Course Outline
Course Structure
This MA draws upon the expertise of the wide range of practitioners within the Birmingham School of Media and its research and production units (Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research, Interactive Cultures, New Technology Institute). Our established and innovative work with a wide range of partners in the creative industries, arts organisations and local authorities inform class work and the directions of individual scholarship.
Lectures will be replaced with audio slide shows, recordings of a lecture, or live-streamed lectures which cover the same material. These will often be identical to those delivered to students with attendance.
Access to your tutors for tutorials will be via audio-visual communication technologies such as Skype and will be further supported by email.
In exploring and innovating in research in social media you will engage with professional practitioners, interacting and disseminating ideas through, blogs and social media platforms as well as at networking events.
The taught postgraduate phase of the course comprises modules that explore social media from a cultural studies perspective and explore political economy, social enterprise and social media organisations. The Masters component entails a substantial piece of independent study and the origin of either a social media production project of an original piece of research in the form of a 15000-word dissertation.
The MA has a strong thread of individual personal development planning, supporting your studies and enhancing your career ambitions. To this end you will engage in live projects for clients and be expected to work at a professional level. The Birmingham School of Media has a variety of strong contacts in the creative and cultural sector, regionally, nationally and internationally which will aid in finding appropriate projects and exploring work in these industries.
You can find out more details about the course modules below.
Modules
| Social Media as Culture (30 credits) |
Online Enterprise and Innovation (30 credits) |
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This theory module explores the current state of academic knowledge and debates around the emergence of social media and provides you with a systematic understanding of the approaches to studying social media culture and its social and cultural role and character.
You will participate in external networking and conference events and produce blogs that engage with key debates about the culture of social media.
At the end of this module you will be able to employ established theoretical frameworks and methodologies in order to advance new insights into practice and meaning.
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This module delivers against the programme aims to provide applied theoretical and professional knowledge and work in interactive and online media professional environments by exploring the techniques, processes and practices of online innovation and enterprise. You will be putting ideas into practice, develop a strong sense of your professional development needs, be involved in creating networks and refine an action orientated approach. By focusing on a spirit of entrepreneurship (or intrapreneurship) we will encourage you to take ownership of your own personal professional development. You will identify industry challenges appropriate to your award, and turn them into opportunities for you to enhance your independence, confidence, networking capacity and strategic thinking. This will encourage you to become a self-reflexive creative worker.
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| Social Media as Practice (30 credits) |
Production Lab or Research Methods (30 credits) |
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This production module explores social media as an area of media practice in social enterprise, commercial, public and personal areas. You will consider the different areas of media, cultural and creative production that come under the auspices of social media and explore the production practices and skills that these involve.
You will develop your own professional practice through a range of production activities. At the end of this module you will be able to analyse, deliver and evaluate innovative social media projects.
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These modules prepare you for MA by Practice or MA by Dissertation, depending upon the focus of your studies.
Both draw upon other taught modules which either mapped out the current state of academic knowledge in the field, or established professional conventions and explored current industry challenges.
You will be provided with the opportunity to innovate, and to apply and experiment with a range of production skills appropriate to your award, supported by a systematic exploration of methods for research and production development.
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| MA by Practice or MA by Dissertation (60 Credits) |
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Depending upon the focus of your studies, you will complete your award with either an original contribution to scholarship in the MA by Dissertation or through the origination, execution and delivery of an individual and extended practice-based professional project at the forefront of your field. You will develop and consolidate your mastery of key skills, knowledge of and engagement with current opportunities in the field of production or academic enquiry. These modules encourage and test skills of initiative and independent practice and are conducted largely outside of the classroom with support from a tutor.
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Assessments
Assessments usually emphasise scholarly or professional practice through which the key learning objectives are tested. Three weeks are set aside for assessment work.
Placements
The MA has a strong thread of individual personal development planning, supporting students’ studies and enhancing an individual’s career ambitions.
Students are expected to undertake a work placement/internship with an organisation that uses social media or is exploring social media. This will enable students to become engaged as researchers within the work place and enable them to find ways in which their skills and learning can be applied outside of academia.
The Birmingham School of Media has a number of close contacts in the creative and cultural sector, regionally, nationally and internationally, which will aid in finding appropriate placements and exploring work in these industries.