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The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T +44 (0)1227 764000
Journalism and the News Industry BA (Hons)
This is a full-time single honours programme within the Journalism subject area.
Key facts
- Subject area: Journalism
- Award: BA (Hons)
- Code: P500:K
- Location: Medway
- Honours: Single
- Mode of study: Full-time
- Duration: 3 years
- Start: 2013
- Year in industry: No
- Year abroad: No
- Institution(s): University of Kent
Overview
Journalism is fascinating, rewarding and influential. In a world hungry for information about issues ranging from global warming to fashion and from armed conflict to football, the ultra-competitive modern media market needs versatile, multimedia journalists with cutting-edge academic and vocational skills and a highly developed awareness of ethics.
In this prestigious, professionally accredited programme, you study for an honours degree that includes history, politics and law while completing the National Council for the Training of Journalists' Diploma in Journalism and learning radio, television and online skills required by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council.
Tutors include working reporters and columnists, former editors of national newspapers, radio and television programmes and magazines, network broadcasters and web publishers. Their professional expertise is reinforced by excellent academic teaching by leading historians, political scientists and lawyers.
The course is based in state-of-the-art newsrooms complete with dedicated radio and television studios, editing and production facilities. From the outset, you learn to write and report in text, on air and for the internet. Work placements with the KM Group are guaranteed and placements in other news organisations are also available. The Centre for Journalism has its own dedicated website, www.centreforjournalism.co.uk
Modules
Stage 1
Mandatory topics include:
- British Government and Politics
- History of Journalism
- Principles and Practice of Convergent Journalism (Radio, Television and Online)
- Reporting and Writing (Print Journalism)
- Shorthand.
Stage 2/3
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Documentary Making
- Feature Writing
- Freedom of Expression
- Journalists in Fiction and Film
- Media Law and Ethics
- Multimedia Storytelling
- News Websites and Citizen Reporters
- Reporting Conflict
- Reporting the Environment
- Spin, Propaganda and Investigative Reporting.
Teaching and assessment
Each day in the Centre for Journalism begins with an editorial conference. Students and staff gather in the newsrooms to discuss the top stories on the local, national and international news agendas and to consider how they have been reported in newspapers, by broadcasters and online.
Teaching is by a variety of methods including masterclasses, lectures, seminars, films and small group discussions. Professional skills are taught in a live newsroom environment, which replicates the atmosphere of a working multimedia newsroom. You participate in regular Live News Days, during which you work to deadline to produce live radio and television bulletins and newspaper pages, and to update websites. There are frequent guest lectures and masterclasses by working journalists and editors, including network broadcasters and editors of national and regional newspapers and magazines.
Assessment includes coursework (such as academic essays, television, radio and online news reports and newspaper articles) and examinations. Students compile portfolios of reports. In your final year, you complete an extended project in journalism, which may take the form of a television or radio documentary, an extended newspaper or magazine article, or a web report.
Careers
Possible careers could include newspaper, broadcast and online reporting and other editorial roles in the news industry, or in communications roles for charities, NGOs and campaign groups or political parties.
This degree prepares you to work across the broadcast, print and online media. The skills you acquire include working under pressure to strict deadlines, writing accurate, balanced reports and analysing complex material. You learn to communicate with non-specialised audiences and to present your opinion coherently and with passion. These skills are highly prized by employers in many fields.
For more information on the services Kent provides to improve your employment prospects, visit www.kent.ac.uk/employability
The degree is accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council.
Entry requirements
Offer levels
Minimum of ABB at A Level, IB Diploma 33 points inc 4 in Mathematics or IB Diploma with 16 points at Higher inc 4 in Mathematics.
International students for whom English is a second language will need to pass IELTS level 8, in addition to meeting the above requirements.
Required subjects
Good passes in traditional academic subjects are required. Examples include English Literature, History, Mathematics, Politics, Chemistry and modern foreign languages.
Suitable candidates will be invited to attend a compulsory 30-minute interview and to sit a two-hour admissions test including English, news writing and current affairs knowledge.
Further information
School
Enquiries:
T: +44 (0)1227 827272
Key Information Sets
The Key Information Set (KIS) data (right) is compiled by UNISTATS and draws from a variety of sources which includes the National Student Survey and the Higher Education Statistical Agency. The data for assessment and contact hours is compiled from the most populous modules (to the total of 120 credits for an academic session) for this particular degree programme. Depending on module selection, there may be some variation between the KIS data and an individual's experience. For further information on how the KIS data is compiled please see the UNISTATS website.
If you have any queries about a particular programme, please contact information@kent.ac.uk