Welcome 2026 Students

Start Date

Welcome Week will take place between Monday 14 September and Friday 18 September 2026. During Welcome Week your course team will schedule activities for you to find out important information about your course, meet your lecturers and other students, and find your way around.

Teaching on your course begins from Monday 21 September 2026. Please check your timetable for details.

You will be able to see your timetable on iCity using your BCU login details as soon as they are released. You should have received your BCU login details when you were invited to enrol.

International Students

We expect all international students to engage with their studies in person from w/c 7 September 2026.

The final deadline to arrive in the UK to complete enrolment will be week 4 (w/c 2 October 2026).

Timetables

Course Leader

Ross Hawkes

Welcome Message

Welcome to the MA Journalism course at Birmingham City University. As your course leader, I am pleased that you will be joining us in September and look forward to meeting you in due course. During Induction Week, you'll get the chance to meet with staff and your new classmates as you settle into life as a postgraduate student, as well as finding out more about the course, excellent facilities, support services and much more.

I would encourage you to attend the Student Union Fair on 16th and 17th September too in order to help you find other opportunities to enhance your time as a postgraduate student with us at the university. As part of Induction Week, we'll be meeting as a group on Tuesday 15th September from 10am to midday in P010 in the Parkside Room. You'll also have plenty of opportunities to come and discuss the programme, university life or anything to do with journalism with me via tutorials from the outset.

If you have any queries or questions in the meantime, do not hesitate to email me via ross.hawkes@bcu.ac.uk. This will be a busy but rewarding year as you throw yourself fully into the world of journalism, but myself and the other tutors will be on hand to support you every step of the way.

Enjoy the rest of your summer – and make sure you consume plenty of news from lots of different sources before you arrive so we can hit the ground running.

Ross Hawkes, Course Director, MA Journalism.

Course Location

Your course will mainly be taught in:

Parkside Building, City Centre Campus (Room numbers start with P)

First day on Campus

We look forward to welcoming you to Birmingham City University!

You must have your ID card visible at all times when on campus, so if you have received yours before your first day, ensure you bring this with you. If you enrolled late you will need to collect one on campus during your first few days. Please remember that your ID card is for your use only. You must never let anyone else use it.

To complete your enrolment, you will need the following:

• Passport (or other form of photo ID if you are a UK/EU student)
• Original qualification documents if applicable (you will be emailed a list of the documents we need to see once you have completed your online enrolment)
• Visa (international students only)

What else? The rest is up to you! You will find a shop, café, pub, computer access and water fountains on campus, but we do recommend you bring the following on the first day:

• Laptop, if you have one
• Notepad and pen
• Reusable water bottle
• Snack
• Money

And remember, the weather in Birmingham can be changeable!