Course overview
Our MA Journalism is an exciting programme that prepares graduates for the dynamic and competitive world of journalism and communications.
It has the rare advantage of dual accreditation by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC). This highly regarded combination, along with our impressive work placement and industry mentoring programmes, opens the doors to organisations including the BBC, ITV, and a whole network of local, regional and national newspapers and radio stations.
About this course
Our MA Journalism programme provides you with all the skills you will need to work across different platforms – online, TV and radio. You will learn how to find and write news stories, interview and establish contacts. Hands-on camera, studio, editing and mobile journalism skills are taught so that our trainees are confident and competent on their industry work placements.
We also cover the increasingly important areas of social media skills, verification techniques, data journalism and analytics. Shorthand is embedded in the course and you will sit your NCTJ diploma alongside your Masters.
Awareness of professional roles, law, public affairs and the regulatory responsibilities of journalists is taught, along with a critical understanding of the political and commercial structures within which the media operate. All the skills you learn come together for your Journalism Project when you can do more in-depth research on a topic of your choice to produce a multi-media project, a short video documentary or a podcast.
Our annual Journalism and Media Week runs every November consistently attracting big names from the industry. You will report the events live across multimedia platforms, interview guests and develop longer features. Above all else, it’s a great chance to make key contacts. To view some of our MA student reports throughout Journalism and Media Week, visit Journalism and Media Week - Yorkshire Voice
Specialist Facilities
You’ll have access to industry-leading spaces and equipment including production rooms, Mac and PC editing suites, and TV, radio and photography studios. These specialist facilities are designed to help you produce high-quality professional work across platforms including web, newspapers, magazines, television and radio.
Scott Trust Bursary
Join Us By Applying For The Scott Trust Bursary
The Guardian Foundation’s bursary scheme for a place on Leeds Trinity University’s MA Journalism programme has now closed for the next intake in September 2024.
The primary aim of the bursary award is to assist students who face financial difficulty in attaining the qualifications needed to pursue a career in journalism, and who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the media. In particular those from a lower socio-economic background; Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds; LGBTQ+ and people with a disability.
Those who are awarded a bursary get tuition fees; living expenses; mentoring and paid work placements at the Guardian and the opportunity for a fixed-term contract at the Guardian starting after graduation.
Check out the Guardian Foundation’s website for more information.
Why study with us
- Meet the ‘gold standard’ of journalism training on our MA Journalism programme. The rare dual accreditation by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) are the accreditations which recognise the quality of the course and are what editors look for when recruiting trainee journalists.
- Receive financial support through a PG loan or bursary. Postgraduate degrees are an investment. For eligibility criteria and for more information, visit our Student finance pages.
- Learn from experienced journalists with an in-depth knowledge of the industry, coming from a variety of backgrounds, including TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and digital media.
- Make valuable industry connections from:
- Your lecturers, many of whom still work as journalists and who have worked for national broadcasters such as BBC Radio 1 and 4, ITV, Channel 5 and Sky News, as well as international publications like Seventeen magazine in New York.
- Industry placements which form part of your degree
- Journalism and Media Week – our annual week of talks, gives you the opportunity to hear from industry experts representing the UK’s leading broadcasters, newspapers, magazines and digital media outlets. Past guests have included Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling, Channel 4’s Jon Snow and ITV’s lead news anchor, Nina Hossain.
- Alumni mentoring programme - connects every trainee with a successful industry mentor. Mentors have included alumni and business partners who have worked for ITV, The Mail on Sunday, Global Radio (including Heart, Capital, BC radio stations), the BBC and the Yorkshire Evening Post to name a few. The mentors develop a personal relationship with their mentees and provide bespoke careers advice, support and some can even support work placements for their Leeds Trinity journalism trainees.
Accreditation
Our MA has rare dual accreditation by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).
These are the accreditations that editors look for because they mean that the trainee has successfully completed a course that meets the 'gold standard' of journalism training. The accreditation recognises the quality of the course in developing journalists for the demands of a fast-changing multimedia industry. Students sit the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism alongside their MA at no additional cost for their first attempts.
Course Modules
You will study a variety of modules across your programme of study. The module details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Year 1
These are the core modules you'll study on this degree.
News Skills (Core)
The module covers the core skills needed to be a successful and effective journalist in the digital age. You will learn how to source, verify and write content and learn the most effective ways to tell those stories making best use of online platforms. We also cover interviewing; video; photography; smartphone journalism; using data; understanding analytics and social media skills. This module also includes shorthand.
Many employers in the journalism industry insist on shorthand qualifications and all employers consider it a valuable skill. The ability to write accurate notes when interviewing or covering meetings and court cases is vital – both ethically and legally.
Shorthand (Core)
Many employers in the journalism industry insist on shorthand qualifications and all employers consider it a valuable skill. The ability to write accurate notes when interviewing or covering meetings and court cases is vital – both ethically and legally.
Law, Ethics and Regulation (Core)
This module gives you the knowledge required to operate as legally safe journalists and be confident in what you can and cannot report. It will cover relevant law including defamation; contempt of court; reporting restrictions; defences; copyright; juvenile crime; sex offences; hate crime; trolling and privacy. It also includes media ethics, Ofcom and the Editors’ Code of Practice. You will also attend court hearings. An innovative and exhilarating module.
Live Production (Core)
In this module you’ll be learning all the skills needed to broadcast in radio, TV, online and on social media including voice training. You’ll learn how to film, edit, record audio, make podcasts and present live news programmes.
Public Affairs (Core)
You’ll develop your knowledge and understanding of how government works at a national and local level, how they are linked, where news stories come from and how to develop them. You’ll learn how to hold public bodies to account by using freedom of information requests.
Professional Placement (Core)
There’s no better way to learn than to spend time in a professional working environment and you’ll fulfil a minimum of three weeks on a journalism-related placement. It’s a chance to get a sense of real-world roles and responsibilities while those offering the placements get the opportunity to identify potential talent. You will also learn how to use the latest digital tools to create your own professional network and develop skills to prepare you for a career in the media industry.
Journalism Project (Core)
You will showcase all the skills developed over the year with us to create your own journalism related ‘showstopper’. It could be a tv or radio documentary or a multimedia portfolio. This tests your ability to research and create the content of your choice with a compelling story at its heart.
Learning and Teaching
At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.
Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:
- high quality teaching
- an engaging and inclusive approach to learning, assessment and achievement
- a clear structure through which you progress in your academic studies, your personal development and towards professional-level employment or further study.
We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.
We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:
- Student Involvement and Engagement
- Inclusion
- Integrated Programme and Assessment Experience
- Digital Literacy and Skills
- Employability and Enterprise
To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.
We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:
- Personalised support
- Expert lecturers
- Strong connections with employers
- An international outlook
- Understanding how to use tools and technology to support learning and development
Assessment
Assessments mainly consist of coursework portfolios where you will be producing journalism of your own for different platforms including online, TV and radio studio output. Some modules are assessed through exams – for example, Law, Ethics and Regulation, Public Affairs and News Skills.
Entry Requirements
Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits; we value highly the experience you illustrate in your personal statement.
The following information is designed to give you a general overview of the qualifications we accept. If you are taking qualifications that are not included below, please contact our Admissions Office who will be happy to advise you.
- A good honours degree in a relevant subject (usually 2:2 or above) or relevant industry experience.
- Applicants will be invited to attend an interview where we want to find out more about your interest in our course and journalism in general.
For more information on meeting English language requirements and academic requirements by country, visit our International Applicants page.
Please contact us for personalised advice on 0113 283 7123 or at admissions@leedstrinity.ac.uk
Fees and finance
Funding
UK Home Students:
For information about our tuition fees please visit our Student Fees and Finance pages.
If you studied your undergraduate degree at Leeds Trinity University, you may be eligible for a discount of up to 50% on the cost of your tuition fees.
International Students, including EU Students:
Visit our web page for international students.
Journalism Bursaries
The Journalism Diversity Fund Bursary
This bursary is available to UK students from a socially or ethnically diverse background who are planning on studying for an MA Journalism degree. For eligibility criteria and further information, visit the Journalism Diversity Fund website
Scott Trust Bursary
The Guardian Foundation’s bursary scheme for a place on Leeds Trinity University’s MA Journalism programme has now closed for the next intake in September 2024.
The primary aim of the bursary award is to assist students who face financial difficulty in attaining the qualifications needed to pursue a career in journalism, and who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the media. In particular those from a lower socio-economic background; Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds; LGBTQ+ and people with a disability.
Those who are awarded a bursary get tuition fees; living expenses; mentoring and paid work placements at the Guardian and the opportunity for a fixed-term contract at the Guardian starting after graduation.
Check out the Guardian Foundation’s website for more information.
Leeds Trinity Alumni Discount
Some Leeds Trinity graduates are eligible for a tuition fee discount on postgraduate courses of up to 50%, excluding PGCE Delivery Partner Model and Lead Partner Model, and Masters by Research courses. You will need to achieve a 2:2 or above in a Leeds Trinity undergraduate course to qualify.
| Postgraduate course | Leeds Trinity Alumni Discount |
|---|---|
| MA programmes | 50% for Leeds Trinity graduates with a 1st class honours degree |
| MA programmes | 35% for Leeds Trinity graduates with a 2:1 honours degree |
| MA programmes | 20% for Leeds Trinity graduates with a 2:2 honours degree |
How to apply
There is no official closing date for applications, but the course will be closed when it is full. We therefore encourage you to make your application as early as possible.
Please ensure you complete the application form in full and supply all the required supporting documentation when you make your initial application. Incomplete applications may be rejected.
If you need advice on your application, please contact our admissions team on 0113 283 7123 (Monday to Thursday, 9.00am to 5.00pm, or Friday 9.00am to 4.00pm) or admissions@leedstrinity.ac.uk
Home applicants - How to apply
Applicants who require a Student Route Visa
Applications for September 2024 entry are now closed for students requiring a Student Route Visa in order to study in the UK. Applications for 2025 entry are due to open in early October.
If you require a Student Route Visa in order to study in the UK, then you must apply to us by Sunday 30 June 2024.
Part-time study is not available for international students on a Student Route Visa.
For additional information, including academic requirements by country, visit our country and region page.
International applicants - How to apply
What happens next?
Our admissions team will acknowledge receipt of your application by email.
Where applications are submitted but references are still in progress, admissions will wait for the reference(s) to be received and then will process it, and forward it to the relevant Programme Leader within five days of receipt of the reference(s).
The Programme Leader will make a decision based on your application. You may be asked to provide a reference to demonstrate your academic and non-academic experiences, or you may be invited to attend an interview. If you are successful and are made an offer, the conditions will be outlined in your offer letter.
Applications will be acknowledged within five working days. Applicants will be contacted within 15 working days with a request for additional information, invite to an informal interview or an application decision.
Made an offer?
You should accept or decline your offer by emailing admissions@leedstrinity.ac.uk.
If you accept, you'll need to prove you satisfy the conditions outlined in your offer letter.
You may be asked to present the relevant supporting documentation in person to the student information point on campus, if originals are not needed you’ll be contacted and given details of how to provide the supporting documentation.
I loved every aspect of the course, but the news days were the best part for me – especially the TV news days because my goal was to work in TV journalism. Now that I work for ITV, I realise even more how helpful those news days were. The facilities, equipment and training we received on TV news days were of the same standard as what I now use every day at ITV.
Production Journalist, ITV Calendar and Student of the Year, NCTJ Awards for Excellence 2022 MA Journalism graduate
“The experience I gained learning about mobile journalism, TV and radio, and creating content for a range of different platforms and audiences has been important in my career. Being asked to knock on people’s doors in week one of the course, helps build your confidence and ability to interview people in real life. Being taught in a small group means you know your tutors as actual people, which really makes a difference to how you learn.”
Reporter/Producer for BBC Radio Merseyside and winner of the Grassroots category at the ARIAS Awards 2023, MA Journalism gradute
The Yorkshire Evening Post says...
"The many MA graduates from Leeds Trinity who join us as trainees are ready to hit the ground running as they are NCTJ trained and have all the skills we are looking for. They have progressed into senior roles after such a strong foundation - and we value working with tutors to help the journalists of the future to flourish."
Laura Collins, Editor of the Yorkshire Evening Post
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