International Publishing - 2012 entry

Course content

The MA consists of five compulsory modules and one elective module plus a dissertation or major project. The PGDip consists of five compulsory modules and one elective module.

In the second semester you take International Publishing Management and choose one optional module to develop skills and knowledge in your specialist area of publishing.

You finish by taking the compulsory module New Product Development. To gain an MA you must also submit a Dissertation or a Major Project.

Modules may change from time to time; an indicative list is shown below.

Compulsory modules

• Design and Production for Publishing explores the role of the design and production department in the publishing process. It looks closely at current working practices in areas such as design and typography, project management, the evaluation and selection of appropriate media platforms, the buying of raw materials and manufacturing processes, and the use of external resources.
• Editorial Management explores the strategic role of the editor within the publishing process and the knowledge and skills required for the development of new projects, whether in print or digital form.
• Marketing Management for Publishing provides a systematic examination of the key concepts and disciplines of marketing and their relationship and relevance to the products of publishing. It includes coverage of the marketing mix, consumer behaviour, segmentation, targeting and positioning, and elements of market research.
• International Publishing Management covers the management of publishing organisations in an international context. Focusing on the need to remain competitive and survive in the rapidly changing media communications environment, you access and use a range of analytical tools; explore international management issues through case studies; and develop an understanding of the financial tools available to management to assess performance.
• New Product Development addresses the fundamental issue of how publishers survive and prosper through the development of new publishing ideas. Working in groups, students simulate the new product development process, taking marketing, editorial, production and financial elements to an advanced stage and presenting the new product proposals (books, journals, international publishing projects, e-publishing projects, translated or co-published projects) to senior management.

Optional modules

• E-Publishing enables you to engage with the dynamic nature of a rapidly evolving part of the publishing industry. Through lectures, workshops, and talks from industry speakers, you are introduced to both the strategic and practical sides of e-publishing.
• Journals Publishing introduces a rapidly changing publishing sector, covering both electronic and paper-based serial publications across science, technology, medicine, the humanities and social sciences, and the arts. Journals publishing is characterised by technological change in everything from workflow and production to online submissions systems. Where journals publishing leads, much of the rest of publishing follows.
• Children's Publishing explores the development of the market sector and the current shape and business practices of publishing for children and young adults. Topics include picture books, co-editions and translatability; the sector's links to other leisure industries, merchandising and content reuse; editing and censorship; age ranging and gatekeeping; literacy and reading campaigns; and promotion.
• Magazine Publishing provides a comprehensive insight into and understanding of the international magazine industry and its place as both a print and electronic product. It covers a range of contemporary issues and business models, exploring the job roles involved in the production of magazines and addressing the issues of editorial content, marketing, branding, technology, law and design.
• Publishing and Language Issues examines how language issues are affecting the development of publishing in an international context. It looks at these issues from the perspective of publishing in world languages (eg English, French), in major national and international languages (eg Chinese, Arabic), and in more local languages (eg Finnish, Kiswahili, Bengali).
• Rights Management introduces the management of rights in the fast-moving world of global publishing. As well as looking at the acquisition of rights from the author, and the different rights contracted, the module covers the rights function within the publishing house and its responsibility for licensing a range of products.
• History and Culture of Publishing examines the culture and ideology of publishing in terms of its development throughout the 20th century, and its contemporary practice. Different theories of print culture and critiques of the role of the publisher in society are reviewed, and there is an examination of ideological challenges to the culture of publishing.

• Digital Media Publishing offers an examination of forms of web publishing with particular reference to standards of mark-up and accessibility. It provides an opportunity for the practical investigation of the strategies to publish digital media. Emphasis is placed on keeping content separate from presentation through semantic markup and the use of XML, AJAX and various web server technologies.

• Independent Study in Publishing offers you the opportunity to design a course of study to suit your own interests and concerns; to organise and carry out a work schedule set by yourself; and to determine a set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria in collaboration with the module leader and a supervisor.

Compulsory for the MA

• Dissertation or Major Project is the defining and essential component for the award of the MA degree. It is a major in-depth investigation of a subject, theme or issue significant to the study of publishing through research and extended written or project work (15,000 words or equivalent for major projects).

Faculty

Faculty of Business

Department

Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies

Course length

Full-time: MA: 12 months, PGDip: 9 months
Part-time: MA: 24 months, PGDiP: 18 months

Teaching location

Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane

Start date

September 2012

UKPASS code

P034279

Entry requirements

Our publishing courses attract graduates from a wide range of disciplines who are seeking entry with advanced standing into the publishing industry. We also attract people wishing to update and enhance their knowledge of publishing practice and people working in publishing who are seeking, for the purpose of career advancement, knowledge outside their own specialist field.

Candidates from around the world enrol on the course to learn about publishing within the context of a global industry - in the past three years we have had postgraduate students from over 30 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America.

A good degree in any subject or significant industry experience is required. Applicants should be able to demonstrate a commitment to work in the publishing or communications industries.

Scholarships and funding

There are a number of scholarships and funding schemes available for students on our courses: for entry in 2009/10, ten students received an award of some kind; and in 2010/11, twelve students.

In past years we have offered a range of scholarships, such as the following: the Publishing Training Centre Diversity Scholarship, the Cambridge Publishing Scholarship, the Hachette UK Publishing Scholarship, the Macmillan Publishing Scholarship, and the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies (International) Scholarship and the Stationers' Foundation. These ranged in value from £750 to £6,000.

For details of the latest scholarships available please visit http://ah.brookes.ac.uk/publishing/postgraduate_scholarships

With regard to university schemes, our students have had considerable success in obtaining a variety of awards including the John Henry Brookes Scholarship and the Abbey Santander Scholarship. Our students have also obtained a variety of external awards, such as from the AHRC.
 

For general sources of financial support, see:

• funding for students from the UK and EU
• funding for students from outside the EU

Why Oxford is a great place to study International Publishing

Oxford is a global centre of publishing - local companies include Elsevier, Macmillan Education, Oxford University Press, Pearson Education, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley-Blackwell. A large number of independent publishing organizations are also based in Oxford, including the African Books Collective, Berg Publishing, How to Books, Infinite Ideas, Osprey Publishing, Oxfam Publishing, and the Voltaire Foundation.

Students have access to unique research resources: specialist publishing collections; André Deutsch Collection, African Publishing Collection; the Bodleian Library. Oxford Brookes is also the permanent home of the Booker Prize Archive.

The city of Oxford has something for everyone. A beautiful, historic city, it is famous for its writers, including J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, Colin Dexter and Mark Haddon. The Oxford Literary Festival takes place each Spring. In 2011 we ran a speaker event with Victoria Barnsley, Chief Executive of HarperCollins, the author Marcus du Sautoy, and the Sunday Times journalist Cathy Galvin.

Oxford is a vibrant, student-friendly place with lots to offer, including a wide range of sporting venues, shops, pubs, cafes, clubs, cinemas, theatres and restaurants, with excellent transport links, it is ideally situated for exploring the rest of Britain and Europe. London is easily accessible by both coach and train.
 

How Brookes supports postgraduate students

Supporting your learning

From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.

Personal support services

We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.

Departmental research highlights

The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies is one of the leading centres for publishing education in the world. Our staff and students contribute to a vibrant research environment that is interdisciplinary in emphasis and international in scope. We focus on areas such as book consumption and the life cycle of books, book trade and publishing history (especially 18th-21st centuries), museum publishing, serials publications, pedagogy and publishing education, and the future of the industry. Members of staff have published award-winning monographs, key pedagogical textbooks, and a range of scholarly articles and edited collections.

Students pursuing doctoral studies with us are investigating such topics as girl’s magazines in the cultural and consumer marketplace, the future of university libraries, German publishing in the First World War, and marketing strategies for children’s literature in the Middle East. We also supervise students for the PhD by Publication. Most of our research students are based in Oxford, but a number work on their studies from a distance with regular contact in person and by email.

Research is supported by the resources of Oxford Brookes Library –especially its Special Collections featuring the Booker Archive, the Publishing in Africa Collection, the Rainbird Archive, and the Peter Stockham Collection of Children’s Books—as well as by other local and regional archives and university libraries. 

The Centre carries out independent research and training with the international publishing industry. Recent research and consultancy clients include the British Council, Hewlett Packard, the Society of Experimental Biology and Sports Books.

If you have a topic relating to publishing that you would like to study at doctoral level, please contact us with a preliminary synopsis.
 

Research areas and clusters

The OICPS can offer PhD and MPhil supervision in the following areas:

• The Culture and History of Publishing: ;ate 19th, 20th and 21st-century print culture, publishing and book history. Examples of specific research areas might include authorship, reading and literary sociology, contemporary fiction and literary prizes, and the impact of editorial and technological issues on culture and society.
• International, Strategy, Policy and Development: studies of contemporary publishing in local, regional and national contexts, issues of development and publishing. Geographical areas (outside the UK) where there is particular staff expertise include: Africa, China, Europe.
• Projects can also be co-supervised with members of the Department of English and Modern Languages, the Department of History, Philosophy and Religion, or the School of Business.