MA in Magazine Journalism
Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline *
EARLIEST START DATE
Request earliest startdate
TUITION FEES
GBP 10,900 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* there is no application deadline for postgraduate courses
** home full-time: £10,900 | international full-time: £17,700
Introduction
Why choose this course?
Kingston University was ranked No.3 in London for journalism, publishing and public relations in the Guardian University Guide League tables 2022.
Do you aspire to work in magazines? This course will give you the best possible start on the road to success. It addresses subjects such as writing, sub-editing, magazine production, blogging and design techniques, research skills and how to generate lively, interactive content for the web.
This course features hands-on activities such as feature writing, interviewing, sub-editing, magazine production, blogging, and writing and uploading online copy.
In an editorial team, you will produce two magazines and a magazine website and undertake a placement on a published title.
You will also have the opportunity to study magazine design, production, fashion and sport or data journalism. Finally, you will carry out a 12–15,000 word dissertation or a related practical project.
Reasons to choose Kingston University
- Kingston has a successful partnership with magazine publisher Haymarket, which offers placements, joint projects and job opportunities.
- You will produce an online and print magazine. For the last three years it has been shortlisted for, and/or won, the national Student Publication Awards.
- Our popular design classes will cover professional training in both InDesign and Photoshop. You will produce video journalism and podcasts as well as have access to the new media lab at our Knights Park campus and the new library's dedicated magazines/journals area.
Experience and hands-on learning
Our tutors are practising journalists who share their wide range of experience. This course also features guest speakers from national magazines and newspapers in both print and online. Past speakers have included Rachel Rodriguez – social media producer at CNN International, Zing Tsjeng – UK editor of the feminist channel Broadly, Guardian feature writer, Simon Hattenstone and Jon Snow of Channel 4 News.
Work placements, leading to job offers, have been at GQ, Grazia, Hello! and Spindle online. We have a successful partnership with Haymarket Network – the award-winning customer publishing division of the largest private magazine publisher in the UK. This offers the opportunity to work on joint projects, which have included programmes for the London Olympics.
Award-winning journalism
In 2017 our MA Magazine Journalism students won a prestigious national Student Publication Award in the Best Newcomer magazine section for the Kingston University magazine, Woke (online). And in 2018 the student magazine Persist was shortlisted for the Best Design category. Persist (in 2018) and fellow student magazine Loudly (in 2019) were shortlisted for Best Magazine Design at the Student Publication Association Awards.
Gallery
Admissions
Curriculum
What you will study
Our Magazine Journalism MA prepares you to work in the magazine industry. It gets you ready for anything you might come across: from writing features for a women's weekly or putting together a news story for a trade publication, to making a video or building a brand. It offers detailed, hands-on grounding in core journalistic skills, including feature writing, news gathering and writing, design, production and media law. Context is provided through the study of the business of magazines, ethics and journalistic practices. You can choose to study shorthand as an optional extra.
You'll be expected to take five core modules, four of which are worth 30 credits each; the other one is worth 60 credits. You can also choose an option module. Altogether you'll need to complete 180 credits.
You can also study shorthand in order to assist with your NCTJ exams.
Year 1
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and practical workshops covering writing, interviewing, sub-editing, magazine production, blogging, and writing and uploading copy for the web. You will produce a magazine (print and online), and undertake at least one placement on a published title.
You will also write a 12–15,000-word dissertation or carry out a related practical project.
Core modules
- Journalism in Context: Law, Ethics and the Industry
- Creating Magazines: Content and Context
- Feature Writing
- MA Journalism Dissertation
- Practical Journalism Project
Not for credit
- Shorthand (Postgraduate)
Option module
- Journalism Specialism
Optional placement year
Many postgraduate courses at Kingston University allow students to do a 12-month work placement as part of their course. The responsibility for finding the work placement is with the student; we cannot guarantee the work placement, just the opportunity to undertake it. As the work placement is an assessed part of the course, it is covered by a student's Student Route visa.
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.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
After you graduate
Our Magazine Journalism MA prepares you to work in the magazine industry. It gets you ready for anything you might come across: from writing features for a women's weekly or putting together a news story for a trade publication to making a video or building a brand. It offers detailed, hands-on grounding in core journalistic skills, including feature writing, news gathering and writing, design, production and media law. Context is provided through the study of the business of magazines, ethics and journalistic practices. You can choose to study Teeline Shorthand as an optional extra.