MA in Digital Media, Culture and Society

Develop in-depth knowledge and skills at the intersection of digital media, culture and society.

• Develop skills and knowledge that allow you to engage critically with key debates and issues in the study of digital media and technology.
• Become an informed, culturally aware and competent stakeholder in digital technology and culture, with an in-depth understanding of issues including social media, identity, artificial intelligence, data, platformisation, and surveillance.
• Learn from an interdisciplinary team, drawing on ideas and methods in digital media studies, digital humanities, science and technology studies, visual studies, history, geography, sociology, and the arts.
• Enhance your employability through critical and technical skills that are applicable to a wide range of careers.
• Benefit from opportunities to engage first-hand with the people, projects and organisations that shape the digital transformation of culture and society.

The MA in Digital Media, Culture, and Society offers advanced interdisciplinary study in the critique and use of digital media and technology with a particular focus on their cultural and societal implications.

The emergence of digital artefacts is a defining challenge of the twenty-first century, with transformative effects on our cultural production, our social bonds, our economies, and our political systems. Digital media make possible new modes of intellectual pursuit, artistic expression, and civic engagement which students will study through critical analysis and active engagement. At the same time, technology enables novel forms of surveillance and inequality: from the erosion of privacy to algorithmic bias, this course empowers students to recognize digitally mediated threats to civil society. Students will also learn how digital technology transforms the way in which we interrogate and curate the cultural record: students will have the opportunity to learn a range of digital skills, such as data analytics and visualisation.

The course brings together a diverse student body from different backgrounds in a research-led, seminar-based, interactive curriculum that prepares them for leadership roles as critical thinkers and practitioners in the technology sector and the cultural and creative industries.

Throughout the course you will learn to critically engage with the cultural and societal impacts of digital media and technology; evaluate digitally-mediated forms of intellectual pursuit, artistic expression and civic engagement; and conduct independent research on and with digital technology and media.

Course unit details

This MA course consists of core and optional course units and a dissertation, made up of 180 credits.

Core modules

• Introduction to Digital Media (30 credits)
• Digital Methods (30 credits)
• Dissertation (60 credits)
• Optional modules
• Data, Culture and Society (15 credits)
• The Digital Self: Living in Networked Times (15 credits)
• Social Media and Platforms (15 credits)
• Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms and Society (15 credits)
• Spatial History: Mapping the Past (15 credits)
• Producing Digital Projects (15 credits)
• Digital Heritage (15 credits)
• Placement (15 credits)

Optional units build on the knowledge and understanding you have gained in the core units, and enable you to develop expertise in a range of domains. Please note that optional units can vary from year to year.

Full-time students take 60 credits of optional course units. Part-time students take 30 credits of optional course units each year.

Dissertation

You will undertake a 15,000-word dissertation during the summer, with individual supervision by staff members. Your choice of course units and dissertation topic will enable you to specialise in areas such as social media, data studies, artificial intelligence, digital humanities, and others, depending on your preferred career paths and/or research interests.

The MA prepares students for careers in the growing digital technology, cultural and creative sectors, including marketing, data analytics, journalism and publishing, digital media and communications, design, visual arts, fashion, think tanks, NGOs, education, project management, consulting, and policy.

Students can also progress and further develop their skills and interests in PhD study. You will benefit from a wide range of CV-building opportunities on the course, and your supervisor provides you with personal and career development support.