| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-04-17 | - |
| 2023-09-19 | 2023-07-04 |
| 2024-01-09 | - |
Program Overview
About this course
Our MA Journalism programme provides you with all the skills you will need to work across different platforms – online, TV and radio. You will learn how to find and write news stories, interview and establish contacts. Hands-on camera, studio, editing and mobile journalism skills are taught so that our trainees are confident and competent on their industry work placements.
We also cover the increasingly important areas of social media skills, verification techniques, data journalism and analytics. Shorthand is embedded in the course and you will sit your NCTJ diploma alongside your Masters.
Awareness of professional roles, law, public affairs and the regulatory responsibilities of journalists is taught, along with a critical understanding of the political and commercial structures within which the media operate. All the skills you learn come together for your Journalism Project when you can do more in-depth research on a topic of your choice to produce a multi-media project, a short video documentary or a podcast.
Our annual Journalism and Media Week runs every November consistently attracting big names from the industry. You will report the events live across multimedia platforms, interview guests and develop longer features. Above all else, it’s a great chance to make key contacts.
Specialist Facilities
You’ll have access to industry-leading spaces and equipment including production rooms, Mac and PC editing suites, and TV, radio and photography studios. These specialist facilities are designed to help you produce high-quality professional work across platforms including web, newspapers, magazines, television and radio.
View our facilities
Accreditation
Our MA has rare dual accreditation by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).
These are the accreditations that editors look for because they mean that the trainee has successfully completed a course that meets the 'gold standard' of journalism training. The accreditation recognises the quality of the course in developing journalists for the demands of a fast-changing multimedia industry. Students sit the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism alongside their MA at no additional cost for their first attempts.
Program Outline
Modules
You will study a variety of modules across your programme of study. The module details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Core:
News Skills
The module covers the core skills needed to be a successful and effective journalist in the digital age. You will learn how to source, verify and write content and learn the most effective ways to tell those stories making best use of online platforms. We also cover interviewing; video; photography; smartphone journalism; using data; understanding analytics and social media skills. This module also includes shorthand.
Shorthand
Many employers in the journalism industry insist on shorthand qualifications and all employers consider it a valuable skill. The ability to write accurate notes when interviewing or covering meetings and court cases is vital – both ethically and legally.
Law, Ethics and Regulation
This module gives you the knowledge required to operate as legally safe journalists and be confident in what you can and cannot report. It will cover relevant law including defamation; contempt of court; reporting restrictions; defences; copyright; juvenile crime; sex offences; hate crime; trolling and privacy. It also includes media ethics, Ofcom and the Editors’ Code of Practice. You will also attend court hearings. An innovative and exhilarating module.
Live Production
In this module you’ll be learning all the skills needed to broadcast in radio, TV, online and on social media including voice training. You’ll learn how to film, edit, record audio, make podcasts and present live news programmes.
Public Affairs
You’ll develop your knowledge and understanding of how government works at a national and local level, how they are linked, where news stories come from and how to develop them. You’ll learn how to hold public bodies to account by using freedom of information requests.
Professional Placement
There’s no better way to learn than to spend time in a professional working environment and you’ll fulfil a minimum of three weeks on a journalism-related placement. It’s a chance to get a sense of real-world roles and responsibilities while those offering the placements get the opportunity to identify potential talent.
Journalism Project
You will showcase all the skills developed over the year with us to create your own journalism related ‘showstopper’. It could be a tv or radio documentary or a multimedia portfolio. This tests your ability to research and create the content of your choice with a compelling story at its heart.
Course Structure
| SEMESTER | MODULE | CONTACT HOURS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Public Affairs News Skills Law, Ethics and Regulation Professional Placement |
2 hours per week for 12 weeks 14 hours per week for eight weeks and 60 hours newsdays across two weeks 2 hours per week for 10 weeks Total of 3 hours |
| 2 |
News Skills Professional Placement Live Production Journalism Project |
4 hours per week for 10 weeks and 20 hours in one week across intensive shorthand weeks Total of 3 hours 10 hours per week for eight weeks and 90 hours newsdays across three weeks 8 hours and 3 hours individual supervision |
Learning and Teaching
At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.
Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:
We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.
We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:
To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.
We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:
Assessment
Assessments mainly consist of coursework portfolios where you will be producing journalism of your own for different platforms including online, TV and radio studio output. Some modules are assessed through exams – for example, Law, Ethics and Regulation, Public Affairs and News Skills.
Learning and Teaching
At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.
Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:
We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.
We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:
To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.
We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:
Assessment
Assessments mainly consist of coursework portfolios where you will be producing journalism of your own for different platforms including online, TV and radio studio output. Some modules are assessed through exams – for example, Law, Ethics and Regulation, Public Affairs and News Skills.
