Political Communications and Public Affairs (Taught)

This unique MSc in Political Communication and Public Affairs is for those already working in communication or PR, or those who wish to move into the area, and will enable you to enter careers in public affairs, policy communication, campaigning, or advocacy.

The course offers highly relevant theoretical knowledge and strong development of vocational skills. It focuses on the intersection of communication, media, and politics as the area of knowledge fundamental to communicators working across public, private, and third-sector organisations, as well as across a range of economic, social, or cultural sectors.

Communication, media, and culture not only shape people’s lives but are also pivotal to the way in which politics and policymaking work. Companies and brands have recognised this for some time now in their lobbying, advocacy, and social responsibility work. In this age of activism, so have ordinary people when they mobilise to advocate for ways - laws and policies - to change how governments and companies go about their business. There is politics (and policy) in the food we eat, in the education we get, in how we travel, in how we build homes, in who makes our clothes, and in what happens to them when we no longer use them. And this is what this course is about.

We recognise the growing importance of specialist skills that combine communication with strategic management and an understanding of public affairs. Many organisations, from huge corporations to grassroots organisations, rely on public affairs specialists to conduct their activities, look after their reputations and, most importantly, have a say in how the world is shaped by what governments and legislators do.

On this course, you will develop communication expertise that combines strategic communication with an understanding of policy communication in the contemporary media landscape.

As you will learn, not all people who do these jobs think of themselves as public affairs specialists. Some may be called policy officers or public engagement managers, but whatever the job title, there are core competencies that you need and that you will start developing with our help.

Course Modules

• Contemporary Issues in Political Communication (20 credits): The aim of this module is to enable you to develop a sound understanding of political communication understood as a range of professional and institutional communication practices operating in contemporary democratic systems of government.

• Public Affairs (20 credits): The aim of this module is to enable you to: develop knowledge of public affairs as a strategic organizational function focused on political environment; develop a sound conceptual framework for professional public affairs practice, combining fields of policy analysis and communication (with special attention to aspects of political communication); develop a number of strategic planning and public affairs competencies (research and problem definition, argumentation, campaign planning); and to reflect on public affairs as a professional practice (ethics and regulation).

• Research Methods: Problems and Solutions (20 credits): The module aims to provide you with a deep understanding of the way that research is designed, conducted, and communicated and to use this to develop a viable proposal for future research.

• Industry-based Learning and Professional Development (20 credits): The module aims to provide you with a deep understanding of the way that research is designed, conducted, and communicated and to use this to develop a viable proposal for future research. It includes a placement.

• Strategic Communication and Digital Practice (20 credits): This modules aims to develop: a critical understanding of the role of strategic communication within wider contexts including business and organisations, agencies, campaign groups and NGOs; a critical understanding of ethics, social responsibility and social justice and how strategic communication can impact on society; and the ability to apply theory to create creative PR campaigns including a range of communication activities and digital tactics.

• Reputation, Issues and Crisis Management (20 credits): This module examines organisational issues and crises and explores the impact this can have on reputation. It will equip students with the knowledge and tools to critically examine risk, synthesise knowledge on strategic responses to crises and develop leadership skills in recommending courses of action to senior management. Through a critical examination of case studies, students will evaluate repair strategies and apply them to practices through a table-top simulation.

• Digital Communications (20 credits): The evolution, diffusion, and adoption of digital technologies have fundamentally altered the way we live, work, relate to one another, and conduct business. These technological and societal changes are having a far-reaching impact on the communications, public relations and marketing disciplines, presenting huge challenges as well as opportunities to the industry. This module provides a sound theoretical and practical knowledge of digital communications based on a critical understanding of current and emerging technologies, digital strategies and social media platforms. The module examines a number of topics including: using AI, digital strategy; social media; search engine optimisation and AI-powered search engines (SEO and GEO); online community building and management; stakeholders analysis; issues management; web analytics and big data; content marketing; online customer journey and ethical and legal aspects of digital communications.

• Non-fiction Film Production (20 credits): This module will: provide you with a practical understanding of the principal skills, techniques, and practices necessary to manage and create a digital project; and facilitate critical understanding of the impact of communication practice and the importance of ethical and social responsible objectives through researching, identifying, planning, and implementing a campaign film/photography project.

• Dissertation (60 credits).