MA Journalism

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.

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.