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Journalism BA (Hons)
Study level: Undergraduate
Journalism is a superb career for anyone with natural curiosity about people and the world around them.
Year of entry
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study mode
Full-time
Sandwich
Duration
3 years full-time
4 years sandwich
Course code
PP53
Start date
September 2024
Course overview
Our course has been designed to offer professional insight and hands-on experience in industry standard TV and radio studios as we aim to provide you with top-level writing and social media skills.
- You will get extensive time in our TV and Radio studios as well as learning from our team of industry practitioners. This is designed with the aim of you developing a wealth of transferable skills including self-confidence, excellent written and verbal communications and technical skills that can be applied in all areas of the communications industry.
- As well as our team of industry practitioners you will also benefit from opportunities to hear from our Industry guest speakers, recent examples include 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. (Subject to availability.)
- While you are with us, we will support you to find industry placements2, previous students have secured work experience and employment at Sky, the BBC, ITV, Coventry City football club, heat magazine and the New York Times amongst many others.
Rated Gold Overall
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023
5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities
QS Stars University Ratings
Top 5 Student City in England (Coventry)
QS Best Student Cities Index 2025Why you should study this course
If you have a passion for writing, producing or presenting and a nose for a story, this course will prepare you for a career in journalism and related areas. We will provide opportunities and benefits for you along the way:
- As this course is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC)1, we consider it to be a forward-looking degree offering a multi-platform approach to journalism to prepare you for this dynamic industry. It is supported by outstanding TV and radio studios, a wireless newsroom, camera hire, podcasting booths and video editing suites.
- 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 Bristol2 (trips in the UK and abroad are subject to availability, meeting applicable visa requirements and additional fees apply).
- 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. You will have opportunities to learn and work on projects with students from other courses in the School of Media and Performing Arts. These collaborative opportunities are a defining feature of your learning experience and place you in an advantageous position in developing your skills and employability on graduating.
- Between your second and third years, you have the opportunity to either take a work placement for a year, or study abroad2.
- 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.
10th
Coventry University ranked No.10 for Journalism
Guardian University Guide 2023
Accreditation and professional recognition
Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC)
This course is currently accredited by Broadcast Journalism Training Council. If there are any changes to the accreditation of this course, we would notify applicants and students as soon as possible.
Why study Journalism BA (Hons) at Coventry University?
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What you'll study
This course has a common first year.
The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.
If you discover an interest in a specific subject you have studied, upon successful completion of your first year, you could swap degrees with another course in your common first year (subject to meeting progression requirements).
Common first year courses
- Journalism BA (Hons)
- Media and Communication BA (Hons)
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.
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.
Trystan Finocchiaro, Journalism BA (Hons) student, 2022
How you'll learn
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.
We provide a real experience of working as a journalist and try to incorporate this into our teaching activities through our collaborations with organisations in Coventry and beyond. Previous opportunities have included collaborating with local news organisations, for instance covering the local elections for ITV2.
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 journalism2.
Teaching contact hours
We understand that everyone learns differently, so each of our courses will consist of structured teaching sessions, which can include:
- On campus lectures, seminars and workshops
- Group work
- Self-directed learning
- Work placement opportunities2.
The number of full-time contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is likely to be around 12 contact hours per week in the first and second year dropping to around 10-12 contact hours per week in the third and final year as you become a more independent learner.
Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 15 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.
Part of university life is undertaking self-directed learning. During a typical week you will have time that allows you to work independently to apply the skills and knowledge you have learnt in taught or facilitated sessions to your projects or assignment briefs. This self-directed learning allows you to use your research skills, consolidate your knowledge or undertake collaborative group work.
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 upon the module.
Assessment methods include:
- Coursework
- Tests
- Essays
- Practical or project work
- Group work
- 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.
International experience opportunities
Our course is designed to reflect the increasingly international context of journalism.
We aim to provide you with 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 initiative, an international collaboration of college journalism, multimedia and public relations students which broadcasts news live across the world2.
The best thing about Coventry University from my point of view was that all the lecturers come from within industry, they have that inside know-how that really helps you. The facilities are also amazing and having access to all that gives students the freedom to pursue their interests in whatever direction they want to, it gives you that flexibility.
Lilian Darteh, Journalism BA (Hons), quoted September 2022, graduated in 2022
Entry requirements
Typical offer for 2024/25 entry.
Fees and funding
2024/25 tuition fees.
| Student | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £9,250 per year | Not available |
| EU | £9,250 per year with EU Support Bursary** £19,850 per year without EU Support Bursary** |
Not available |
| International | £19,850 per year | Not available |
If you choose to do a work placement2, you should consider travel and living costs to cover this. There is also a tuition fee3 of £1,250 that will cover your academic support throughout your placement year.
For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Undergraduate Finance page and see The University’s Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.
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. Find out what's included in your tuition costs.
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.
How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?
Facilities
Our facilities4 help develop your practical talent so you feel prepared to enter the workplace and inspire your passion for journalism.
Our extensive specialist resources include a wireless suite of newsrooms, TV studio, video editing suite and radio studio.
The Tank
Is the latest addition to Coventry University, with modern specialist TV Studio equipment, including large cameras, mixing facilities and fibre optic wiring throughout.
Phoenix Radio booth
Have you ever wanted to get into a radio booth, or learn how to work a mixing desk? The Students’ Union Phoenix Radio offers you the opportunity to hone your skills.
Delia Derbyshire Building
The Delia Derbyshire complex includes a hyper studio designed for cross-disciplinary projects and immersive studios with cutting-edge virtual reality and mixed-reality technologies for students across all disciplines to collaborate on projects together, a gallery space and an events atrium.
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.
Yasmine Summar, Journalism BA (Hons) student, 2022
Careers and opportunities
On successful completion of this course, you should 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.
You should 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.
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.
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.
Further study
You can choose to continue your studies at Coventry University with the Global Journalism and Public Relations MA or one of our other courses:
- Automotive Journalism MA
- Communication, Culture and Media MA
- Media Management MA
- Film and Media Production MA
- Virtual and Augmented Reality MA
You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study.
How to apply
UK students
International students
Disclaimers
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