Media & Journalism with Professional Placement

Leverage journalism’s power for good.

This Media & Journalism degree is for creatives who want to combine their passion for writing with multimedia mastery, to tell the stories that really matter. On this hands-on degree course, you’ll hone the creative, technical and critical skills required to thrive in modern journalism and the ever-changing world of digital media.

Joining a collaborative newsroom environment, you’ll work on industry-aligned briefs to produce newspapers, websites, broadcast programming and social media content with the power to shift the dial. Sharpening your multimedia skills across photography, video and audio, you’ll also develop your creative confidence, intellectual agility and resilience – a vital complementary skillset for all aspiring journalists and media practitioners.

While crafting compelling stories, you’ll deepen your understanding of documentary and longform journalism; exploring how generative AI and other digital tools are shaping our understanding of the media environment. Crucially, you'll get to grips with media law and ethics and understand how journalists engage with global politics and big societal issues.

Graduates of Falmouth’s Media & Journalism degree will be ready for roles such as multimedia reporter, content producer, photojournalist or production researcher: confident, adaptable and equipped to take a leading role in the dynamic news and media landscape.

Why study this course at Falmouth?

• Learn to use new and emerging digital tools, including AI, to help discover and communicate stories that matter.

• Master the art of finding and researching news angles, including how to ethically and professionally approach and interview people.

• Work in professional-standard creative facilities: including a newsroom, professional scriptwriting and editing suites and a wide range of cameras and audio equipment.

• Collaborate with students from other courses in response to industry-aligned briefs, to build a strong portfolio and career-ready communication skills.

You’ll develop the creative, strategic and technical capabilities that power modern media and journalism careers, from digital storytelling and photography to advanced research and communication skills. In a collaborative newsroom environment, you’ll work independently and in editorial teams on industry-aligned briefs while experience with audiovisual equipment and professional-standard production software and applications.

You’ll hone your ability to write for different audiences, platforms and purposes and develop your multimedia storytelling skills by exploring global news cultures. You’ll also refine your project management, research and pitching skills.

By the time you graduate, you’ll have a strong body of practical work and the ability to analyse, adapt and lead within the evolving worlds of journalism, communication and digital media production; ready to make meaningful change through your practice.

Year one
Your first year is all about developing the core skills and working methods you will apply throughout your studies. You will engage in writing, research, critical thinking, digital and organisational tasks and explore how to see the world through a journalist’s eyes.

The study of news and the world of current affairs and politics will provide a framework for your practice. You will also explore how culture is made, shared, and transformed through digital media.

Modules
Writing Studio
Essentials of Editorial Photography
News Lab: Multimedia Reporting 1 
Journalism, Politics & Society
Discovering Digital Cultures
News Lab: Multimedia Reporting 2

Year two
Building on your learning and the creative confidence established in your first year, you’ll further develop your skills and thinking

Through collaborative group projects and responding to industry-aligned media briefs, you’ll learn about longer-form journalism, studying the work of noteworthy writers and documentary-makers as well as creating your own feature article. This work will be underpinned by the study of media law and ethics.

Modules
Media Law & Ethics
Creative Non-Fiction
News Lab: Local is Global 
Making Magazines
Collaboration
Long Story

Year three
You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks. You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation.

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth.

Year four
Your final year will be spent deepening your craft and employability skills as you become an independent learner, researcher and practitioner. Working in an industry-aligned newsroom environment, you will take on editorial roles and produce multimedia work to weekly deadlines.

You will learn advanced research and investigation skills as a platform for your final major project, which might be a documentary, a dissertation, or a portfolio of writing or multimedia journalism. The final year also embeds the business, promotional and entrepreneurial acumen needed to accelerate your path to career success.

Modules
News Lab: Going Live
How to Be Right: Advanced Investigation and Research
The Springboard
Final Major Project options: Mini documentary / Creative Portfolio / Dissertation

As part of our process of continuous improvement, we routinely review course content to ensure that all our students benefit from a high-quality and rewarding academic experience. As such, there may be some changes made to your course which are not immediately reflected in the content displayed on our website. Any students affected will be informed of any changes made directly.

100% of your assessment will be coursework.

Assessment methods
Media & Journalism students receive feedback throughout their studies, whether as part of the work done in classes or constructive responses to their marked assessments.

We use a mix of assessment methods, listed below, which all arise from coursework.

Portfolio – a selection of your work, sometimes in the form of a structured report 
Presentation – a presentation made to a lecturer, class and/or panel 
Report – a formal summary of a project or other activity 
Journal – a reflective record of your learning and practice 
Essay – an academic argument addressing a question or a hypothesis 
Practical – an example of your creative or journalistic work 
Case Study – a written analysis of a particular example relevant to the context 
Critical evaluation – a written evaluation of another’s or your own work 
Dissertation – an extended piece of academic writing, or longform written or media project