School of Creative Industries

BA (Hons) Journalism

BA (Hons) Full-time 3 years, Part-time 6 years

Are you passionate about storytelling? Are you bursting with ideas and questions? Do you want to make sure issues which matter to your community get the attention they deserve?

Are you passionate about storytelling? Are you bursting with ideas and questions? Do you want to make sure issues which matter to your community get the attention they deserve?

Award
BA (Hons)
Start date(s)
September 2024
UCAS Code
P501
Course specifications
Course length
Full-time (3 years),Part-time (6 years)
Campus location
University: City Campus
UCAS points calculator

Why choose this course?

Are you passionate about storytelling? Are you bursting with ideas and questions? Do you want to make sure issues which matter to your community get the attention they deserve?

If so, you are already a journalist!  A BA (Hons) in Multimedia Journalism at the University of Wolverhampton will give you the tools you need to turn that passion into a career.

Whether it’s as a broadcaster on mainstream media like the BBC, a freelancer running your own podcast or online magazine, or a social media influencer, we have the expertise and equipment to make sure you can hit the ground running in a competitive market.

Journalism at Wolverhampton is part of the brand new multi-million-pound Screen School on the City Campus.  As a journalism student here, you will work in two new TV studios, a radio studio and a fully equipped newsroom which all match the standards of the big employers like ITV, the BBC, Sky News, Global Radio, The Times, The Guardian and many others.

You will be taught by award-winning broadcasters and journalists who continue to work in the industry and have up-to-the-minute knowledge and experience of newsrooms and broadcast technology.  This is all backed up by a dedicated team of technicians.

You will be able to get your hands on industry-standard TV cameras and take them out to film real news stories in the community.  You will be supported to create podcasts and write articles.  And you will explore some of the most controversial issues facing the industry right now.

You will be encouraged to follow your own passions be that in sports journalism, political reporting, photojournalism, or documentary-making.

When you leave us after three years, not only will you have an academic degree, you will have the legal training required by all big news organisations, and you will have a portfolio of work which can help you sell your talent to potential employers or clients.

 

 

What's unique about this course?

  • Journalism at Wolverhampton is part of the multi-million-pound Screen School.

  • You will work in two new TV studios, a radio studio and a fully equipped newsroom which all match the standards of the big employers like ITV, the BBC and Sky news.

  • You will be taught by award-winning broadcasters and journalists who continue to work in the industry and have up-to-the-minute knowledge and experience of newsrooms and broadcast technology. 

  • You will work in two TV studios, two radio studios and a fully functioning digital newsroom. 

  • You will make live TV new programmes, podcasts and news websites. 

  • You will be taught the tools to promote yourself as an online influencer and trusted internet news source. 

  • You will be supported in a work placement with a mainstream news outlet or public relations department. 

  • You will have opportunities to report at Premier League and EFL football stadia. 

  • You will receive comprehensive media law training, essential for securing a job in journalism

What happens on the course?

You will spend your first year getting fully trained on the same technology used by the very best professional journalists.  By the end of the year, you will have produced your first TV and audio reports.  You will also explore some of the theory and ideas around modern journalism and get a firm grounding in Politics and how it interacts with our role.

Throughout your second and third years, you will be a full member of the team producing “WLV NEWS” from our studio complex on City Campus.  Once a week, we run a professional digital newsroom producing a TV news programme, a radio current affairs show and podcast, a digital 

news platform, and social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok, all under the WLV News brand.  You will join a roster and take on roles such as Presenter, Reporter, Producer, News Editor and Online Editor, and together you will produce high quality broadcast and online news under real-world conditions.  By the end of your two years as a journalist on the WLV NEWS team, you will have a body of work with which you can impress potential employers.

Away from the newsroom, your second year will also include comprehensive legal training for reporters; a basic requirement for employment to all reputable news organisations.

We will also focus on the written word, and how to research and write great feature articles for magazines, newspapers, and online platforms, and on the unique discipline of photojournalism.

In the summer break between second and third years, we will support you to find a work placement in a professional newsroom or equivalent, and we will help you to make sense of the experience.  As part of this module we will also help you build your online presence and brand as a journalist.

In your final year, as well as taking on more senior roles in the weekly WLV News team, you will get the chance to flex your creative muscles by independently producing a TV documentary or podcast focussed on an issue of your choice.

We also explore the world of public relations; how it interacts with the work of journalists and how it could also offer a fascinating career option for you.

In short, by the end of your three years active journalists will have given you will have hands-on experience of every area of a journalist’s working life, and researchers and academics will have led you through some of the most contentious and fascinating debates around the industry.

Additional Information

BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism 

Wolverhampton School of Art

  • For more information about the Wolverhampton School of Art: visit our home page.
  • Discover more about our outstanding facilities – visit our facilities pages.
  • Check out the work of our 2023 graduating students on our Degree Show page.

Course Modules

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

We have a lovely campus here at Wolverhampton, with great facilities: two fully- equipped television and radio studios, newsroom, HD cameras, editing suites, and a dedicated enthusiastic team ready to help you at anytime. This course is designed to meet current industry standards for broadcast and print journalism, where the use of multimedia news packages is essential for delivering news to broad audiences. Our course offers placements, career advice and other networking opportunities for all of our students and considers the development of innovative and entrepreneurial skills to allow students to engage in local, national and international media, working in partnerships or as freelancers, and connecting them with employers and professional bodies.

You can showcase your work and start building your own audience by contributing to our students online news channel, check out the latest student work and follow us on Twitter: @weare_BCN.

Students from all years of the course can contribute to the news channel; we encourage you to work in teams to cover Radio, TV and Online media creation. It is a great opportunity for you to act like journalists in a controlled and safe environment.

Comment from our External Examiner:

"Each year the samples material I have read contained wonderful work from exciting modules with an impressive range of academic and practical assessment tasks. I appreciate that a great deal of work goes into how to achieve the best results from students. The internal markers applied impressive standards in grading, providing high-quality feedback and should be congratulated on the quality of the Course content."

Further Information

Bianca Fox is a Senior Lecturer in TV, Broadcasting and Journalism at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Before this, she held a Lecturer position at the University of Huddersfield. She is a former freelance journalist and holds a Ph.D. in Media and Communication Studies. Bianca has an outstanding international scientific background, she was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Westminster in 2011 and at the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle in 2015, and has published in international journals from the UK, Italy, Germany and the USA. She founded the Research Centre CCMRC.eu, is an active member of important international scientific associations, including IAMCR, ECREA, MeCCSA, and an active editorial board member of Journal of Journalism and Mass Communication, Interpersona, and International Journal of Communication and Health. Broadly, and her research interests lie in multi-platform journalism, digital culture, and media sociology.

Qualifications: PhD in Media and Communication Studies; Fellow of the Higher Education Academy; Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education; MA in Media and Communication Studies; Bachelor of Arts (English Literature); LLB (Bachelor of Laws).

Maria Urbina’s professional experience has focused on online media, corporate communications and international journalism. She has worked as online editor as well as PR manager in different Chilean media outlets and institutions. Her professional activity includes developing media content for multimedia platforms as well as implementing media strategies for corporate communications. As a foreign correspondent, Maria has covered political and economic affairs in Europe and Central America for Spanish speaking newspapers and magazines, such as the economic magazine America Economia and La Segunda. She was awarded the Prize for Economic Journalism by the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and Instituto de la Empresa in 2014. Maria’s joined the University of Wolverhampton in 2015 as Senior Lecturer where she teaches journalism related modules. Her teaching experience includes positions at Nottingham Trent University and The University of Sheffield. Maria's academic interests are political culture, media, and multimedia journalism in the global south.

Qualifications: PhD in Politics; MBA; PGDip in Marking and Management; BA in Media Studies and Journalism; BA in History.

Manuel Hernandez - A former Reuters correspondent, Manuel has worked for numerous global media outlets, such as CNN and other multinational corporations. He has focused his work on two main areas: generation of news content for specialised audiences (financial, business and political affairs) and planning and implementing corporate communications, PR and marketing plans. Manuel is a PhD candidate at the University of Leeds. Originally from South America, where he also worked for Brahma and Unilever in marketing and public relations, he has been teaching media-related modules at the University of Wolverhampton since 2004. He has a particular interest in Data Journalism, CSR and NPOs.

Qualifications: M.Dip in Media Management; MSc in Public Relations; PGCE in Higher Education; Fellow of the Higher Education Academy; Licentiate in Media Studies and Journalism.

Media practitioners - Guest lecturers from the industry include practitioners from ITV, 5Live, Wolverhampton Express & Star, Big Centre TV, etc.

  • Reporting for broadcast and online

  • Live TV News production

  • Radio and podcast production

  • Video editing

  • Audio editing

  • Camera operation

  • Script writing

  • Media Law

  • Personal brand-building

  • Live presenting

  • Employability

  • Team Working 

Location Mode Fee Year
Home Full-time £9250 per year 2024-25
Home Part-time £4625 per year# 2024-25
International Full-time £14950 per year 2024-25

Additional Course Costs

Additional Materials: £50 to 250 per semester - Prices vary according your subject of practice.

Additional Field Trips: £50 to 500 - Prices will vary according to location.

Additional Events: £350 - Degree Show/New Designers.

Costs will vary according to the medium and mode of your practice but considerations will be around materials, installation and presentation.

Further information on these additional costs will be provided prior to the start of your studies

Further information on these additional costs will be provided prior to the start of your studies

The University is committed to a transparent fee structure, with no hidden costs, to help you make an informed decision. This includes information on what is included in the fee and how fees are calculated and reviewed

Typical entry requirement: 96 UCAS points

  • A Levels - grades CCC / BCD
  • BTEC L3 Extended Diploma or OCR Cambridge L3 Technical Extended Diploma - grades MMM
  • BTEC L3 Diploma - grades DD
  • Access to HE Diploma (60 credits) of which a minimum of 45 must be at Level 3 (96 UCAS point equivalence, minimum 45 credits at merit)
  • UAL L3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design or Creative Media Production & Technology - grade M
  • QQI (Quality and Qualifications Ireland) Level 5 and Level 6

Use the UCAS Tariff calculator to check your qualifications and points

Other Requirements

Those meeting the entry requirements may be shortlisted to attend an interview. Further details can be found at https://www.wlv.ac.uk/apply/how-to-apply/4---after-youve-applied/subject-specific-applications/. Applicants will also be required to provide satisfactory reference.

Students must have studied a minimum of two years post GCSE level. However, it is expected that some applicants will be mature students with work experience, who wish to further their career development. These applicants will be processed through standard procedures, which may involve an interview as part of the process. Please see http://wlv.ac.uk/mature for further information.

 

Tuition Fees Loan (Home Fee Status):

Most students will be able to apply for a loans to pay for these subject to eligibility. To find out more information please refer to the government Student Finance website.

Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as having Overseas Fee status. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) click here.


Self-funding:

If you don’t want to take out a loan to pay your fees or if you aren’t eligible to receive a loan, you might want to take advantage of the University’s scheme to pay by instalments: See How to pay.

For more information please contact the Gateway.


Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

If your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.


Financial Hardship:

Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund.

for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.


Bursaries and Scholarships:

In addition the University also offers a range of Bursaries and Scholarships packages

You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

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