Publishing (by distance learning) - 2013 entry
MA
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PGDip
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PGCert
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* This course is subject to validation by the university.
Overview
MA in Publishing by distance learning
The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies is one of the leading centres for Publishing Education in the world. This course offers an unparalleled opportunity to benefit from our teaching whilst remaining in your home and employment. The course can be studied alongside full time employment, and provides the flexibility of learning at a time that suits your schedule. Studying part time you are able to complete the course in as little as two years, although we have built in the flexibility for you to take longer.
You may already be working in the publishing industry but would like the opportunity to extend your knowledge of other areas of this creative industry such as journals, trade and educational publishing. Alternatively you may want to explore the industry with a view to changing career. This course would also appeal to those based outside the UK who would like to solidify their knowledge of the international aspects of the industry.
Why Brookes?
The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies at Oxford Brookes offers the largest range of postgraduate courses in publishing in Europe.
If you choose an MA in Publishing at Oxford Brookes you will enjoy:
- Excellent employment prospects
- Unrivalled industry links and networking
- A great location in Oxford, which is a global publishing centre
- Unrivalled access to work experience and International internships
- Specialist careers advice including our Working in Publishing Day
- A large faculty with a variety of research interests and extensive industry expertise
- Comprehensive coverage of publishing, from mass market books to magazines
- Access to a wide range of visiting speakers from the publishing industry who regularly contribute to the programmes
- A variety of awards to suit your needs and career aspirations
- Access to unique research resources: specialist publishing collections; The Book Prize Archive; André Deutsch Collection, African Publishing Collection; the Bodleian Library
- Opportunity to visit international book fairs including Frankfurt and Bologna
- An industry advisory board with representatives from major publishers such as Bloomsbury, Faber, HarperCollins, Hodder and Random House
- Links with publishing organizations such as the Independent Publishers Guild, OPuS (Oxford Publishing Society) and the Society of Young Publishers – regular events are held at Oxford Brookes
- An extensive network of alumni throughout the world.
In detail
OICPS Twitter
Oxford Brookes Publishing AlumniCourse content
You will engage in learning about the publishing industry through core modules. Based around printed materials and supported by online resources which will both engage you and provide a forum for questions and discussion. The course will encourage you to build your knowledge and understanding through problem-based activities. This process is guided by your personal tutor who will communicate with you via email and online contact. The modules are assessed through assignments, usually written reports and essays, which are linked to the teaching units and the learning outcomes.
The MA Publishing by Distance Learning course comprises four core compulsory modules, two elective modules and a dissertation. The modules contribute 20 MA credits each giving a total of 120 credits (60 ECTS) and the dissertation contributes 60 MA credits (30 ECTS) which together provide the total 180 credits (90 ECTS) for a master’s degree. You can complete the programme in two years and if you decide on this, the first year involves studying three modules one after the other starting in January with Editorial Management. Marketing and Sales Management follows in May and Digital Workflow Management completes the year starting in September. Alongside the Marketing and Sales and Digital Workflow Management, you also study a ‘long, thin’ module called Research Skills. This is taught over two periods of 10 weeks, with a break in the summer.
In the second year, you select two elective modules from a choice of three: History and Culture of Publishing, International Publishing and Rights Management, and Journals Publishing. Studying these two modules take you to June. During the summer and through to December, you work on your dissertation.
Teaching, learning and assessment
There are a variety of teaching and learning methods which we use across the programme. Most modules use more than one learning and teaching method which ensures students are exposed to a range of different learning opportunities.
Some of the key teaching methods we use are:
- Readings and associated activities designed to provide students with the foundation knowledge and a framework for study that will enable them to achieve the learning outcomes for the module
- Online ‘seminars’ designed to encourage students to engage in discussion with tutors and peers to test understanding and ability to apply ideas, to develop their transferable skills and to encourage deeper learning
- Individual supervision in support of self-directed outcomes for dissertation or major project
- All modules make use of resource-based learning material and Brookes Virtual to support student learning.
Quality
The postgraduate publishing courses at Oxford Brookes University are among the most highly regarded in the world, and our MA graduates are now working in publishing jobs in over 50 countries.
Our teaching staff have extensive industry experience and play a leading role in developing innovative teaching and learning within the university.
Career prospects
Our graduates have established an enviable reputation in the publishing industry and they are extremely successful in obtaining good jobs fast.
Evidence from our alumni suggests that they are able to enter the industry at a higher level than would otherwise have been possible. We have our own vacancy list of jobs in publishing and run an annual Working in Publishing Day.
Specialist facilities
The library carries a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of books, journals and electronic resources relating to publishing. Students have access to many databases including Book Facts Online, the Bookseller, Business Source Complete, Fame, Global Publishing Information Reports, Logos, Mintel, Nielsen Bookscan, and Pirabase.
The library also includes a number of special collections of relevance to publishing students and researchers such as The Booker Prize Archive, Andre Deutsch Collection, Publishing in Africa Collection and the Book Design Collection.
Field trips
Study trips and book fairs are a key part of the courses, and each year students attend the Frankfurt, Bologna and London Book Fairs, as well as attending the publishing summer school with our European Partners in Florence.
Key facts
Faculty
Faculty of Business
Department
Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies
Course length
Part-time: MA: 24 months, PG Dip: 18 months, PG Cert: 12 months
Teaching location
Distance learning
Start date
January 2013
Apply / Entry reqs
Entry requirements
All applicants should be able to demonstrate a commitment to work in the publishing industry or in a related sector of communications and media.
We normally expect our students to have:
- a good first degree in any subject (i.e. an honours degree at 2:1 or above from the UK; or international equivalents)
- two references.
English language requirements
If your first language is not English, an English language level of IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 100 (internet based) is required.
Please also see the university's standard English language requirements.
English language requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Border Agency's minimum language requirements as well as the university's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
How to apply
Conditions of acceptance
When you accept our offer you agree to the conditions of acceptance. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Credit transfer
Oxford Brookes operates the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All postgraduate single modules are equivalent to 10 ECTS credits, double modules to 20 ECTS credits, and treble modules to 30 ECTS credits. A full master's course will carry 90 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Fees / funding
TUITION FEES
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Scholarships and funding
For general sources of financial support, see:
Support
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.
Research
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: Late nineteenth-, twentieth- and twenty-first-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 the Department of English and Modern Languages, the Department of History, Philosophy and Religion, and the Business School.
