MSc Media, Communication and Development

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Studying at LSE

All the MSc programmes in the Department of Media and Communications| offer the following benefits:

• An intensive, high quality postgraduate education in media and communications.
• A broad social science foundation in qualitative, quantitative, empirical and critical skills.
• A diverse, multi-disciplinary and theoretically oriented approach to contemporary developments, issues and debates in the field.
• A range of specialist courses within media and communications and related fields, including an independent empirical research project.
• An intellectually stimulating, well resourced learning environment, with strong links to media and communications industries and policy makers.
• The opportunity for lively cross-cultural exchange of ideas among a dynamic group of fellow students in the Department and School.
• Study with internationally recognised active researchers with expertise in media and communications and politics and democracy, regulation and policy, technological change, audiences, globalisation, culture, and more.

See also Student, Alumni and Academic Profiles| 

About the MSc programme

This programme offers an intensive, year-long exploration of a wide range of contemporary issues in media, communications and development.

The main aim of this programme is to offer an advanced interdisciplinary education and training in contemporary theory and research in the field of media and communications and its application in low income country contexts. It aims to:

• Provide an opportunity to critically examine the intersection of the fields of media and communications and development research.
• Provide a research training for students wishing to go on to MPhil/PhD research in the media, communication and development field and for entry to a variety of media, communication and development related careers.
• Enable students to develop an understanding of a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of media and communication in low income country contexts.
• Allow flexibility for students to pursue particular topics of interest in the field of media and communication with an emphasis on issues that arise in low income countries.

We attract students from a diverse range of backgrounds, often including professional experience working in media and communications related fields. Indeed, the opportunity for cross-cultural meetings and exchange of ideas among the student body is a valuable feature of studying at LSE.

You should have at least an upper second class honours degree or its equivalent in a social science subject. We particularly welcome applications from those with professional experience in the media and communication fields and, in this case, we would accept a degree in other subjects. Exceptionally we may consider professional experience instead of a first degree.

The Department of Media and Communications requires applicants in receipt of a conditional offer to meet those conditions before registration and before the start of the Michaelmas term.

On graduating, our students enter a variety of careers in the UK and abroad, including broadcasting, journalism, advertising, new media industries, political marketing, market research, regulation and policy, media management and research in both public and private sectors.

See lse.ac.uk/media@lse/alumni|

Compulsory courses
(* half unit)

• Critical Approaches to Media, Communication and Development*
• Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications I (Key concepts and interdisciplinary approaches)*
• Methods of Research in Media and Communications*
• Dissertation

Options

Choose to the value of one and a half units from the following:

• Citizenship and the Media*
• The Audience in Media and Communications*
• Current Issues in Media and Communications*
• Perspectives on Alternative and Community Media*
• Media, Technology and Everyday Life* 
• New Media, Information and Knowledge Systems*
• Media and Communications Regulation*
• Media and Communication Governance* 
• Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications II (Processes of communication in modern life)*
• Identity, Transnationalism and the Media*
• Global Political Economy of Development I*
• Global Political Economy of Development II*
• Gender, Knowledge and Research Practice*
• Gender and Media Representation* 
• Globalising Sexualities*
• Cultural Constructions of the Body*
• Democracy in East and South Asia*
• The State and Political Institutions in Latin America*
• The Politics of Civil Wars*
• Democratisation and its Discontents in Southeast Asia*
• IT and Development
• Aspects of Information Systems for the Public Sector*
• Aspects of IT and Development*
• Representation in the Age of Globalisation*
• Social Psychology of Health Communication*
• New Media, Globalisation and Development*  
• Any other half unit paper which is offered in the School at master's level, subject to the consent of the student's teachers

NB. You must take option courses to the value of at least one half unit from the Media and Communications Department.

Please refer to the School's policy on course capping: lse.ac.uk/coursecapping|

Please note that the availability of option courses is dependent upon a number of factors and thus neither the School nor the Department of Media and Communications can guarantee that all options will be available each year.

Teaching and assessment

The programme consists of four units, including required and optional courses and the dissertation. Courses typically involve a combination of lectures and seminars. The Methods of Research course is taught as a series of lectures and practical classes. You will be examined by written examinations, research assignments, essays related to courses, and the dissertation which must be submitted in the summer.

The programme runs for a full calendar year. Formal teaching is usually completed by the end of the Lent Term. Examinations for all courses are generally held during May and June. The remaining months are set aside for students to complete their dissertations, and it is not normally essential for students to remain in London during these months.

Part-time students will usually take and be examined in courses to the value of two units in each year of study. In the first year, these two units would normally be made up of Critical Approaches to Media, Communication and Development, Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications (Media and Power), Methods of Research in Media and Communications, and one other half unit.

Please note that we do not provide a practical training in journalism, production, campaigning or media management.