Journalism
MA
Key facts
Start dates
September 2024 / September 2025
Location
Course length
Full time: MA: 12 months; PGDip: 8 months; PGCert: 4 months
Part time: MA: 24 months, PGDip: 3 semesters, PGCert: 2 semesters
Department
Accreditation(s)
Accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ)
Overview
Our MA Journalism will equip you with professional skills in journalism. You'll cover topics from news and non-fiction to brands and content.
You will develop skills in digital and multi-platform journalism. And you'll study the changing models of journalism including:
- branded content
- not-for-profit journalism
- big data scraping
- social media crowdsourcing.
You'll have regular networking opportunities and visits to newsrooms, media and journalism summits. So you’ll benefit from a degree that responds to the industry.
Journalism is one of a group of courses run by the Oxford International Centre for Publishing (OICP), which has a high international standing. OICP is supported by two advisory boards made up of high profile figures from across the journalism and publishing industries.
Our location in the beautiful city of Oxford is home to many media professionals. And there are more published writers per square mile here than anywhere else in the world.
How to apply
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
Entrants to the programme should possess the following minimum qualifications:
- a second-class honours degree, or equivalent, in any subject; or
- an appropriate professional background and experience in the media. This should be evidenced by an appropriate CV which outlines your professional experience to date from either working directly in journalism and media or a related function.
Applicants should also demonstrate a commitment to work in the media industries. This attribute is usually evidenced through the application and personal statement. But also through work experience or voluntary work in the media or fulfilling a journalism-related function in a non-media organisation, or at interview.
Two references, these may be, for example, two academic references, or one academic reference and one from an employer.
All applicants who meet the entry criteria are interviewed as an entry requirement.
Please also see the University's general entry requirements.
English language requirements
If your first language is not English then we will require IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each component.
Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.
Terms and Conditions of Enrolment
When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Application process
Tuition fees
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
Tuition fees
The full-time fees quoted are for the taught Year 1. Fees will be charged for the placement year in Year 2 and are available on request from finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk.
The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page
Additional costs
Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.
Optional costs
| Additional costs | Amount (£) |
|---|---|
| Field trips to London and other local venues. | £30 |
It’s your responsibility to cover print / binding costs where coursework submission is required. Please note that a lot of the coursework is now submitted online. |
From £30 |
| You may choose to purchase books to support your studies. Many books on our reading lists are available via the Library, or can be purchased secondhand. | £20-60 per book |
Accommodation fees in Brookes Letting (most do not include bills) |
£94-265 per week |
Accommodation fees in university halls (bills included, excluding laundry costs) |
£122-180 per week |
Graduation costs include tickets, gowning and photography. Gowns are not compulsory but typically students do hire robes, starting at £41. |
Typically £0-200 |
Students are responsible for their own travel to and from university for classes. BrookesBus travel is subsidised for full-time undergraduate students that are on a course with a fee of £9,250 or more, or living in an Oxford Brookes hall of residence. There is an administration fee for the production of a BrookesKey. |
From £10 |
Funding your studies
Financial support and scholarships
Featured funding opportunities available for this course.
Applicants who hold an offer for this course can apply for the NCTJ Journalism Diversity Fund. Applications for the academic year 2023/24 are currently open and the deadline to apply is Wednesday 3 May 2023 at 5pm. To find out more about the bursary and eligibility, visit the NCTJ Journalism Diversity Fund website.
All financial support and scholarships
Learning and assessment
The programme draws on a variety of industry-facing learning and teaching methods to support your learning and deliver the range of knowledge and skills required for your academic progression and future career.
The programme offers an academically rigorous and professionally relevant education. Emphasis is placed on writing and commercially relevant journalism throughout the course. You will graduate with a portfolio of content, featuring a variety of media formats, relevant to roles across the industry.
This course is accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and you'll have the opportunity to take the NCTJ exams at the end of the academic year.
Study modules
Learning and teaching
This degree is built upon a scholarly foundation which integrates industry expertise:
- Lectures offer the knowledge and framework for study that will enable you to achieve learning outcomes.
- Seminars encourage discussion with tutors and peers to test your understanding and ability to apply ideas, to develop transferable skills, and to encourage deeper learning.
- Practical workshops give you the opportunity to test, clarify, and apply your skills.
- Studio modules enable hands-on activities and the development of project work in our dedicated suite of Mac computers equipped with industry standard software.
- Moodle is used to offer extra resources and learning materials.
- Field trips enable you to experience what you have learnt. They will also develop academic understanding.
- Publications offer the chance to write and edit copy, and put into practice multimedia skills.
- Student presentations provide opportunity for self-evaluation and feedback from visiting professionals.
Field trips
There are field trips to local, national and international newsrooms, media and journalism summits, international book fairs, the Oxford Literary Festival and the London Book Fair.
Assessment
Assessment methods used on this course
The assessment strategy is designed to take a holistic view of the programme, and to ensure that assessment methods are varied and challenging. The following are possible types of assessment:
- Essays on academic or research topics
- Business reports and case studies
- Project work across areas such as news stories, live reporting, and long-form reporting
- Presentations in role
- Pitches of new ideas and concepts
- Podcasting and video reports
- Role plays using professional scenarios
- Teamworking assignments.
The aim is to support students in the creation of an effective portfolio of content, across media formats, to facilitate their career progression.
Formative assessments are included in each module to ensure that you receive regular, clear guidance on your work and advice before you reach a summative assessment point.
Research
Your study is grounded in up-to-date knowledge of the media, taught by experienced professionals, researchers, and scholars in their fields.
The curriculum develops from a foundation of theory and skills, from multimedia to media law, and towards a focus on strands of journalism and authorship.
The programme offers a local, national and international context for your studies, alongside an understanding of the cultural importance of the media.
After you graduate
Career prospects
Our graduates from the Oxford International Centre for Publishing have established an enviable reputation in the creative industries and they are extremely successful in obtaining good jobs fast. Evidence from our alumni suggests that our graduates have agile careers and are able to enter the industry at a higher level than would otherwise have been possible. The Centre has its own vacancy list of jobs in journalism, publishing and the creative industries and runs an annual Working in Publishing Day, attended by many employers.
The Centre is supported by two advisory boards in journalism and publishing who support, advise and help us shape our degrees. The Journalism Advisory Board is made up of professionals from broadcasting to multinational technology companies, consumer magazines to local and national newspapers.
You will be taught by staff who have a variety of research interests and extensive indusry expertise in the media.
Further study
Within the Oxford International Centre for Publishing we have given a supportive home to many successful PhD candidates. Topics range from the historical to the contemporary, magazines to book publishing, authorship to design and a great variety in between.
Within the School of Arts there is an opportunity to shape a research degree that is cross interdisciplinary and connects journalism with broader media and cultural scholarship.
The School of Arts offers research degrees in Fine Art, Film Studies, Historical and Popular Musicology, Sound Arts and Composition, and Publishing. The School has a dynamic research environment for postgraduate researchers following practice-based, archival, cultural, historical and theoretical research practices. We offer four research degree routes:
- MPhil;
- MPhil transferring to PhD;
- PhD direct (only for students who have recently completed a master’s or MPhil degree in an area closely related to the proposed research topic);
- PhD by published work (only for students who have prior association with Oxford Brookes University).
Student profiles
Our Staff
Alexandra Shakespeare
Working with retail brands and newsstand publications to create compelling content for a variety of audiences, Alexandra is expert at both crafting copy and strategising editorial concepts.
Read more about AlexandraProgramme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been
published on the website. For more information, please visit our
changes to programmes page.