Master of Arts - Visual Journalism

University of South Wales - Cardiff

The MA Visual Journalism course has a strong visual theme, designed for both the journalism and wider communications sectors. The curriculum will allow students to focus on mastering a broad suite of technical and practical (and most often visual) communication skills, such as smartphone or mobile journalism and content creation, video, audio, stills, pages, graphics, news or feature writing and scripting, and media law.

In addition, the PR element of the course includes topics such as the theory and practice of corporate and institutional reputation management, and the communications toolkit roles and elements such as lobbying, campaigns, content marketing, events, SEO and evaluation. Opportunities for work-based learning are integrated, and at the heart of the course, students have the opportunity of working with industry partners.

The course recognizes that content is king when it comes to communications and offers a practical and theoretical approach to understanding the way the digital age has impacted on the business of communications and journalism. It has the key Reithian principles of 'inform, educate and entertain' at its core. It encourages an understanding and practical application of the production and circulation of information in the digital era and seeks to build critical competencies while recognizing that the way people live, work, and communicate has been reconfigured in recent years.

Students will be taught via a mix of workshops, seminars, lectures and tutorials, as well as guest lectures and masterclasses from industry professionals and the opportunity to work with industry partners on projects and placements. Students will have the opportunity to join a rich range of added value activities offered around the faculty plus bespoke ones for their own course. 

Learners will develop a professional portfolio in a range of media and a strong social media presence, along with learning essential skills to prepare them for employment or freelance working in the communications and/or media industry. Students at USW Cardiff can benefit from industry-standard equipment, software and studio and production facilities.

Possible career options include communications, journalism, public relations, marketing, advertising and related areas in the business, public and charitable sectors. Graduates can go on to become Digital content producer, content marketing executive, press relations officer, journalist, communications officer, social media executive and content editor.