Media and Culture

Suspended for 2013 entry.

The MLitt Media and Culture is for people who want to better understand the twenty-first century media environment. The contemporary media are being shaped by emerging transformations and by contested continuities. Established media industries struggle to deal with the shock of the new - a proliferation of competing platforms, a reconfiguration of audiences, and a digital context in which media products can be shared, copied and remixed by millions. At the same time, assumptions and precedents from the twentieth century persist in the shaping of policy and regulation, in debates about censorship and subsidy, in struggles over intellectual property, copyright and access.

Course objectives

The MLitt in Media and Culture is for people who want to better understand the transformations and continuities that are shaping the twenty-first century media environment. This degree explores such aspects of contemporary media culture, offering modules which concentrate on areas such as digital cultures, creative industries, cultural theory, media economics, screen studies, and media rights and intellectual property. Students will take a flexible and comprehensive course of modules that will develop their understanding of contemporary media to an advanced level.

Entrance requirements

An applicant for the MLitt should normally hold a single or joint Honours degree in any humanities or social science subject at a minimum of upper second class level, or should possess an equivalent qualification. Applicants with other qualifications or other appropriate experience may be admitted on the recommendation of the Course Director(s), normally to the Diploma in the first instance. It is anticipated that any candidate so admitted will be transferred to the MLitt on evidence of satisfactory progress.  The course does not normally otherwise admit students for the Postgraduate Diploma.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency such as a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 (minimum 6 in each skill), or TOEFL: Listening 23, Reading 23, Speaking 23, Writing 23.

Funding

information on possible sources of funding

Modes of study

The teaching year at Stirling is divided into two semesters, which run from mid-September to December, and from mid-February to the end of May. Each semester you will take four modules, which will be delivered in lecture/seminar format on campus; all candidates also complete a dissertation of approximately 12,000 words.

Course start date

September

Structure and content

The teaching year at Stirling is divided into two semesters, which run from mid-September to December, and from mid-February to the end of May. Each semester, you will take four modules; all candidates also complete a dissertation of approximately 12,000 words. The degree will consist of the following modules:

Core autumn modules:

• The Practice of Cultural Theory
• Training for Master’s in the Arts and Humanities

Core spring modules:

• Digital Cultures

Summer:

• Dissertation: This develops and implements an original research proposal on a topic of your choice, to be negotiated in consultation with a supervisor.

In the autumn semester, you may choose from among the following options. Note that not all of these may be offered in any given year. Two options from:

• Media Economics
• The Media Environment
• News, Journalism and Digital Media
  
• Creative Industries: Contemporary Issues
  

Or

• Film Studies: Form & Analysis

In the spring semester, you may choose from the following options. Note that not all of these may be offered in any given year. Three options from:

• Advertising
• Media Rights
• Screen Genres
• Memory and Archives in the Digital Age
  
• Media Policy and Regulation

Or

• Film Studies: History, Theory, Criticism
• And one option

Delivery and assessment

Assessment is by means of coursework as specified for each module (some of the optional modules include exams). Examples of assessment tasks include essays, literature reviews, research reports, seminar presentations, and participation in online projects such as class blogs. All candidates for the MLitt will complete a 12,000-word dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with a supervisor.

Module titles

• Training for Masters in the Arts & Humanities (ARTP01)
• Film Studies: Form & Analysis - (FMSP01)
• Film Studies: History, Theory and Criticism (FMSP02)
• Digital Cultures (MCCPX1)
• Practice of Cultural Theory (MCCPX2)
• Screen Genres (MCCPX6)
• News, Journalism & Digital Media (MCCPX8)
• Memory and Archives in the Digital Age (MCCPX9)
• Media Economics (MMAP11)
• Media Environment (MMAP13)
• Media Policy and Regulation (MMAP14)
• Media Rights (MMAP15)
• Advertising (PCMPX3)

Why study Media and Culture at Stirling?

Course Director

Dr Katharina Lindner

RAE rating

Communications, Media and Culture had 95% of its research classed as of international standard, with 70% in the top two categories, 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent', in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

Strengths

The course is based in the Communications, Media and Culture department, which is ranked 1^st in Scotland for research in Communication, Cultural and Media Studies by the most recent UK government Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), and is 1^st in Scotland for Communications & Media (The Complete University Guide 2012 and The Guardian University Guide 2012).

Career opportunities

This degree will be of particular interest to those who plan to work in the creative industries, as well as those already working in this field. It will benefit those seeking a competitive edge in a careers market that values high-level skills in communication, research and critical thinking. It will also provide an excellent preparation for those wishing to continue their studies to PhD level.