Media and Communication MA
Subject and course type
- Language and media
- Postgraduate
At Kingston School of Art, we see the future of media as something to be designed and strategically directed. Kingston University's Media and Communication MA prepares you to lead the next phase of media innovation through advanced media theory, visual literacy, creative strategy, and future focused research.
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Predict, design and lead future trends
In a landscape shaped by AI, machine learning, and large language models (LLMs), you will explore not only emerging tools but the cultural, ethical, and conceptual systems that drive them.
Our MA in Media and Communication will shift your design thinking from the technical know how of the media professional to the strategic know why of the media creative – a distinctive approach that empowers graduates to define, rather than follow, emerging media cultures.
You will investigate how human and machine intelligence co-create meaning, how audiences navigate complex digital spaces, and how creative direction, communication strategy and cultural insight can reshape media for the decade ahead. This curriculum integrates future shaping ideas with rigorous critical frameworks, enabling you to imagine and prototype new media environments with confidence and clarity.
Designed for students who want to lead conversations about media futures, this programme develops the conceptual and creative capabilities needed for emerging roles across creative industries, cultural strategy, communications, and design led innovation.
This is a course for people who want to create the future of media – not simply adapt to it.
I originally planned to stay in Liverpool… however Kingston won me over with its warm welcome! I studied dance for my BA, and when I applied to do my MA in Media, I thought I would feel like a fish out of water, but the course content is so interesting and thought provoking… it sparked a new interest for me. I have used what I learned to take on new challenges
Why choose this course
Kingston University is rated Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), and this MA is delivered by Kingston School of Art – an internationally recognised centre for creative and critical practice. Our programme meets the UK Quality Code for Higher Education and international standards for Master’s level study in media and communication.
Our teaching combines academic depth with real world relevance. Students work with leading academics and industry practitioners who create a collaborative, forward thinking learning environment. External examiners consistently praise the course for the strength of its assessments, the quality of student media work, and the high standard of reflective practice produced on the dissertation.
Our MA equips you with the conceptual, creative and strategic capabilities needed for senior roles across communication, creative industries and cultural sectors.
Studying in Kingston places you within London’s creative ecosystem, with fast access to world class cultural institutions. Field visits – from the BFI Mediatheque to Tate Modern, the V&A and specialist archives – support your learning by connecting theory with the material history of media and contemporary communication practice.
Our MA course could become your global passport for senior creative and leadership roles.
All modules had an impressive array of assessments that allowed students to explore the overlaps between theory and real-life applications. I really appreciated the dissertation as a capstone project. Pieces of media produced by students were strong, and at a higher standard than many other institutions I have seen. The reflective work that emerged from them is a credit to the course and the university.
The Art School Experience
As part of Kingston School of Art, students benefit from joining a creative community where we encourage collaborative working and critical practice.
Our workshops and labs are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.
Course content
You will take three compulsory modules, including a practice-based or written dissertation. These three core modules are worth 120 credits. Then, you will choose two optional modules worth 30 credits each. In total your MA degree is worth 180 credits.
Please note: Optional modules only run if there is enough demand. If we have an insufficient number of students interested in an optional module, that module will not be offered for this course.
Modules
The three core modules and two optional modules are designed to build your capability step by step, from critical foundations to advanced creative practice. You’ll examine media ethics, audience engagement and the role of archives in contemporary media cultures. Your final dissertation or practice based project becomes a key portfolio asset, showing your ability to research, develop and deliver an original piece of work.
Core modules
30 credits
This two-part module is the basecamp of our curriculum. One semester-long strand provides you with the academic gear needed to begin your hike across the shifting terrains of legacy platforms and decentralised media ecology. We draw on media philosophy, UX research, and software studies to unpack current trends such as algorithm shadowban, and the impact of deepfake on political communication or brand image.
The second strand of this module deals with research methods; it provides the compass needed to navigate AI ethics, digital semiotics, and audience affect. Using a mix of open-source tools (such as InVid, Sherloq and C2PA Verify), and industry-standard lab licences (such as NVivo and Microsoft Copilot); we teach you new methods in digital forensics and virtual ethnography. You will utilise LLMs in qualitative coding, conduct verification research to deconstruct deepfakes, and oversee platform audits to detect algorithmic bias.
On completion of this module, you will have three outputs to add to your professional portfolio. These assets are aligned with the proficiency in virtual ethnography of the content analyst, the fluency in visual forensics of the creative director, and the grounding in discourse analysis of the narrative strategist.
30 credits
This module will be your virtual field expedition and audit lab for global media strategy. We explore challenges to platform sovereignty in non-Western parts of the world, alternative approaches to storytelling, and the invisible bias embedded in global AI models.
The module enables you to gain insights into what differentiates the globalist from the stack strategist in media professions. You can then make up your mind whether you wish to style your profile after the former or the latter. As a future globalist, you will be able to demonstrate skills in navigating complex cultural codes and networked audiences. Should you take the professional pathway of the stack strategists, the module encourages you to stand out as the disruptive thinker who can push back on data colonialism and challenge the myth of data neutrality.
On completion of this module, you will have three outputs to add to your professional portfolio. These assets meet the requirements of consultancy reports dealing with geopolitical risk assessment. Understanding what makes a brand or message resonate globally, why it speaks to local or networked sub-cultures, is central to the cultural strategy of global news brands, multinational corporations, and NGOs.
60 credits
Your final major project is the culmination of your journey on this course. You will be supported by an allocated tutor with specialism or interest in your chosen area of creative or professional practice.
You can either undertake a standard dissertation (12,000 words) or a practice-based major project (plus a maximum of 5,000-word critical impact report).
Optional modules
30 credits
This one-semester module deals with some of the most hotly-debated issues in different societies about how to balance core freedoms (expression, press and protest) with media laws and regulations protecting what and who may be potentially harmed by certain forms of expression through censorship. Using specific case studies such as the multi-format strategy of K-content, you will explore the interface between the technology layer and the body layer in new forms of subversion and resistance.
30 credits
This module provides high-value skills for cultural curation, information management, and content strategy. You will undertake field trips to community based and national archives housing multimodal artifacts to interact with real-world media objects. You will learn how to use the past as a database and tool for disruptive remix practices, storytelling in galleries, streaming platforms, and digital heritage. Understanding the role of cultural memory, prepares you for senior roles in content curation, heritage management, or exhibition and gallery research.
30 credits
This module is designed to simulate a professionally-focused industry environment. You will develop television production skills such as multi-camera operation, sound, mixing and teleprompting. The teaching alternates briefing and editing workshops with practical tasks conducted in our professional broadcast studio.
30 credits
This module teaches you how media projects are managed to completion while navigating media laws and ethics. You will learn how to use agreements and licencing, and understand the T&Cs of influencer contracts and disclosure guidelines in the broader field of art and content production.
The module prepares you for the gig economy to handle client pressure, navigate media copyright laws, and cultivate ethical resilience.
30 credits
The module is taught in different 15 credit strands, to provide students with a breadth of themes and specialists subjects on the most contemporary issues in media ecology. The content of the strands may range from celebrity and fandom, digital art curation, horror film, and K-pop.
Whilst the number and specific focus of the strands may vary from year to year, the content is always current and teaching delivery pattern as well as assessments in various strands remain the same.
Optional placement year
You can transfer to the Professional Placement mode of study following completion of 120 credits.
It provides students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills in an appropriate working environment, and to develop and enhance key employability skills and subject specific professional skills in their chosen subject.
Career opportunities
After you graduate
You could take on an internship or progress straight to a full time role. Previous graduates have gone on to work in the media and cultural industries. Others have roles in government, PR, publishing, radio and journalism, or social media content creation.
Links with business and industry
We organise and host international conferences on a wide range of subjects. Previous events have included the E-Poetry Conference, Black Metal conference, Hegel and world history conference, and BTS: A Global Interdisciplinary Conference Project in 2020.
Research with impact
Many of our staff are active in research, which means they bring the latest thinking and best practice to your studies. Their portfolio of academic works, digital art exhibitions and practical projects covers disciplinary areas including video production, digital art, electronic literature, globalisation theories and the music industry.
Teaching and assessment
Essays, reports, position papers, presentations, research projects, practice-based projects, and dissertation (either written or practice-based).
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically involves reading and analysing articles, regulations, policy documents and key texts, documenting individual projects and preparing coursework assignments.
Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the University's online virtual learning platform.
At Kingston University, we know that postgraduate students have particular needs and therefore we have a range of support available to help you during your time here.
A course is made up of modules, and each module is worth a number of credits. You must pass a given number of credits in order to achieve the award you registered on, for example 360 credits for a typical undergraduate course or 180 credits for a typical postgraduate course. The number of credits you need for your award is detailed in the programme specification which you can access from the link at the bottom of this page.
One credit equates to 10 hours of study. Therefore 180 credits across a year (typical for a postgraduate course) would equate to 1,800 notional hours. These hours are split into scheduled and guided. On this course, the percentage of that time that will be scheduled learning and teaching activities is shown below. The remainder is made up of guided independent study.
- 16% scheduled learning and teaching
The exact balance between scheduled learning and teaching and guided independent study will be informed by the modules you take.
Your course will primarily be delivered in person. It may include delivery of some activities online, either in real time or recorded.
Type of assessment
Assessment typically comprises practical (e.g. presentations, audio/video production) and coursework (e.g. essays, position papers, reports, self-assessment, portfolios, dissertation). The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows, though depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose:
- 100% coursework
Please note: the above breakdowns are a guide calculated on core modules only. If your course includes optional modules, this breakdown may change to reflect the modules chosen.
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
We encourage our students to treat their assessment outputs as professional assets for their media portfolio. Your personal tutors will help you curate your theory-into-practice portfolio to showcase your digital artifacts, sample writings of professional communication, industry-linked live briefs, data visualisation generated through research methods, and documentation of the creative process such as sketchbooks, mood boards or storyboards designed for your final major project or other assignments.
Fees and funding
| Fee category | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | |
| Full Time | £12,900 |
| Part Time | £7,095 |
| International | |
| Full Time | £21,500 |
| Part Time | £11,825 |
| Fee category | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | |
| Full Time | £12,400 |
| Part Time | £6,820 |
| International | |
| Full Time | £20,700 |
| Part Time | £11,385 |
Fees for future course years
Part time
If you start your second year straight after Year 1, you will pay the same fee for both years.
If you take a break before starting your second year, or if you repeat modules from Year 1 in Year 2, the fee for your second year may increase.
Funding support for postgraduate students
If you are a UK student living in England and under 60, you can apply for a loan to study for a postgraduate degree. Find out more through the government's website.
Scholarships and bursaries
Interested in studying Media and Communication MA at Kingston? The following funding support is available:
Get a 40% reduction in fees for taught masters or postgraduate diploma courses with September start dates. Find out more.
Receive up to £5,000 towards tuition in your first year of study. Find out more.
Get a 15% reduction in tuition fees. Find out more.
Kingston University offers a 10% discount on full- and part-time postgraduate degree course tuition fees to our alumni. Visit our alumni discount page to find out more.
I enrolled in this course after I graduated from the American University in Beirut, Lebanon with a degree in drama and performing arts. Kingston is a great place for international students, for its social activities and the friendly atmosphere of its campuses. The course nurtured my passion for photography. I now work as a social media manager for luxury jewellery brands while exploring new opportunities with sustainability-focused NGOs in the MENA region.
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Kingston University will pay for all compulsory field trips. Fees for optional trips can range from £30 to £350 per trip.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
How to apply
Before you apply
Please read the entry criteria carefully to make sure you meet all requirements before applying.
How to apply online
Use the course selector drop-down at the top of this page to choose your preferred course, start date and mode, then click 'Apply now'. You will be taken to our Online Student Information System (OSIS) where you will complete your application.
If you’re starting a new application, you’ll need to select ‘new user’ and set up a username and password. This will allow you to save and return to your application.
Application deadlines
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Applications will close when the course is full.
After you apply
If the admission tutor wants to see your portfolio, we will email asking you to upload your zipped portfolio to the OSIS portal within three weeks. If we need more information or want to invite you for an interview, we will be in touch directly. After that you will then hear whether your application has been successful.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
