58 Journalism, Media, and Mass Communication Degree Programs in South Africa

This 1-year full-time, on-campus advanced diploma is designed for ambitious individuals ready to launch or boost their careers in marketing, advertising, and brand communications. The programme blends strategic thinking and creative execution across modules in digital marketing, brand strategy, consumer behaviour, content creation, and media planning.

This Postgraduate Master program will prepare you for the vast field of Communications. The Master of Communications investigates effective vs ineffective communication and the specialists who use it. Students confront genuine communication issues, develop usable communication skills, and build a strong portfolio.

Our unique academic program lets our students engage with exciting new trends in various creative disciplines, popular visual cultures, and cutting-edge design technologies. They begin with a foundation year where students have the opportunity to experience all of our visual disciplines: Graphic Design, Photography, Art Direction, Illustration, and Multimedia, before choosing a major visual subject to take through to their third year. This allows for a unique understanding of visual communication as well as an opportunity for our students to truly curate their learning according to their avenues of talent and interest. We combine this practice with subjects like Marketing, Business Leadership, Discourse, and Visual Studies, ensuring our students are at the forefront of an industry that is constantly evolving. The five majors (Applied Illustration, Art Direction, Graphic Design, Multimedia & Photography) focus on creative and industry-related practical knowledge and skills, with the remaining three components delivering vital context and theory that set our graduates apart in the South African job market.

The Publishing Studies team conducts industry-related research on behalf of the Publishers’ Association of South Africa (PASA) and the South African Booksellers’ Association (SABA), and their courses are endorsed by PASA. They also work with the Association of Publishing Educators, based in the UK.

The doctorate in Corporate Communication is designed to develop highly specialized and in-depth theoretical, professional, and research skills within the disciplines of Corporate Communication and Communication.

A dissertation on a theme from Journalism that provides evidence of the critical sense and research capability of the candidate is required. A research article that is suitable for publication is also required.

Strategic Communication Honours facilitate both theoretical and applied competence in strategic communication. Specialized knowledge of strategic communication theory facilitates the ability to critically review, consolidate and extend strategic communication theory to create appropriate responses and to resolve abstract contextual strategic communication problems.

Students who have a Diploma in Public Relations and Communication should be able to execute specialized public relations activities; produce communication media for the public relations context; use theory to shape the broader context in which a public relations practitioner functions; use administration and leadership qualities as a public relations professional.

Communication designers are creative thinkers and problem solvers who use a range of design methods, processes, and techniques to create professional communication designs, such as posters, books, magazines, corporate identity programs, packaging, and websites, both individually and as members of teams.

The Doctoral study program comprises a thesis that makes an original contribution to the field of Journalism on a topic selected in consultation with the Departmental Chairperson. A maximum of four advanced seminars on relevant aspects of the topic of study and an oral examination (the equivalent of two papers each consisting of four modules) as prescribed in the General Regulation book are required. A research article that is suitable for publication in an academic journal is also required.

The purpose of this program is to explore a wide range of forms of human communication from a variety of perspectives that connect the local and the global and are rooted in African contexts and experiences. As an inherently interdisciplinary and flexible program, the MA in Communication Studies intersects a multiplicity of fields and areas in the humanities and social sciences and offers an opportunity to explore their complementarity and interconnectedness.

This program is designed to facilitate mastery of a complex and specialized knowledge area within the discipline of Corporate Communication. The focus of this qualification is on the development of conceptual knowledge and skills at highly abstract levels that will facilitate highly specialized and advanced technical, professional, and research skills in corporate communication.

Full-time students register for five modules. Part-time students register for the specialization modules and the research essay in the first year. In the second year, part-time students register for Communication Theory and an elective module. Any two of the elective modules are not necessarily offered every year.

The purpose of this programme is to explore a wide range of forms of human communication from a variety of perspectives that connect the local and the global and are rooted in African contexts and experiences. Our curriculum develops an innovative participation studies approach that addresses the specific communicative, cultural and social contexts in which we operate. As an inherently interdisciplinary and flexible programme, the BA Hons in Communication Studies intersects a multiplicity of fields and areas in the humanities and social sciences and offers an opportunity to explore their complementarity and interconnectedness.

This is an advanced study program that can be completed as a coursework-based study program. This program is designed to facilitate mastery of a complex and specialized knowledge area within the discipline of Strategic Communication. Due to an increasing convergence of Marketing Communications, Corporate Communications, and Public Relations, the program will address the integration between these communication disciplines.

The purpose of this program is to explore a wide range of forms of human communication from a variety of perspectives that connect the local and the global and are rooted in African contexts and experiences. As an inherently interdisciplinary and flexible program, the MA in Communication Studies intersects a multiplicity of fields and areas in the humanities and social sciences and offers an opportunity to explore their complementarity and interconnectedness. This qualification allows students to identify, explore and research a relevant and pertinent topic, and produce a written research dissertation, under the constructive supervision of a senior researcher in the department. The focus of the dissertation is based on the proposal submitted by the student and decided upon jointly with the supervisor(s).

A dissertation on a theme from the field of Marketing Communication providing evidence of the critical sense and research capability of the candidate is required. A research article that is suitable for publication is also required.