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Journalism is fascinating, rewarding and influential. In a world hungry for news about issues ranging from climate change 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.
Overview
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.
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. Students have regular access to work placements with the KM Group and other news organisations. The Centre for Journalism has its own dedicated website, www.centreforjournalism.co.uk.
Independent rankings
The BA in Journalism and the News Industry is ranked second in the UK and Ireland for the number of students achieving Gold Standard passes in the National Council for the Training of Journalists Diploma, the primary measure of professional success for student journalists.
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
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.
There is a minimum of 21 hours contact time per week in your first and second year, in addition to which all students receive guaranteed one-to-one feedback on their assignments and have regular meetings with their personal academic adviser. You should expect to do a minimum of 15 additional hours personal study per week.
Students undergo assessment for the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism via examinations set by the NCTJ.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- produce graduates with a courageous and principled vision of the purpose of journalism, who have an informed, critical and creative approach to its role in contemporary society
- enable students to acquire the skills and aptitudes to practise the convergent skills of print, broadcast and internet journalism in a supportive and responsive environment
- develop a detailed and systematic understanding of particular forms of journalism and their historic and contemporary role in the shaping of culture and society
- encourage students to think critically about the ethics and responsibilities of journalism and to relate academic study of the subject to questions of public concern
- describe and comment upon aspects of current research into the impact of new technologies on journalism
- provide a curriculum supported by scholarship and a research culture that promotes breadth and depth of intellectual debate and enquiry.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- key concepts, practices and methods used in the production of multimedia journalism
- the economic forces which frame the news industry and the role it plays in specific areas of contemporary political and cultural life
- the political, social and cultural histories from which modern journalism and its practices and structures emerged
- the possible future development of journalism in a national and international context
- the legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks which affect journalism
- the ways in which specific technologies enable different kinds of journalism
- the processes linking the production, circulation and consumption of news
- how news operations operate and are managed.
Intellectual skills
You develop intellectual skills in:
- the ability to gather, organise and deploy information, images and data from a variety of primary and secondary sources
- the ability to engage critically with major practitioners, debates and paradigms within the subject area and put them to productive use
- how to carry out various forms of research for essays, presentations, documentaries and dissertations involving sustained independent inquiry
- the ability to reflect upon the relevance of your own cultural commitment and positioning to the practice of journalism.
Subject-specific skills
You gain the ability to:
- understand the significance of journalism to political democracy, its powers, duties and responsibilities
- analyse closely, interpret and show the exercise of critical judgment in the understanding and evaluation of various forms of journalism
- consider and evaluate your own work with reference to professional issues, debates and conventions
- describe, evaluate and apply different approaches to presenting and analysing factual information as news
- produce work of publishable quality for regional, national and international newspapers, websites and broadcasters.
Transferable skills
You gain transferable skills in how to:
- gather, organise and deploy information in order to formulate arguments cogently and communicate them fluently in speech and writing
- work to deadlines in flexible and innovative ways showing self-direction and self-discipline
- work productively in a group or team showing the ability to contribute, lead and collaborate with others in the pursuit of common goals
- use information technology to perform a range of tasks ranging from basic word-processing to deployment of complex web-based multimedia technology
- identify and define problems, assess possible solutions and discriminate between them
- take accurate shorthand notes at a speed of at least 100 words per minute.
Careers
Possible careers include newspaper, broadcast and online reporting and other editorial roles in the news industry. Recent graduates work as journalists for employers including AOL, Associated Newspapers, BBC Radio, BBC Politics Show SE, BBC Peston on Sunday, Bedfordshire on Sunday, Cambridge News, KM Group, Kent on Sunday, Hinckley Times, Huffington Post, ITN, Newsquest, Daily Star, Mail Online, Investment Week and Sky News. Other graduates secure positions 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.
Professional recognition
This degree is accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists and all students sit the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism exams. This valuable professional qualification is recognised as a key entry requirement to careers in newspaper and broadcast journalism.
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | ABB including at least two, preferably three, in traditional academic subjects such as English, Mathematics, History, Politics, Chemistry and modern languages plus admissions test and selective interview. |
| GCSE | Mathematics at grade C
|
| Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 16 points at HL including Mathematics 4 at HL or SL plus admissions test and selective interview |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.