MSc Gender, Media and Culture

This programme explores how gender, media, and culture contribute to wider social processes. It examines a range of gender-related questions, such as how representations in the media become entangled with social roles and ideologies, and how gendered forms of address and identification are theorised across different visual cultures, considering these through the lens of a variety of media forms.

In addition to the core units in theorising both gender and media and communication, you can choose from a range of options offered by the Department of Gender Studies and the Department of Media and Communications. Our experienced faculty will encourage you to explore a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the gendered analysis of contemporary media and culture.

After graduating from the MSc, you’ll be able to bring gender analysis skills to a wide variety of settings, including, for example, the media and publishing; government departments; international institutions; charities; and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

• S de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (Vintage, 1997)
• J Butler, Gender Trouble (Routledge, 1999)
• C Carter, L Steiner, and S Allan (eds.), Journalism, Gender and Power (Routledge, 2019)
• G Dines, et. al. (eds.), Gender, Race, and Class in Media: a critical reader (5th edition) (Sage, 2018)
• M Evans and C H Williams, Gender: the key concepts (Routledge, 2012)
• M Evans, C Hemmings, M Henry H Marsha, H Johnstone, S Madhok, A Plomien, and S Wearing, The SAGE Handbook of Feminist Theory (Sage Publications, 2014)
• DN Farris, DR Compton and AP Herrera (eds.), Gender, Sexuality and Race in the Digital Age (Springer, 2020)
• R Gill, Gender and the Media (Polity Press, 2007)
• J Halberstam, The Queer Art of Failure (Duke University Press, 2011)
• B Hooks, Reel to Real: Race, Class and Sex at the Movies (Routledge, 2008)
• K Milestone and A Meyer, Gender and Popular Culture (2nd edition), (Polity Press, 2020)
• E Shohat and R Stam, Unthinking Eurocentrism: multiculturalism and the media (New Edition) (Routledge, 2014)

You'll take four compulsory courses, options to the value of one unit and a dissertation.

Established in 1993, the Department of Gender Studies is an internationally renowned hub of research and teaching in the field of Gender Studies. In terms of staff and student numbers, we're considered one of the largest standalone department of our kind in Europe, and our teaching team includes world-class academics and thought leaders exploring the tenacity of gender power relations and gendered inequalities in a period of global transformation.

Currently, we offer eight master's programmes and a stimulating PhD programme, attracting around 150 talented students each year from a huge array of different academic backgrounds and countries. We pioneer intersectional, interdisciplinary and transnational teaching, and students can expect to engage with a wide range of themes during their studies, from established gender theories to emerging topics and current debates. Graduates find rewarding careers in a variety of government, non-government, international NGOs, academic and private-sector organisations.

We have a vibrant research culture, with resident research fellows, visiting scholars as well as multiple public lectures and conferences. Our research is variously positioned in relation to different fields of study within the social sciences and humanities and falls under five broad clusters.

As a department we provide a focus for gender research at LSE and work closely with other departments, centres and institutes within the School, as well as foster links and promote collaboration between policymakers, practitioners and academics around the globe.

Learn more about our programmes and research.

Department of Gender Studies

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified prospective students. At LSE, we want to recruit students with the best academic merit, potential and motivation, irrespective of background.

We carefully consider each application and take into account all the information included on your application form, such as your:

• academic achievement (including predicted and achieved grades)
• statement of academic purpose
• two academic references
• CV.

See further information on supporting documents.

You may need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency. See our English language requirements.

Applications for this programme are considered on a rolling basis. This means that applications will close once the programme is full.

There is no fixed deadline. However, if you’d like to be considered for any funding opportunities, you must submit your application (and all supporting documents) by the funding deadline. See the fees and funding section below for more details.

For this programme, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.

For this programme, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.

All taught courses are required to include formative coursework which is unassessed. It's designed to help prepare you for summative assessment which counts towards the course mark and to the degree award. LSE uses a range of formative assessment, such as essays, problem sets, case studies, reports, quizzes, mock exams and many others. Summative assessment may be conducted during the course or by final examination at the end of the course. An indication of the formative coursework and summative assessment for each course can be found in the relevant course guide.

The interdisciplinary nature of gender studies means that you'll be equipped with a broad range of knowledge and skills that can be applied in a variety of areas. Graduates are able to bring highly desirable gender analysis skills to a wide variety of settings, including: the media and publishing, government departments, international institutions (including the EU), charities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private consultancy firms and education.

Further information on graduate destinations for this programme

From CV workshops through to careers fairs, LSE offers lots of information and support to help you make that all-important step from education into work.

Many of the UK’s top employers give careers presentations at the School during the year and there are numerous workshops covering topics such as job hunting, managing interviews, writing a cover letter and using LinkedIn.

See LSE Careers for further details.