Political Communication (Taught)

This MSc Political Communication is an advanced course that follows a diverse, globally conscious curriculum. It gives you the opportunity to explore key issues at the intersections of politics, media and public policy.

Why choose this course?

• This course is a collaboration between our School of Social Sciences and School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, designed to offer you the flexibility to combine politics modules with more practical training in areas such as digital journalism, conflict negotiations or public relations.

• It is closely linked to activities at Birkbeck’s Centre for British Political Life so you will gain direct access to events, talks and networking activities featuring MPs, leading academics, big tech and journalists.

• Academics on this course have led research that is shaping UK policy on AI strategy, open data transparency, fact-checking and science communication.

• You will gain regular opportunities to get involved with political communication research through funded collaborative projects.

What you will learn

On this course you will explore important topics at the heart of political communication, such as media’s impact on political behaviour, misinformation and digital campaigning. It also equips you with critical insights and practical skills used by grassroots and institutional actors to communicate with their audiences.

This course is underpinned by a core module exploring political communication from a comparative perspective. You may choose to specialise in specific areas of politics, such as governing public services, British politics or theories of public policy, or in media, e.g. digital branding, digital journalism or public relations.

How you will learn

Teaching relies on a mixture of lectures and seminars to prepare you for a variety of research-based and practical roles within the strategic and political communication field.

This course is available to study full- or part-time and follows an evening timetable.

This course is part of our Birkbeck Flexible Master’s UK, which gives you the choice of how you want to study - on campus, online or via flexible learning, which combines both.

If you require a Student visa to study in the UK, you will only be able to apply for the on-campus study option for this course. Online and flexible options will not be available to you because they may affect the conditions of your visa.

Highlights

• Our MSc Political Communication offers graduates and practitioners in adjacent fields (media, government) an opportunity to engage with research in pursuit of their professional aims and to strengthen their communication skills.

• We organise a lively programme of seminars and conferences and are home to affiliated research centres which run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research.

• Our academic staff are international authorities in their respective fields, publishing and delivering stimulating teaching in a wide range of political topics including civil society and the state, public policy, development, gender, international security and terrorism, and social and political theory.

Careers and employability

On successfully graduating from this course you will have gained an array of transferable skills including:

• strong digital research skills

• critical thinking and analytical reasoning

• strong presentation skills.

Some politics graduates join the civil service or parliamentary offices; several MPs are Birkbeck alumni. In particular, this course is designed to enhance career paths in:

• strategic communication and research

• publicity and professional communications

• media including investigative reporting

• politics, including local politics.

Graduates from this course have gone on to employment in media, central and local government offices, tech companies, campaigns groups and think tanks.