MSc Media and Communications (Data and Society)

The MSc Media and Communications (Data and Society) provides education and training in understanding the design, institutional context and social consequences of data- and information-driven systems (including AI) from a social science perspective.

The programme teaches critical skills in understanding, interpreting and governing data systems. While allowing students to build practical data science skills the programme introduces students to the wider implications of a social shift towards data and teaches them to effectively address ethical and governance questions that emerge.

You'll engage with the history, context and operation of data-driven systems as they are embedded in a range of communication contexts, learning about how power, value, commercial and public interest shape data-driven systems. You'll also consider the cultural aspects of the role of data within everyday life. Building from these insights you'll be able to develop skills and understandings critical for creating positive change within a range of settings, from public and private sector organisations to non-profit and research roles, evaluating and responding to the social and political contexts of data production and resulting AI technologies.

• J Cheney-Lippold We Are Data: Algorithms and The Making of Our Digital Selves (NYU Press, 2017)
• J Cohen Configuring the Networked Self: law, code, and the play of everyday practice (Yale University Press, 2012)
• K Crawford Atlas of Algorithms (Yale University Press, 2021)
• P Dourish The Stuff of Bits: an essay on the materialities of information (1st edition, MIT Press, 2017)
• L Gitelman, Ed “Raw Data” is an Oxymoron (MIT Press, 2013)
• R Kitchin The Data Revolution: big data, open data, data infrastructures and their consequences (Sage, 2014)
• S Mattern Code and Clay, Data and Dirt (University Of Minnesota Press, 2017)
• C O’Neil Weapons of Math Destruction: how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy (Penguin, 2017)
• B Schneier Data and Goliath: the hidden battles to collect your data and control your world (Norton, 2016)
• J van Dijck The culture of connectivity, a critical history of social media (Oxford University Press, 2013)
• C Wiggins and M Jones How Data Happened: A history from the Age of Reason to the Age of Algorithms (Norton, 2023)

Also look at the Big Data and Society journal, open source journal.

You take one course on media and communications theories and concepts, a course in research methods and a data course, and will choose courses from a range of options within the department and across other relevant departments, such as Sociology, Government, Law and Management. In addition, you'll submit a dissertation of 12,000 words.

The Department of Media and Communications is a world-leading centre for education and research in the field. Our department is ranked first in the UK and sixth globally for communication and media studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026).

We offer students a wide selection of programmes, including master’s degrees, doctoral research training and short courses. At any one time, we have around 270 master’s students and 30 PhD students from around the world – all varying in age, professional experience and backgrounds.

Within the department, our research is organised around four key themes: media culture and identities, media participation and politics, communication histories and futures, and communication technology, rights and justice. The outputs from our research are shared with organisations such as the BBC, Facebook, Google, UNICEF, Ofcom and the UK/EU governments.

LSE’s location at the heart of London, one of the world's media capitals, allows us to foster close links with media and communications industries and policymakers.

Graduates from our programmes progress to interesting roles in broadcasting, journalism, advertising, new media industries, political marketing, market research, regulation and policy, media management and research in the public and private sectors.

Department of Media and Communications

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 (see further information below)
• 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.

Statement of academic purpose: specific requirements

Write a short statement (up to 600 words) about why you want to do the programme. This might cover, for example, what suits you to the programme: your experiences and skills in relation to the analysis of data and society; what attracts you to this particular programme and where you see yourself in ten years after the programme.

In addition, please write a response (up to 500 words*) to one of the following questions. You might do so by relying on relevant authors and concepts from previous courses or independent study, as well as on professional experiences.

• What consequences have you been able to observe about the introduction of data-driven systems in your own professional or personal experience? Briefly explain how you might address these through study on this programme.
• Why is data relevant to media and communication? Provide a brief outline of how your experience and interests shape your answer to this question.
• If you could develop a data-based product, service or regulatory approach that would bring positive change , what would it look like? What would be its best feature and what would be its biggest risk?

* The total length of your personal statement, including the answers to the above questions, should therefore be between 900-1,100 words.

Please note: The applications, intake and ratio values below includes MSc Media and Communications, MSc Media and Communications (Research) and MSc Media and Communications (Media and Communication Governance).

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. You will be summatively assessed by written examinations (seen and unseen), research assignments, essays and the dissertation, which must be submitted in August.

Destinations of alumni from the MSc Media and Communications (Data and Society) have included: project manager for the Asset Data Question Project, Product Manager, Policy Assistant at Research Institutes, Content Strategist, Analysts, Planning Executives.

This programme will give you an understanding of how data shapes social life specifically through communication processes. This is useful for future careers in media and communication fields that are increasingly bound up with information systems and data development, such as: advertising and marketing, data analytics, legal and political consulting, information management, and editorial.

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.