Public Relations with New Media – (M.A.)

This innovative MA programme offers the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of public relations as a form of communication and pays particular attention to the growing importance of digital and interactive media on the practice of public relations and its manifold impacts on the mass media industry.

Who can apply?

Students electing to study Public Relations at postgraduate level typically come from a range of academic and professional backgrounds. Some already work in the PR sector or in related fields such as marketing, sales and advertising. Some students have recently completed undergraduate degrees in a wide range of disciplines and are looking to move into the PR or the professional communications sector. Others work or have experience in organisations placing great importance on the need to communicate with their various stakeholders or are looking to enhance career prospects within their current employment by developing real communications expertise. In short, there is no typical student – just students who share certain interests and career aspirations.

What is Public Relations?

Public Relations is the management of all relationships and communication within an organisation and between an organisation and its outside audiences. To this end the public relations function pays particular attention to reputation with a view to creating better understanding of the organisation among all stakeholders.

What is New Media?

‘New Media’ is a term that describes the emergence of digital, computerised, interactive communication technologies. Interactivity is a key aspect of many new media tools and this course focuses on how organisations are using these interactive media to communicate with stakeholders such as customers through the use of the worldwide web etc. The global reach of new media communications technologies has important implications for the practice of public relations and this course focuses on the changing nature of corporate and professional communications as a result of the rapid advances in digital technologies.

The course aims to provide students with a strategic and systematic understanding of the theory and practice of public relations and offers students the opportunity to develop their professional communication skills within a challenging, supportive and easily accessible framework. This innovative MA programme offers the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of public relations as a form of communication and pays particular attention to the growing importance of digital and interactive media on the practice of public relations and its manifold impacts on the mass media industry.

By developing student’s research, planning, managerial and multimedia skills the course aims to produce graduates who can display leadership and show the capacity for innovation within the dynamic and fast evolving professional communications industry. Course content focuses strongly on PR tools and techniques, particularly within the growing new media environment, and on the increasing globalisation and convergence of the media industries. Furthermore, the course aims to equip graduates with the knowledge, skills and competencies required to effectively function as a public relations professional in an era of high-speed and interactive digital communications.

Aims

The course aims to provide students with a strategic and systematic understanding of the theory and practice of public relations. It aims to equip graduates with the knowledge, skills and competencies required to effectively function as a public relations professional. The course pays particular attention to the growing importance of digital and interactive media on the practice of public relations and its manifold impacts on the mass media industry. By developing student’s research, planning, managerial and multimedia skills the course aims to produce graduates who can display leadership and the capacity for innovation within the dynamic and fast-evolving professional communications industry.