Programs
Master’s Programs
In principle, these Master’s programs are two-year programs.
Together with the high level of collaboration between academia, civil society and media industries, perhaps the most notable feature of the Media Professional Course at the MA level ? and undoubtedly one of the main reasons for its popularity ? is that students have the option of following either a traditional thesis-based program or our innovative contents-based program. To take account of students’ changing interests and needs and to allow additional flexibility, students are permitted to transfer from one program to the other midway through their degree. This is possible because, in general, the way in which the programs are organized means that students spend their first year taking classes and do not embark on their thesis research or contents production work until their second year.
Thesis Program (MA)
The thesis program is theoretically oriented and therefore, in addition to obtaining the specified number of class credits, students must write a full-length MA thesis on their chosen topic. This program is particularly suitable for students who are thinking of progressing towards a PhD degree in media studies or a career in some area of media education. However, it is also popular with more practically oriented students who seek to deepen their knowledge of the media. Another group to whom this program appeals are mid-career media professionals who wish to augment and contextualize their technical knowledge and skills through a broader theoretical understanding of the wider themes in current media studies research.
Contents Program (MA)
Rather than requiring students to write an MA thesis, the contents program gives students the opportunity to create their own media contents in a format of their choosing. This might, for example, consist of a series of newspaper or magazine articles, a documentary film, a portfolio of PR materials or a website.
In the case of contents program students, our aim is to produce graduates who can become “reflective practitioners”, in other words media professionals who possess not only technical skills but also a high level of academic knowledge about a wide range of media-related and social matters, including politics, economics and the environment. Furthermore, we aim to provide graduates with an international perspective on these issues, something that is greatly facilitated by the high proportion of international students who take our programs and the international orientation of our faculty. While developing their individuality to the full, such graduates are expected to become media professionals who have a strong sense of responsibility in relation to society and humanity. Importantly, they will have both a rich understanding of the past and present media scenes and also the foresight and flexibility to become future leaders in their chosen fields. Reflecting these aims, whatever format they choose to work in, contents program students are also required to produce a theoretically-informed written report about their work.
The class credit requirements for the contents program are the same as those for the thesis program.
Supervision Arrangements
Because of the very diverse backgrounds of our students, in terms of their academic training and cultural experience, and their equally diverse interests and needs, the Media Professional Course has developed a comprehensive system of supervision designed to give guidance and support to each individual student, covering both academic and personal matters.
Each student is individually supervised by one Main Supervisor, who is a full-time member of the Media Professional Course faculty. Upon entering the program, students are initially assigned to a provisional Main Supervisor but, unlike most other graduate school departments, Media Professional Course students have the opportunity to select their permanent Main Supervisor towards the end of the first semester. This gives students a chance to clarify their interests, discuss these with faculty members and decide for themselves who they think would be the most suitable supervisor.
In consultation with their Main Supervisor, students select two or more other faculty members as Sub-Supervisors. According to the needs of the students, these may be chosen from the Media Professional Course or from other departments in the Graduate School of Languages and Cultures, thereby enabling students to receive the most suitable supervision possible.
Program Advisory Groups
As a further means of strengthening both the individual supervision of students and the collective supervision of the two MA programs, the Media Professional Course has also established two Advisory Groups, one for each program, through which faculty members can monitor student progress and students can receive additional advice and support.
PhD Program
In principle, the PhD program is a three-year program.
The Media Professional Course offers individually tailored PhD supervision to suitably qualified students holding an MA or equivalent degree. Because of the highly specialized nature of PhD research, applicants are advised to contact potential supervisors in advance to discuss their plans prior to making a formal application. Although PhD students are required to take a small number of courses per semester they are expected to devote most of their time to supervised research leading to the production of a PhD thesis. As to the arrangements for supervision, these are similar to those provided to MA students.
Note that currently there is no contents-based program at PhD level.