BA (Hons) Journalism

UCAS code: P500

Start date: September

Course length: full time: three years, part time: four-six years.

Campus: Kedleston Road and Markeaton Street, Derby

This course is available to international students

We've developed this course with your future in mind. New technologies are revolutionising the industry and the ways people get their news. There has never been a more exciting or challenging time to study journalism and produce content, whether for traditional or emerging media platforms.

As a journalist in this age of digital news, you'll be expected to have a multi platform mindset, creating blogs and podcasts, digital photos, audio/video stories and content for websites and external devices.

You'll need to gather news, interview people, and write news reports and features with accuracy. You'll concentrate on developing the core journalistic research and writing skills, and study media law and ethics, public administration, and shorthand notetaking.

On this course there's an emphasis on developing creative, versatile journalists with expertise in a variety of production techniques. You'll also get a chance to concentrate on a particular journalistic genre, for example sports reporting, literary journalism, fashion or music journalism. You will study research techniques and audience theory and you'll get practical work experience with a media organisation, in the UK or overseas.

You'll be based at our Markeaton Street site, where you'll study in our excellent facilities, which include two radio studios and a fully equipped Television studio, video editing suites, Mac suites and a newsroom equipped with the latest industry standard software.

We're an Apple accredited centre and we use industry standard recording and editing software that's used worldwide, so you can be sure that you'll get relevant practical experience that will give you a real advantage when you're looking for a job.

Honing your journalistic skills

As well as gaining the knowledge, skills and aptitude for journalism, we want you to develop a passion for ideas and creative communication, to seek out people and find the human stories behind the headlines, so you'll focus on intellectual and critical development, as well as the traditional craft skills you'll need for reporting in print, radio, TV and online. The Journalism programme is convergent so practice modules will give you access to the student journalism website www.derbysphere.comwhich serves as a publishing site as well as a learning tool. You'll have opportunities to work on real projects and will do location stories as a matter of course. You may also choose to develop your skills by working for our student radio station, Dusted magazine, or the Sports website run  by the Student Union. 

During your course you could choose work based modules to get essential experience and boost your CV and all students will be expected to do 15 days of work placement by the time they graduate

Previous students have worked for magazines, local newspapers, community radio, BBC and commercial TV and the BBC and commercial radio. We are currently working towards accreditation with the BJTC and enjoying the Accreditation Pending status. 

You'll study a total of 120 credits per year. This will be made up of single or double modules.

Stage one

• Introduction to Journalism
• Reporting Reality (History of Journalism)
• Photojournalism and Reportage
• Introduction to Broadcast News
• Introduction to Public Affairs
• Professional Development in Journalism

Stage two

You'll study modules such as:

• Reporting Practices
• Broadcast Journalism - Radio
• Broadcast Journalism - Video
• Media Law
• Media Ethics
• Print Production
• Research Project
• Conflicting Images: News and the Media
• Media, Culture and Power - European Cultural Studies

Stage three

You'll study modules such as:

• Print Production Project
• Online Production Project
• Convergence Portfolio
• Documentary and Factual: Poetics or Praxis
• Independent Study in Journalism
• Case Study in Law, Ethics and Diversity
• Work Based Learning in Journalism
• Cultures of the War on Terror
• Keeping the Peace: Conflict, Power and Diplomacy since 1945
• Sports Journalism

Our entry requirements are usually 260 UCAS points, of which at least 220 will be from your core A2s (full A levels) or equivalent qualifications such as BTEC Diploma, International Baccalaureate, Scottish Highers etc.

We'll accept up to 40 points towards the total from level 3 qualifications such as AS levels (where those AS levels are not taken on to A2 level), the Extended Project or Music qualifications.

We don't accept points from Key Skills Level 3. If you have any questions about what is or isn't accepted, please contact our Admissions team.

We also accept the Access to HE Diploma.

Your points at level 3 will be in addition to 5 GCSEs at grade C or equivalent level 2 qualifications.

The UCAS tariff points are a guide - we'll also consider all the information that you've included in your application. We'll also want to see that you're enthusiastic and motivated to take this course and that you have the potential to benefit from coming to university.

General undergraduate entry requirements

This is a specialist course.

UK/EU students

• Full time: £8,800 (each year)
• £1,100 per module (you usually take 18 of these modules in total)

International students

• Full time: £10,510 (per year)

*These fees apply if you're starting this course between September 2013 and August 2014. We recommend you check fee details with us though, as they can change. Costs can increase each year.

Highly skilled lecturers

Our media and journalism courses are taught by staff who have first hand experience of working in the industry. They all have many years experience in staff and  freelance journalism, in print, stills, documentary, radio, TV and online media. Most of them also have national and international awards.

Lyn Champion has 25 years' experience of producing series and strands for BBC Radios 1-4 and is a multi-award winning documentary producer and director.  Her production company was one the first to produce music videos for MTV and she was a founder member and Head of Talks at Kiss FM. She is a BBC staff trainer in multi-platform journalism at the BBC Academy, BBC North.

Gail Mellors is a news correspondent for Central TV and is formerly a crime reporter for the Derby Telegraph. She has produced many TV documentaries and on screen reports, live and  Pre-recorded.

Colin Dyter who runs Professional Writing, has has extensive experience in print media including national, regional and local newspapers and a range of national and top flight magazines,  broadcast and multi-media production.

Keith Perch is a print and online specialist who has spent 30 years in the newspaper business,  more than 20 of them with Northcliffe and Associated Newspapers. He has edited three of the country's largest regional daily newspapers and run the main news websites for both local and national newspapers. 

Tony Delahunty is a Sony award winning sports journalist and correspondent and Managing Director of Mansfield 103.2, which was recently awarded Commercial Radio Station of the Year.

Martin Shakeshaft has 20 years experience as a news photojournalist and online specialist with permanent and touring exhibitions, editorial and news images for websites at Channel 4, BBC, S4C, The Economist, the Daily Mirror, the Independent and Newsweek magazine.

Anne Atkins works closely with the NCTJ and has been teaching Teeline shorthand to journalists to 100 and 120 wpm for over 20 years.

You'll develop the knowledge and skills you'll need to become a multi-skilled multimedia professional, ready for a career in journalism, online or broadcast media production, PR, advertising, corporate communications, law and public administration or politics.