Aims of the Department

We aim to:

• Be the leading research based department in media and communications in the UK and one of the top five in the world
• Provide a high-quality master’s level graduate education in the study of media and communications drawing on the social science disciplines
• Prepare students for doctoral or professional research in the media and communications field and for entry into a variety of careers
• Conduct research that impacts on the strategies and practices of the media and communications industry, government policy makers and the third sector.

In research, our goals are to:

• Produce research and publications to the highest possible international standard of excellence
• Generate original research ideas, insights and findings that shape future academic scholarship in the media and communications field in the social sciences
• Enhance the intellectual standing of the field of media and communications
• Ensure that our original research is influential and impacts on media and communication policy, industry practice, third sector agendas and the public
• Successfully raise external funds to conduct original research
• Educate and train doctoral students at the cutting edge of research in the field
• Sustain a generative research environment within the department, including constructive links with academic networks and organisations nationally and internationally.

In teaching, we offer:

• An intensive, high-quality postgraduate education in media and communications
• A broad social science foundation in qualitative, quantitative, empirical and critical skills
• A diverse, inter- and multidisciplinary approach to theoretical developments and debates in the field
• A range of specialist courses within media and communications and related fields, including an independent empirical research project
• An intellectually stimulating, well-resourced learning environment, with strong links to media and communications industries, policy makers and the third sector
• The opportunity for lively cross-cultural exchange of ideas among a dynamic group of fellow students in the Department and School
• Study with internationally recognised active researchers with expertise in media and communications and politics and democracy, regulation and policy, technological change, audiences and literacies, globalisation and culture, and more.