MSc in New Media, Information and Society

Application information

Application code: P4U5
Duration: Full-time 12 months; part-time 24 months
Financial Support: See Funding for graduate applicants
Likely fee: £11,958

Introduction

The MSc in New Media, Information and Society provides an advanced interdisciplinary education and training in the implications of rapid and fundamental change in media and communications for all aspects of social, political and economic life. Students are offered a unique social scientific perspective on such changes, drawing principally on the disciplinary expertise in sociology, social psychology, information systems and institutional analysis.

Students are introduced to relevant theories and asked to assess the scope and robustness of those theories in relation to case material and other empirical evidence. The key theme within the programme is the interrelationship between technological and social change and the consequences of such change for life and policy in an increasingly global society. At the core of such changes lies the digital organisation, storage and communication of information. Such developments provide a crucial challenge to existing social theories of media, communication and technological innovation. The programme investigates the nature of these changes and encourages critical perspectives and analysis.

Programme structure

The programme runs for a full year, and consists of four units, of which three and a half are compulsory and the remaining half unit is selected from the range of options listed below. Part-time students will take and be examined in courses to the value of two units in each year of study.

Courses are generally taught in the Michaelmas and/or Lent terms, and examinations are held in May/June. Assessed coursework is submitted throughout the year, and the dissertation is submitted in mid-August.

Compulsory courses

The core courses constitute the central focus of the MSc, providing an advanced understanding of theories, concepts and methods in new media, information and society research.

* denotes half unit

• IS470 Information Systems*
• IS481 Aspects of Information*
• MC408 Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications (Media and Power)*
• MC4M1 Methods of Research in Media and Communications 1* (Click here to see the 2004/05 course outline)  
• MC4M5 Methods of Research in Media and Communications 2* (Click here to see the 2004/05 course outline)  
• MC4M6 Methods of Research in Media and Communications 3* (Click here to see the 2004/05 course outline)  
• MC499 Dissertation
• MC413 New Media, Information and Knowledge Systems* (Click here to see the 2004/05 course outline)  

Optional courses

The various option courses listed below allow students to pursue diverse social science interests in new media. These have been carefully devised so as to produce a coherent programme of study, while permitting students to pursue a particular area of interest. An alternative course may be permitted on occasion but only with the prior agreement of your tutor (and in accordance with any course restrictions as listed in the Graduate Handbook).  Some courses are subject to course capping .

* denotes half unit

• IS489 Principles of Privacy and Data Protection*
• IS486 Topics in Information Systems*
• LL421 New Media Regulation*
• MC401 Citizenship and the Media*
• MC403 Contemporary Issues in Media Policy*
• PS439 The Social Psychology of New Technology*
• MC409 Media, Technology and Everyday Life*
• MC414 Communications Regulation in Theory and Practice*
• MC416 Globalisation, Communication and the Internet*

Preliminary reading

Ciborra, C.U. and Associates (2000) From Control to Drift: The Dynamics of Corporate Information Infrastructures. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Currie, W.L. and Galliers, B. (1999) Rethinking Management Information Systems: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dutton, W.H. (1999) Society on the Line: Information Politics in the Digital Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mansell, R. and Steinmueller, W.E. (2000) Mobilizing the Information Society: Strategies for Growth and Opportunity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Naughton, J. (2000) A Brief History of the Future. London: Phoenix Press.

How to apply

For full details, see How to apply

More information

For more information, please consult the Graduate Admissions website.

Further details are also available in the Media@lse MSc Handbook.

Disclaimer

The information contained in these pages is correct at the time of publishing and Media@lse makes every effort to update them regularly. The School's policy is to ensure that courses are offered as described to students where possible, and that any subsequent changes would add to, rather than detract from, students' opportunities. However, circumstances beyond the School's control may occasionally make this impossible. The School therefore reserves the right, according to circumstances, to alter or withdraw particular courses or course syllabuses and to alter the level of fees as necessary.

This page was last updated on 07 September 2005

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