Publishing Media - 2012 entry
BA (Hons)
- single
BA (Hons)
/
BSc (Hons)
- combined (see 'Combine with...' tab for available combinations)
Typical A-level offer: BBC or equivalent
Overview
Lizzie Toole talks about studying Publishing Media at Oxford Brookes
Frankfurt Book Fair 2010
Our annual Working in Publishing networking day
This course is run by the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies
Publishing is one of today's leading creative industries. Studying the subject in all its forms provides a challenging and intellectually exciting combination of the academic, practical and vocational. At Oxford Brookes you can take a degree in book, magazine and electronic publishing. All our students have the opportunity for work experience during the course.
The department is based at The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies, one of the largest and most innovative centres for publishing education in the world. It is a lively and exciting department, which hosts a range of special events and welcomes many visitors including speakers from book and magazine publishing. Our staff all have considerable experience of the publishing industry, working in trade, educational publishing, academic publishing and many have considerable experience in research.
Why Brookes?
Oxford Brookes has the longest record of degree-level publishing education in the UK. Our students come from all over the globe to enjoy excellent, proven teaching and learning in a one of the largest departments of its kind in the world. Come and join us, and enjoy:
- a wide range of highly qualified staff
- a lively and exciting department
- excellent facilities, including a purpose-built publishing IT suite and a range of resources in the library
- the opportunity to meet industry professionals and publishing celebrities
- as undergraduates, the experience of working alongside one of the largest and most internationally diverse communities of publishing postgraduates to be found anywhere in the world
- the excitement of the world of publishing as you explore the intriguing and creative tension between commerce and culture.
- the opportunity to work on the ezine produced by students in the department, The View from the Afternoon.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Our staff have wide practical experience in publishing - indeed, these courses are the only ones of their kind where all staff have worked in the publishing industry.
Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops - these bring the opportunity to acquire practical skills under tutor supervision. We make significant use of innovative teaching methods such as role play, group work, problem solving and assessed presentations.
Assessment is mostly on the basis of coursework. Coursework can involve report writing, essays, case studies, or preparation of group or individual presentations. It is designed to help you develop a wide range of transferable skills in research, communication and team working. By the end of your course, you will have built up a personal portfolio which you can show to prospective employers.
Learning outcomes
When you have successfully completed the course, you will have:
- an understanding of the dynamic nature of publishing and its defining characteristics
- an appreciation of the role of the author and reader in the publishing process
- a knowledge of the social, ethical and regulatory frameworks that affect media production, circulation and consumption
- an understanding of the publishing management disciplines of editorial, marketing, production, distribution and finance
- the ability to evaluate the impact that communication and information technology is having on content creation and distribution
- a range of professional publishing skills
- a critically-informed competency in the management and operation of a range of publishing technologies, procedures and processes
- transferable skills, such as self-management, communication, teamwork, problem-solving and communication and information technology.
In detail
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Lizzie Toole
The lecturers are inspiring because they've all been in the industry.
See full profile »Course content
At Oxford Brookes, you can choose to study Publishing Media as either a single honours or combined honours degree. Both courses are designed to introduce you to the essentials of publishing and to encourage you to pursue your own interests through independent study and you can view the course structure here. Part-time study options are available.
Year 1 provides an overview of the whole publishing process, introduces the key concepts and locates publishing in today's culture.
In Years 2 and 3 you will look at publishing as a business and have the opportunity to pursue various specialist pathways, such as editorial, production and design, marketing, and management. There are modules which explore the changing role of publishing in society, and others which focus on IT skills and electronic publishing.
You will have the opportunity to work on an extensive, research-based project which you will complete in your final year. Combined honours students will be able to choose a project which spans both their fields of study.
As courses are reviewed regularly the module list you choose from may vary from that shown here. Combined honours students will take fewer modules from this list than those studying for the single honours degree.
- Publishing Principles and Practice I and II
- Creating and Editing Text for Publication
- Introduction to Publishing Technology
- Introduction to Magazine Publishing
- Publishing and Book History
- The Editor
- Publishing Sales and Marketing
- Publishing Business
- Magazine Publishing
- Publishing in the Digital Age
- Publishing Media Workflow
- Cultures of Publishing
- Print and Society
- Digital Product
- Publishing List Development
- Dissertation or Major Project.
Work placements
All Publishing students have the opportunity to do work experience during their course. This enables them to apply what they learn in a real environment, gain a greater understanding of how the industry works, and develop a network of contacts that will be invaluable to them in their career in publishing. Typically they have the chance to do a variety of work placements in a range of departments or market sectors.
In the academic year 2010/11 over 50 employers in London and Oxford offered work placements to our students. The companies included Dorling Kindersley, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Oxford University Press.
There are also opportunities for work placements in other countries, including in the publishing divisions of international NGOs. In 2011, six of our students were awarded prestigious paid internships with Elsevier in Amsterdam and two of our students undertook internships at the International Labour Organization in Geneva.
Field trips
The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies organises industry visits to publishers and suppliers and arranges free entry for students to the London International Book Fair. Since 2007, the centre has had a stand each year at the Fair and hosted seminars on topics including children's publishing, publishing in the Arab world, publishing in India, publishing and censorship, and publishing education.
There are annual trips to the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Bologna International Children's Book Fair. In previous years, students have also visited the Warsaw and Leipzig Book Fairs.
Study abroad
There are opportunities to study abroad, in Europe, North America or Australia, by going on exchange for a semester.
Information about exchanges, European work placements and other study abroad programmes, is available here.
Departmental research highlights
In the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies, research is carried out over a range of interdisciplinary areas including museum publishing, book consumption and the life cycle of books, pedagogy and publishing education, early twentieth-century publishing history (including publishing in World War I), late twentieth and early twenty-first century publishing history and ghostwriting.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying any course on our Headington (including Marston Road), Harcourt Hill or Wheatley Campuses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Key facts
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Department
Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies
Course length
Full-time: 3 years
Part-time: BA (Hons) up to 6 years
Teaching location
Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane
Start date
September 2012
UCAS code
P420 BA/PA
Combine with...
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This course can be combined with one of the following subjects:
Business Management
NP24 Mod/PJDP
Communication, Media and Culture
PP49 Mod/PJHQ
Drama
WP44 Mod/PJDW
English
P4Q3 Mod/PJEA
English Language and Communication
QP94 Mod/PJLD
Film Studies
PP43 Mod/PJFM
Fine Art
W1P4 Mod/PJFX
French Studies
PR41 Mod/PJFC
History
PV4C Mod/PJHI
History of Art
PV4H Mod/PJHA
Japanese Studies
TP2K Mod/PJJB
Languages: Spanish (minor)
P4RK Mod/PJSX
Music
PW4H Mod/PJMS
Fees / funding
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Tuition fees
UK/EU students
Full-time: £9,000
Part-time: £750 per module. You can take up to five modules per academic year.
Tuition fees
International students
Full-time: £11,200
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Funding and scholarships
For general sources of financial support, see:
Apply / Entry reqs
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Typical offers
A-level: BBC or equivalent
IB Diploma: 30 points
Advanced Diploma: grade B, including A-level at grade B
Other typical offers include:
- BC at A-level and CC at AS-level
- C at 12-unit vocational A-level and B at A-level
For combined honours, normally the offer will lie between the offers quoted for each subject.
Specific entry requirements
GCSE: Mathematics and English Language at grade C or above
Please also see the university's general entry requirements.
English language requirements
Please 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.
Full-time students should apply for this course through UCAS.
Part-time students should apply directly to the university.
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 undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Student experience
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Why Oxford is a great place to study Publishing Media
Oxford is a beautiful, historic city, justifiably famous as a centre for learning, for its writers, and as one of the most important media centres in Europe. It is a vibrant, student-friendly place with so much to offer, including a wide range of sporting venues, shops, pubs, cafes, clubs, cinemas, theatres and restaurants. With its excellent transport links, the city is also ideally situated for exploring the rest of Britain and Europe.
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 organisations 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.
Specialist facilities
The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies is based in the Buckley Building, on Oxford Brookes’ Headington Campus. Facilities available to publishing students include a new purpose-built IT suite with an interactive whiteboard and sound and video projection. There are 40 full-spec PCs with up-to-date software, including Adobe Creative Suite. All students have the opportunity to learn and use professional software such as Adobe InDesign.
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.
Oxford Brookes is the permanent home of the Booker Prize Archive and hosts a number of specialist publishing collections.
General support services
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.
Accommodation
At Brookes we understand that when you live away from home it's important to be somewhere that you feel comfortable and safe.
After graduation
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Career prospects
The publishing courses at Oxford Brookes have an outstanding national reputation, and are highly regarded by employers in the publishing industry. We host a vacancy list for jobs in publishing on the website for the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies.
Our graduates can be found in all departments of book, journal, magazine and electronic publishing. Some graduates have developed their careers in PR, advertising, charities, the arts and other organisations that are involved in publishing and communications activities. Others have applied their knowledge and skills to industries less obviously related to publishing. An understanding of good communication and the importance of the printed word is valued by employers throughout the public and private sectors.
We offer specialist careers advice including our Working in Publishing day, when you can meet a variety of industry professionals.
Because our publishing department has been established for such a long time and has so much experience and staff depth, a Brookes publishing degree is a valuable ‘brand’ known throughout all sectors of the industry.
Further study
As an undergraduate, you will have the daily experience of working alongside one of the largest and most internationally diverse communities of publishing postgraduates to be found anywhere in the world.
If you decide to continue to postgraduate study, the department offers a renowned master’s in Publishing, which has an international reputation for its excellence. Choose from six postgraduate awards and design your own programme from the wide range of options available, from children's publishing to magazines and digital media.
We can also offer PhD and MPhil supervision in the following areas:
- The Culture and History of Publishing
- International, Strategy, Policy and Development.
Projects can also be co-supervised with members of other related departments (eg English, History, History of Art, Modern Languages).
