Online
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Apr 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 12,000 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning
Key Summary
Introduction
The MA Global Media and Digital Cultures (online) is a unique interdisciplinary programme.
It offers critical grounded knowledge of global media and digital cultures in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with a focus on the dynamics between media and politics and diplomacy, media and social/political change, media and development, media and conflict, media and representation and media and identities. The degree prepares students for jobs in the media and communication sectors, government agencies, non-governmental organisations, UN bodies and international organisations.
Taught by leading scholars and drawing on SOAS expertise in the Global South, this MA programme provides students with a non-Eurocentric approach to addressing some of the key debates in contemporary lives – populism, hate speech, fake news, access and representation, inequalities (with a specific focus on gender and minorities) and transnational communities and diasporas. The course will expose students to the main discussions around the role and impact of global media players, including tech companies on digital economies and futures.
Our research in film and media has been ranked in the top 20 in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, with more than a third of our research publications assessed as 4* (world-leading).
Gallery
Ideal Students
Who Should Apply
Designed for recent graduates as well as professionals who are looking to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for careers in the media sector as well as in PR, communication systems and companies, government, education, NGOs and the UN.
Admissions
Curriculum
Our modules are centred around learning via discussion forums. Each week, the Associate Tutor introduces the topic and provides some relevant recordings to help students with the readings. In addition, the module convenor holds monthly meetings with students to discuss the main issues arising.
Dissertation
- All students will take a compulsory Dissertation.
Taught Component
- All students will take two compulsory modules, one core module, and one guided option.
Core Module
- Global Media and Digital Cultures (Online)
Compulsory Modules (Choose one)
- Digital Diplomacy (Online)
- Transnational Communities and Diasporic Media (Online)
Guided Option
All students will take one guided option from List A below.
List A
- Gender, Conflict and the Middle East (Online)
- Global Diplomacy: Global Citizenship and Advocacy (Online)
- Muslim Minorities and the State: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Online)
- Muslim Minorities in a Global Context (Online)
- Cultural Diplomacy (Online)
- Diplomacy and Power: International Actors in the Middle East (Online)
- Contemporary Themes in Media and Religion (Online)
- Media and Development (Online)
- Contemporary Global Issues in Media and Gender (Online)
Career Opportunities
Graduates from the Centre for Global Media and Communications gain expertise in media, communications and film production within a global framework. Graduates develop a portfolio of transferable skills including communication skills, interpersonal skills and team work, which are highly respected by employers.
Recent graduates have been hired by:
- Africa Mediaworks Ltd.
- Al Jazeera
- Associated Press
- BBC
- Breakthrough Breast Cancer
- British Film Institute
- Channel 5
- Comic Relief
- Cordoba African Film Festival
- Discovery Communications
- Equality Now
- Hackney Film Festival
- International Channel Shanghai
- Internews Europe
- Merlin
- Novus
- Office for National Statistics
- Royal College of Art
- The Institute of Ismaili Studies
- Unilever
- United Nations
- Westminster City Council
Faculty
Program delivery
This program is taught 100% online through our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
In the VLE you will have access to learning materials and course resources anytime so you can fit your studies around your existing commitments. For each module, students will be provided with access, through the SOAS Library, to all necessary materials from a range of appropriate sources.
A key component of the student experience will be peer-to-peer learning, with students enrolled in discussion forums.