StudyQA — Master: Media Education

Description Contents Requirements

The essential focus will be centred on developing expertise in the new discipline of media education formed by media literacy linked to information and communication technology in learning, media production and critical thinking in media saturated societies.

The emphasis encourages the development of conceptual awareness and practical skills that are necessary for competence in reading and writing media, also creating suitable learning environments. The programme will facilitate maturity in the cognitive skills needed to understand and evaluate media and their contents, as well as cultural practice enabling media users to be more than consumers by actively engage in doing mediation for themselves (i.e. as prosumers).

This field is of keen relevance for the development of education curricula across all levels, and especially for children and young people today. Teachers in several stages of schooling want to develop greater expertise to be able to teach about and through diverse mediated platforms effectively.

Moreover, educators in pre-school organisations and youth counselling need skills to reflect on media with children, and competence to organise relevant events, especially media workshops.

Thus the focus for this programme emphasises the respective and combined pedagogies of media and information literacies, as well as relevant pedagogies that will be useful for users in new kinds of learning environments.

Coordinating school: School of Communication, Media and Theatre
Duration: two academic years
Extent: 120 credits/ECTS credits
Programme period: autumn semester 2015 - spring semester 2017
Specialization: Media Education

Students will explore the roles and functions of media and genres of content in everyday life, comparative similarities and differences as a function of cultures and identities (e.g. gendered, age-related, language-based, majority and minority populations, etc). They will learn how to collect, analyse and critique empirical data of many types, quantitative and qualitative, to deepen understanding of trends and dynamics characterising change as well as continuity.

They will be engaged with coursework in the fields of media education and literacy, and graduate study in this field will prioritise the development of theory in media education, especially as this is related to theories about media audiences and users of diverse generations and cultural milieus.

The practical application of theories is pertinent to various contexts, for example in schools, media organisations and public administration. The contents of the program are organized in three categories as 1) research on media education, 2) teaching and learning in mediated environments, 3) developing media education in organizations.

Number of study places

A maximum of 30 students will be admitted to the programme: 15 students to the School of Communication, Media and Theatre and 15 students to the School of Education.

Eligible to apply for the Master's Degree Programme in Media Education is an applicant who has a completed university level Bachelor's degree or equivalent in an area of specialization of the programme.The Bachelor's degree or equivalent must be completed by the time the programme begins. If the degree is not completed by the end of the application period, an applicant can be accepted to the programme on the condition that s/he sends the degree certificate to the School office by the end of July. A successful applicant will, in this case, first receive a notification on conditional acceptance and later an official letter of acceptance once the degree certificate has reached the School office.Language requirementsApplicants must submit evidence on a good command of English for academic purposes. We accept the following tests as a proof of a good command of English: TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language; 90/Internet-based, 575/paper-based IELTS (Academic), International English Language Testing System; 6.5 with no individual score below 5.5 PTE (Academic) 62Other acceptable ways of indicating English language proficiency: A Bachelor's degree in English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States, excluding MBA degrees and online degrees, with the applicant having stayed in the respective country when studying for the Bachelor's degree. Secondary education in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States.Admission procedureStudent selection is made on the basis of the application documents and there is no entrance exam. The major criteria for acceptance are: Bachelor degree in the field of Media studies or Education (Journalism, (Mass) Communication, Education, etc.), language capability, and success in previous studies.Other requirements add merit and will be weighted by the selection committee on a comparative basis.If necessary, applicants will be contacted for an interview by phone or by Skype interface online, which will be conducted by the Professor of Media Education. Other members of the selection committee may participate in the interviews, if desired. The applicants will be assessed on practical fluency in spoken English, sincerity of interest, expression of commitment, and to ascertain any complications or caveats that could impact study progress.Announcement of results and rectification procedureAdmissions results will be announced by 30 April, 2015. All applicants will be informed about the admissions results. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL paper-based test score : 575 TOEFL iBT® test: 90