This PG Diploma is an intensive programme providing you with a solid foundation in media-based storytelling by combining in-depth research methods with a practical, hands-on approach to learning. It will teach you how to record and edit in audio and video formats; how to research, produce, script, and edit your own material, whether it is short features or long-form documentary; and how to produce stories for radio, TV, and interactive online platforms. To do this, you’ll also learn effective interviewing techniques. This MA will teach you how to identify a good story and then how to research and pitch it for a successful commissioning outcome.
Whether you want to be a broadcast journalist, a radio or podcast producer, a videographer, a documentary filmmaker, a media production/communications specialist, a post-production editor or immersive media practitioner, our practice-centred approach will strategically position you to work for any aspect of radio or podcasting; factual TV; documentary and informational production. On completing this MA, you will have numerous factual media outputs under your belt in radio/podcast, TV, documentary, interactive and experimental hybrid formats. This will be the basis of a robust work portfolio with which you can then enter the work market.
The programme is designed to appeal to graduate students in the Humanities and Social Sciences, particularly those with backgrounds in English, politics, history, journalism, cultural studies, and creative writing. Previous academic study of or practical experience in areas of the media is beneficial but not essential. This would also interest those from other disciplines who want to retrain and have already had some relevant media industry experience.
Media and Broadcast Production highlights
Industry Links
We have strong links to the BBC and relationships with local and global media organisations. We have industry professionals as guest speakers, both from Northern Ireland as well as internationally: foreign correspondents, award-winning directors and producers, photographers, editors or script writers. Students can take part in a range of talks, events and have regular opportunities to engage with the vibrant media scene in Northern Ireland and the international media landscape.
Career Development
Students will use equipment and facilities acquired and designed in collaboration with BBC NI and other industry representatives. The Media and Broadcast MA is taught from the Sonic Arts Research Centre, the home of the world-renowned Sonic Lab. Students have opportunities to explore hybrid forms of storytelling using industry-level cameras, editing software and facilities.
World Class Facilities
Based in the School of Arts, English and Languages, the MA in Media and Broadcast Production offers a robust, hands-on production experience combined with rigorous academic research, enabling students to leave with a rich portfolio of self-produced, shot and edited factual stories in audio and video formats; radio and TV documentaries; and thorough understanding of modern media and broadcast landscapes.
Student Experience
Students are encouraged to develop their own interests throughout the degree, guided by the staff, whose expertise is wide-ranging, covering broadcast journalism, factual (audio and video) documentary production, hybrid storytelling, interactive media, virtual reality, media research & analysis and communications.
1. Full Time
Semester One: Three compulsory modules
Semester Two: Two compulsory modules and one option
2. Part Time
Year One, Semester One: Two compulsory modules
Year One, Semester Two: One module
Year Two, Semester One: One compulsory module
Year Two, Semester Two: Two modules
Introduction
All modules are subject to change and availability. Listings here should be taken as indicative.
Core Modules:
Media and Broadcast Analysis
This module introduces students to the academic analysis of broadcasting and media. In doing so, the aim is to provide students with an understanding of a range of different methods for conducting their own research, and for understanding other academics' research. Through considering these ideas and elements, students should develop their understanding of the media and broadcast environment in ways that aid their practical work as well as allowing them to consider how their own work, as well as that of others, can be interpreted by different audiences. Students should provide their own examples of programming and material, but will also be supplied with examples, including archival material, audience research, etc.
Hybrid Storytelling
Hybrid Storytelling studies various creative responses to the rise and development of misinformation, image, and sound manipulation, ‘post-truth’ or ‘alternative reality’ discourse. Students will create their own hybrid story forms that can bolster the factual thrust of projects and serve as an antidote to disinformation, acting as an essential primer for students entering the contemporary broadcast industry. This module is an equally balanced combination of theory and practice which enables students to build on and interrogate broadcast approaches students have a knowledge of through either their own media practice or media consumption.
Broadcast Journalism
This module explores theoretical concepts relating to journalism while developing each student’s own journalistic craft through workshop-based practice. It empowers students to work independently as journalists and produce their own news/feature radio and television outputs. Students will be brought through the process of producing packages from pitch and strong story conceptualisation, effective interviewing, scripting and the final edit. This module also teaches the regulatory and ethical framework surrounding broadcast journalism.
Documentary Practice
This practice-based module combines the skills needed for you to produce a character-driven, narrative and sound-rich long form audio or audiovisual project. Students will learn how to orient their storytelling practice for a conventional documentary slot on radio or TV, incorporating interview clips, soundbites and sound design along the way. The module also examines the ethics and processes involved in producing a documentary. With this background knowledge under your belt, you'll move through the production process of your own project: from the initial idea, through the gathering of material, to scripting and editing.
Students will be encouraged become informed practitioners, aware of the commissioning structures and current industry standards, yet capable of reflecting critically on their own practice.
Broadcasting Genre
This module examines the uses and significance of genre in broadcasting. It covers theories of genre, the relationships between genre in different media (including literature and cinema), and the uses of genre by broadcasters, producers and audiences. Through the module, students will develop their own case studies focussing on a genre of their choice, practicing and enhancing their independent research skills as they build their individual assessed project. They will engage with questions around how genres are formed and used, why people categorise things in genres, how genres interact with policy and taste formations, and how generic descriptions and canons change over time. This will all contribute to a final assessed essay based on the work developed throughout the module.
Interactive Media
This module introduces the production of interactive and non-linear forms of new media as emergent alternatives to traditional linear forms of media. New media is explored through both a practical exploration of interactive formats; and by considering critical debates around aesthetics, power, force, significance and form in a series of new media texts, artefacts and systems. The module situates practices in an environment that is ceaselessly evolving and explores new technologies such as virtual reality, immersive media and interactive documentary for web/mobile devices. This module offers a practical introduction to software authoring tools and an exploration of disruptive new technologies as they emerge.
0 (hours maximum) Students are encouraged to consult with their module tutors outside of class time, especially in developing their individual interests and projects, including assessed work.
Medium Group Teaching
3 (hours maximum) Most modules consist of ten weeks of seminars or workshops, each session lasting two to three hours per module.
Teaching Times
Most teaching will take place Monday to Friday,9am-6pm. Occasional events, usually optional, may take place outside of this. Students will also have to find time for independent study and for undertaking group work, particularly on practical modules.
Learning and Teaching
As a combined practical and analytical degree, students will engage with a number of different types of learning and teaching through this programme.
Independent learning
Core to the PG Diploma programme is the development of skills of independent learning, picking up from those acquired at undergraduate level. Students are expected to guide their own studies based on their own interests, in consultation with the academic staff. This includes self-directed research, development of individual research projects and responsibility for reading and acquiring knowledge around the subject, in addition to set research tasks and academic reading.
Online Learning
Learning is supported by a range of online resources and tasks, organised through our Virtual Learning Environment, Canvas. This can include provision of guidance on tasks, supplementary information and reference material, quizzes and self-tests, as well as formative and summative assessments.
Practice
Practical work involves engaging with a range of tasks outside of scheduled class time, including setting up and conducting interviews, recording material, planning and developing projects. Much of this work will be conducted in small groups.
Seminars
Some sessions will be taught as seminars, working in small groups to discuss particular topics.
Skill Labs
Skill labs will be available weekly for students to deepen their practice skills, whether in camera work, sound harvesting for Radio, or editing.
Workshops
The practical aspects of the degree are largely taught through workshops, combining hands-on practice with discussion of the underlying concepts and appropriate techniques. These are typically taught in our audio studio, television studio or edit suite.
Assessment
Assessment associated with this course area outlined below:
Written and practical assignments. All practical assignments are accompanied by a reflective essay.
Facilities
Students on the PGDip Media and Broadcast Production have access to a range of resources and facilities to support their learning. These include the University’s general resources, including:
- The McClay Library for research resources;
- The Graduate School, for its opportunities to engage with a range of fellow graduate students, to receive training and support, and to take part in a range of initiatives and opportunities intended to help students make the most of their time at Queen’s.
- Specific facilities to support practice work include the Edit Suite, with 24-hour access and use of industry-standard editing software for audio and video.
There are also the recently-built audio and television studios, utilising high-end industry-standard cameras. Students can also make use of portable resources for location recording, whether one-person reporting kits, or for a multi-person video shoot.
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2024/25). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
This module examines theories of memory in relation to global media cultures, looking in particular at the intersections of memory with visual media such as documentary, television, and photography. Memory studies has emerged over the last few decades as an interdisciplinary and global field of study drawing on cultural studies, media studies, trauma studies, psychology and sociology. Memory is thus a key site where concepts of national identity, heritage and human rights are mediated and disputed. The module considers foundational concepts such as cultural memory, technologies of memory, remediation in the digital era and nostalgia, connecting classic texts in media/memory studies, which are still influential in the field, with contemporary issues and audiovisual material. Media have always been important in the way we remember events and construct notions of self and community. Our individual and social memories are becoming increasingly intertwined with (and reliant on) media data and technologies. Media are the ultimate conveyors of the contradictions of contemporary memory: ephemeral and artificial in one sense, but also enduring and authentic in another. The module will address questions such as: How do still images construct our remembrance of the past and the self? How does television mediate our collective consciousness? How can documentary be seen as spaces of memory?
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module students should have acquired:
- An advanced knowledge of contemporary and historical approaches to media and memory;
- A critical understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the relationship between media and memory;
- An ability to critically analyse a range of media texts;
- A capacity to address the role of media in memory formations and representations.
Skills
At the end of the module, students will acquire:
- Written communication (summative work);
- Structure and communicate ideas effectively both orally and in writing;
- Textual analysis of audio-visual material;
- Study of a variety of written and digital material;
- Practice research techniques (retrieve and select relevant information from a variety of conventional and electronic sources);
- Time management.
Misinformation, image and sound manipulation and “post-truth” discourses all pose increasingly significant threats to the status of fact and factual media and the democratic culture it underpins in Western societies.
The development of these practices have bred deep suspicion and a burgeoning rejection of the observational mode of storytelling, a staple of conventional audio and audio-visual factual media.
This module is intended to do two things:
1) Study the rise and development of misinformation, image and sound manipulation and “post-truth” discourses and act as an essential primer on these developments for students entering the contemporary broadcast industry
2) Study various creative responses – primarily hybrid story forms – that can serve as antidotes to the above threats by bolstering the factual thrust of projects they are working on
This module is intended as an equally balanced hybrid of theory and practice, which enables students to build on and interrogate broadcast skills they know well through either media practice or media consumption Students will engage with theory in the following area: documentary studies, postmodernism semiotics, post-structuralism, post-truth discourse, narratology and genre experimentation, among others.
They will be exposed to examples of audio and audio-visual work which exemplifies creative responses to misinformation, notably hybrid forms where fiction (or fictive strategies) is commandeered in the service of strengthening of the veracity of factual information for audiences living in our “post-truth” era.
Students will have the opportunity to develop and apply some of these strategies in their own factual broadcast practical work on the module. They will also have the opportunity, through written work, to demonstrate their ability to critically analyse concepts covered during the course of the module.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, students should be able to:
Identify, understand and critique misinformation, image and sound manipulation, and “post-truth” discourse and techniques; their effect on factual media and society; and the larger societal stakes that surround its emergence.
Analyse media texts in relation to their attributes that are clearly fact-based and those which are fiction-based.
Analyse fiction-based attributes embedded within larger factual outputs and discern if specific fiction-based attributes are beneficial or detrimental to the veracity of the output and, by extension, in the public interest.
Create a hybrid output that draws on learning from the module
Skills
By the end of this module, students should be able to:
Develop and activate both academic and practical skills
Acquire, deepen and implement media literacy, particularly with regards to fact, fiction, misinformation and dissimulation
Develop and activate core academic skills such as research, analysis and communication through class work, independent research and assessed work
Develop and activate core practice-based skills such as: devising and producing creative hybrids that strengthen the factual thrust of a project Advance their academic research skills
This module is focused on developing students’ skills and understanding of concepts relating to conceiving and planning independent projects, using the development of a potential dissertation as the focus. Material covered will include practical techniques for developing projects from conception to planning, with a particular focus on academic projects, including practice-based research. Students will consider the applicability of different research methods, and issues associated with research. They will also be expected to undertake their own research, putting these concepts and skills into practice, in developing and proposing a project suitable for a Masters dissertation.
Learning Outcomes
1. A capacity to understand and engage critically with a range of research methods appropriate to the Media and Broadcast Production subject.
2. An ability to devise and clearly communicate the concept for an independent research project appropriate to an MA dissertation.
3. An ability to conduct relevant contextual research for a proposed research project appropriate to an MA dissertation.
4. An ability to meet the specific requirements of a proposal and development process.
5. An understanding of the role and purpose of an MA dissertation.
6. An understanding of the relationship between goal, methodology and output in devising projects.
Skills
1. Numeracy and information and communication technology.
2. Creative thinking and problem solving.
3. Identify, analyse and solve problems by prioritising tasks, coping with complexity, setting achievable goals and taking action.
4. Work with information and handle a mass of diverse data, assess risk and draw conclusions (analysis, attention to detail, judgement).
5. Apply subject knowledge and understanding from the degree pathway.
6. Possess high level transferable key skills such as the ability to communicate (both orally and in writing), influence, negotiate and resolve conflict.
7. Have the ability and desire to learn for oneself and improve one's self-awareness and performance, to uphold the values of lifelong learning and demonstrate emotional intelligence.
8. Demonstrate confidence and motivation to start and to finish the job, adaptability / flexibility, creativity, initiative, leadership, decision-making, negotiating and the ability to cope with stress.
9. Apply and exploit information technology.
This module introduces students to the skills required to produce broadcast material. Using practical sessions, it teaches industry standard broadcast gathering skills. Students will learn the technological skills needed to operate digital recorders and edit sound, as well as the practical skills required to carry out effective interviews and perform pieces to camera. The module also covers the ethical frameworks around producing and broadcasting broadcast material and relates that to the UK regulatory framework. Throughout the module the students will gain an understanding of how the process of newsgathering impacts on broadcast outputs. The module also utilises BBC staff and facilities, giving students a valuable insight into the industry.
Learning Outcomes
On completing this module, students should have acquired and be able to demonstrate:
• A solid understanding of the production process of making a piece of broadcast
• A solid understanding of the skills required to carry out an effective digital recording.
• Strong story ideation and pitching skills
Development of specific writing skills for broadcast.
• Development of editing conventions and aesthetics for broadcast
• Development of interview skills
Skills
This module will develop the specific skill in written and oral communication and presentation needed for broadcast. Students will develop skills in identifying story ideas for possible production and in planning and completing reporting project(s).
This module develops the skills needed for students to produce a character-focussed, narrative-driven, industry-standard documentary or series of mini-documentaries suitable for broadcast. The work will draw on documentary and story theory to incorporate narration, interviews, natural sound, sequence and scene building, and sound design. The module takes students through the production process from the initial idea to pitch to project design, material gathering, scripting, editing and final export. Media ethics and regulation is a core part of documentary practice as it is learned on this module. Keen attention is given to various administrative processes associated with documentary production. The module also examines the history of the documentary form and analyses various evolutions and developments in the form.
Learning Outcomes
On completing this module, students should be able to:
Understand the nature of long form, documentary storytelling
Turn an idea into an effective piece longer form narrative storytelling that adheres to broadcast documentary conventions
Record and edit a documentary that adheres to current broadcast documentary conventions
Write, communicate and edit in a team environment
Understand and adhere to the ethical and regulatory frameworks circumscribing factual broadcasting
Skills
This module will help develop the following skills:
Story ideation
Project Pitching
Teamwork on media projects
Longer form broadcast storytelling
Broadcast writing
Story structuring
Audio and/or video editing conventions
This module focuses on the Gothic and horror as mode and genre across television, radio and podcasting. While perpetually popular, and often the subject of cult followings, Gothic and horror productions have regularly been sidelined, looked down on and treated with bemusement. Yet Gothic provides a useful framework for considering the spectral, domestic nature of media, while horror provides ways of examining and understanding cultural constructions around taste, society, and contemporary fears, such as those around identity, power and climate. This module will examine the Gothic and horror from a number of angles, considering their relationships to medium, audience, industry and culture, giving students the grounding from which they can apply and develop these frameworks in their own research projects.
Learning Outcomes
1. A capacity to understand and engage critically with a range of critical and theoretical frameworks around the Gothic and horror.
2. An ability to devise and conduct independent research relevant to the module.
3. An ability to meet the specific requirements of the module, in research, analysis and the production of assignments.
4. An understanding of the relationship between goal, methodology and output in devising projects.
5. The ability to present research and analysis and argument through both written and audio/visual essay forms.
Skills
1. Numeracy and information and communication technology.
2. Creative thinking and problem solving.
3. Identify, analyse and solve problems by prioritising tasks, coping with complexity, setting achievable goals and taking action.
4. Work with information and handle a mass of diverse data, assess risk and draw conclusions (analysis, attention to detail, judgement).
5. Apply subject knowledge and understanding from the degree pathway.
6. Possess high level transferable key skills such as the ability to communicate (both orally and in writing), influence, negotiate and resolve conflict.
7. Have the ability and desire to learn for oneself and improve one's self-awareness and performance, to uphold the values of lifelong learning and demonstrate emotional intelligence.
8. Demonstrate confidence and motivation to start and to finish the job, adaptability / flexibility, creativity, initiative, leadership, decision-making, negotiating and the ability to cope with stress.
9. Apply and exploit information technology.
This module introduces the production of interactive and non-linear forms of new media as emergent alternatives to traditional linear forms of media.
New media is explored through both a practical exploration of interactive formats; and by considering critical debates around aesthetics, power, force, significance and form in a series of new media texts, artefacts and systems.
The module situates practices in an environment that is ceaselessly evolving and explores new technologies such as virtual reality, immersive media and interactive documentary for web/mobile devices.
This module offers a practical introduction to software authoring tools and an exploration of disruptive new technologies as they emerge.
Learning Outcomes
1. Critical awareness of digital media systems as innovative cultural forms and contemporary debates around technology and culture
2. Understanding of new media aesthetics, use, medium theory and form through practice
3. Engagement with non-linear storytelling devices
4. Awareness of emerging tools and platforms for creation of interactive content
5. Applied experience and engagement through practice in the production of interactive media projects.
Skills
The module will equip students with the necessary production skills and theoretical frameworks to explore and deliver projects that move away from linear production processes. This grounding will provide students with basic authoring skills, will give them the capacity to develop their skills further through individual study, and will also equip them to think critically about the forms and contents of contemporary media systems that originate online and reside naively on the web.
Normally a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University in an Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences subject.
Applicants with qualifications below 2.1 Honours degree standard may be considered if they can demonstrate appropriate relevant experience.
The University's Recognition of Prior Learning Policy provides guidance on the assessment of experiential learning (RPEL). Please visit http://go.qub.ac.uk/RPLpolicy for more information.
Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 16th August 2024 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal. Notifications to this effect will appear on the Direct Application Portal against the programme application page.
International Students
Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.
English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required.
*Taken within the last 2 years.
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.
This programme is designed to offer a range of highly useful skills, experience and understanding regarding broadcasting and contemporary media, which are useful in a range of careers, including broadcasting, journalism, marketing, press and public relations, advertising and teaching. Some students choose to continue their studies to MA and/or PhD level on a chosen specialised topic in Media and Broadcast Production. http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/
Employment Links
Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
1EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.
2 EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.
3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.
All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.
All Students
Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.
Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £75 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges.
Students undertaking a period of work placement or study abroad, as either a compulsory or optional part of their programme, should be aware that they will have to fund additional travel and living costs.
If a programme includes a major project or dissertation, there may be costs associated with transport, accommodation and/or materials. The amount will depend on the project chosen. There may also be additional costs for printing and binding.
Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen.
There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study. Tuition fee loan information.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas (excluding Initial Teacher Education/PGCE, where undergraduate student finance is available). Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.