Media and Communications: Further information for undergraduate students
- Introduction
- What is 'Media & Communications'?
- Course objectives
- Internships
- Research project
- Honours in Media and Communications
Introduction
The Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) is a three-year full-time degree. Designed to be Australia's premier degree in this field, the BA (Media and Communications) provides students with optimal access to the globally expanding world of media and new communication technologies and to future postgraduate study and research.
The course is deliberately interdisciplinary in nature and offers a distinctive blend of academic study and media-relevant practice delivered by internationally recognised scholars and experienced industry professionals.
Our students are encouraged to develop their understanding of the changing nature and role(s) of media and communications in today's 'mediatized' societies as well as develop practical skills and research aptitudes of use to them in their future careers within today's rapidly changing global media environment. By this means students can determine pathways to a wide range of media-related careers and opportunities and/or prepare a foundation for later postgraduate study and advanced research.
What is 'Media and Communications'?
As a discipline, Media and Communications is concerned with interpretive, theoretical and historical approaches to the media and its communication technologies, in close combination with the development of practical communication skills. An exciting range of subjects enables students to develop a comprehensive overview of the media's place in today's society, economy and culture, to think across media, and to achieve an understanding of the effects of new communication technologies and their impact on the emerging global media environment.
Key areas of interest include:
- the legal, commercial and policy frameworks of media industries
- professional writing
- multimedia and media futures
- cross-cultural communication in the Asia-Pacific region
- media consumption and spectatorship
Course objectives
The Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) has as its objectives that graduates:
- are enabled to develop a comprehensive overview of the media's place in today's society, economy and culture, with an emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region
- are provided with the fundamental writing communication skills required by successful journalists and other media professionals
- are helped to achieve an understanding of the effects of new communication technologies and their impact on the emerging global media environment. In particular, graduates should acquire practical skills in mastering and negotiating new multimedia technologies and the internet
- are trained to think across media, a skill we see as increasingly important for the next generation of media professionals
- are introduced to the humanities and social sciences through a focus on the media
- are offered the opportunity to gain industry experience in the form of internships
- are offered the opportunity to refine their research skills by undertaking a research component in their final year which will allow them to conduct quantitative and/or qualitative research in an area of media and communications
Internships
Students enrolled in the Enriched Major in Media and Communications undertake an internship for credit in consultation with the course coordinator. These are undertaken in the third year of study. Each student may complete only one internship over the course of their degree.
An internship is a period of professional placement as a worker within a media and communications organisation. Work is undertaken under the guidance of an appointed mentor within the organisation.
Research project
In the final semester of third year, enriched Major students complete a final research project for 25 points, designed to prepare them for further study or industry employment.
Honours in Media and Communications
The BA (Media and Communications) Honours is a specialised year of study for students who have achieved excellence in the BA (Media and Communications) or a Bachelor of Arts with a major in a cognate discipline. It is a one-year program at fourth year level, and includes a research component.
University of Melbourne Honours graduates are highly-reqarded for their sophisticated research and communication skills and their capacity for independent work - all qualities highly valued by employers right across the Media and Communications sector and which readily open you to higher degree studies such as: Master of Art by coursework; Master of Art by research degree; or a PhD.