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
**work placements/internships/field trips are subject to availability/change, application process, meeting applicable VISA requirements and additional fees.
Where our graduates work
Recent graduates of the course have gone on to work for a range of broadcasters, newspapers, magazines and online outlets, including the BBC, Sky Sports, the Telegraph website and heat magazine.
Our graduates earn an average salary of £18,000 six months after the course (DLHE 2014/15)
What our students say...
Coventry university has given me the skillset to competently enter the world of work in broadcasting. I chose Coventry due to the industry standard equipment and the experience the lecturers had in the industry. I enjoy the practical aspect of this course. It replicates a working news room in a realistic way and prepares you for this.
Disclaimer
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 2020/21 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.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we 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. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
