Digital and Social Media MA

Start date

18 September 2023

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time

About the course

Reasons to study

It is designed to lead into PhD work for those wishing to progress to further Higher Education, as well as leading to a range of professional roles linked to participatory culture and social media.
MA research is based in the Centre for Participatory Culture, an interdisciplinary, cutting-edge group of international scholars and postgrad students exploring the centrality of fandom.
This MA focuses on the specialised, advanced study of current media developments: students will be able to analyse and critically reflect on the media world they inhabit.

This taught Master’s course, made up of four modules and a 12,000-word dissertation (split into two modules for PT students, with each module producing 6,000 words of work), responds to major transnational developments in contemporary media which have eroded the line between ‘producers’ and ‘consumers’, democratising media or leading to a lo-fi “cult of the amateur.” At the same time, social media platforms have become major economic players, raising questions over who benefits, and how, from the social activity they host. This MA focuses on the specialised, advanced study of current media developments: students will be able to analyse and critically reflect on the media world they inhabit, developing their expertise in participatory culture/social media and associated practices of fandom, activism, community-building, and creativity.

The course is targeted at those who wish to develop their understanding of specific kinds of digital media – involving people “formerly known as the audience” – and their social, economic and cultural contexts. It is designed to lead into PhD work for those wishing to progress to further Higher Education, as well as leading to a range of professional roles linked to participatory culture and social media.

For more information about our research areas of interest visit our Journalism and Media research pages

Course detail

You take 180 credits at Master's level: two 30-credit modules in term one, a further two 30-credit modules in term two, and a 60-credit dissertation in the third term and over the summer.

Core modules:

Theorizing Participatory Culture & Social Media

On this module you’ll be introduced to influential scholarly approaches to participatory culture and social media. You’ll begin by exploring how the concept of ‘participation’ has played out in relation to politics, art and media, as well as considering key definitions of ‘participatory culture’. Although this term has sometimes been viewed as overly celebratory, critical approaches to participation emphasise the powerful structures that can still frame participatory culture. And in order to challenge the ‘now-ness’ of much work on participatory culture, you’ll consider its longer history. You’ll also study the history of social media, along with just how ‘social’ it might actually be. Critiques and defences of social media will be analysed, highlighting its ambivalent status, and introducing you to the vitality of contemporary debates.

Researching Participatory Culture and Social Media

On this module you’ll learn how to research participatory culture and social media, beginning with an important focus on ethics. The module reflects on the varied ways that participatory culture/social media have been researched in the humanities. You’ll examine the use of focus groups and ethnography, as well as exploring quantitative research methods regarding ‘big data’, carrying out data visualisation (Social Network Analysis), and scraping data. You’ll also tackle how best to understand and research different platforms through a range of up-to-date examples.

Participatory Culture, Productivity and Fandom

On this module you will analyse one of the major areas where participatory culture has been explored: the creativities and communities of media fans. You’ll begin by exploring foundational work, focusing on how our own participation in media culture can complicate theoretical approaches. You will then focus on how fans’ productivity and creativity link to consumerism and branding as well as to subcultural identities. Having considered issues of gender, you will analyse further dimensions of fan identity and productivity. And you’ll consider whether, in an era of ‘mainstreamed’ participatory culture, it’s now important to analyse ‘ordinary’ media participations that no longer necessarily involve fandom.

Social Media, Politics and Activism

On this module you’ll analyse an area where social media have had a major impact: media/social activism. You’ll begin by exploring how “politics” itself is in the process of being reconfigured. Social media, it has been argued, blurs the personal and the political more than ever before, generating newfound turbulence in political systems. You will analyse how participatory politics is generating new kinds of citizen-journalists. And you’ll consider how the personalization of politics gives rise to distinctive forms of campaigning. Participatory politics – both reactionary and progressive, rightwing and leftwing – will also be assessed via contemporary case studies.

Participatory Culture and Social Media Dissertation

On this module, you will carry out a substantial, innovative research project. You’ll define your own research questions and select appropriate methods, supported by group workshop sessions and supervision meetings. This module will enable you to tackle exciting, original research at the very forefront of scholarship on participatory culture and social media, as well as focusing on topics and issues that you find the most interesting and rewarding.

Teaching and assessment

We use a range of activities and modes of learning and assessment throughout the course, all of which provide an essential context for academic development and a satisfying learning experience. The communal nature of many of our learning strategies ensures that you feel part of a dynamic and interdependent community.

Teaching and learning formats include lectures, seminars, workshops and one-to-one discussions.

You experience a range of assessment methods, including formative and summative assignments. Assessment includes essays, reports of original research, blogs, posters, presentations and the dissertation.

Summative assessment takes place principally at the end of each module. In order to provide early feedback, formative assessment forms part of all modules and is carried out during the course of the term in which the module is delivered. Assessment can be varied to meet specific student needs.

All work is moderated and subject to second marking and external examining.

Teaching excellence

Triple proof of teaching excellence: our staff rank in the top three in England for the proportion who hold doctorates, who have higher degrees, and hold teaching qualifications (HESA 2022). So, you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.
We are joint first in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 20 since 2008 (2022 data).
We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

Entry requirements

Students’ first degrees will usually be expected to be in areas/subjects that are cognate or related to Media/Cultural Studies/Communication (this will include a diverse range of humanities-based and social science degrees), though applicants’ individual circumstances will be considered on merit.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

Postgraduate Study

Joe is studying for a PhD in Communication, Cultural and Media Studies. In his film he talks about his aspirations for a career in academia.

Online TV

Professor Catherine Johnson's new book unravels the tangled web of modern television - University of Huddersfield Professor Catherine Johnsonâs new book, âOnline TVâ, provides a guide to changes that have taken place since the arrival of high-speed broadband, tablets, smartphones and internet-enabled TV sets.

ONCE it was just the gogglebox in the sitting room with a few broadcast channels to choose from and no chance to catch-up on programmes that had been missed. But in the internet age it can be difficult to know what is meant by âtelevisionâ any more, according to a University of Huddersfield professor whose latest book helps readers reach a clearer understanding of a new landscape in which a huge range of content can be chosen and viewed on a multiplicity of devices.

Read the Latest 'Discover' Issue

Our 'Discover'magazine tells the stories behind our research and highlights the impact this work has on the world we live in.

Find out more

Facilities

Radio Studio

TV Studio

Editing Facilities

News Room

Professional links and accreditations

This course meets all QAA benchmarks for advanced, specialised Master’s-level study.

Career support

This MA will be relevant for anyone looking to work in sectors that have become strongly linked to such media, e.g. content creation, communications, marketing, publishing and PR, along with the ‘experience economy’ targeting fan-consumers. Postgraduates might go on to become fan entrepreneurs in their own right, or social media researchers working outside the academy, either for private companies, research organizations, NGOs, or activist groups.

Professional links and accreditations
Career support

This course meets all QAA benchmarks for advanced, specialised Master’s-level study.

Career support

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

In 2023/24 the full-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate students on this course will be £6,900 (Band 1).

Tuition fees for UK students will cover the cost of your study at the University. For more information about funding, fees and finance for UK students, including what your tuition fee covers, please see our Fees and Finance. Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years of study may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X).

If you are an EU or international student coming to study at the University of Huddersfield, please visit the International Fees and Finance pages for full details of tuition fees and support available.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

In 2023/24 the part-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate students on this course will be £575 (Band 1) per 15 credit module and £1,150 (Band 1) per 30 credit module.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Fees and Finance

Tuition Fees - full-time

In 2023/24 the full-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate students on this course will be £6,900 (Band 1).

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Tuition Fees - part-time

In 2023/24 the part-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate students on this course will be £575 (Band 1) per 15 credit module and £1,150 (Band 1) per 30 credit module.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

Changes to a course you have applied for

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

Cancellation of a course you have applied for

Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

Termination of course

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

Equal opportunities

The University of Huddersfield is an equal opportunities institution. We aim to create conditions where staff and students are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential, regardless of gender, age, race, caste, class, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, family responsibility, trade union activity, political or religious belief, or age. Please visit our website to see our Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy

Data protection

The University holds personal data on all enquirers, applicants and enrolled students. All such data is kept and processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Legislation. The University’s Data Protection Policy and Privacy Notices are available on the University website.

Students’ Union membership

Under the 1994 Education Act, students at all UK universities have the right to join, or not to join, the Students’ Union. There is no membership fee. If you choose not to join you have the right not to be disadvantaged; however, you are not entitled to vote, take part in elections, or hold any office. The following arrangements apply in order that non-Union members are not disadvantaged: Non-members are welcome to take part in the activities of Affiliated Clubs and Societies on payment of the appropriate subscription. However, they may not vote or hold office in the society or club. Union members may be offered a discounted subscription. Non-members are free to use Union facilities on the same basis as members. Welfare, catering and shops are available to non-members as well as members. Union members may be offered a discounted price.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.