Media and Global Communication – (M.Sc.)

The International Master’s Degree Programme in Media and Global Communication (MGC) is offered by the Department of Social Research / Media and Communication Studies at Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki. The programme is supported by Helsingin Sanomat Foundation.

The MGC programme is designed to give you an understanding of the theories of media, globalisation, and communication. You will learn the analytical approaches and methods of undertaking empirical research with a focus on media structures, policies, new communication technologies as well as journalistic practices in a global context.

You will be trained fully in English to become a media professional and to understand and analyse the new challenges globalisation presents to media industries and to journalism. The expert teaching staff of MGC will train and tutor you in a high standard learning environment.

The programme accepts both Finnish and international students who have gained a Bachelor’s degree in media and communication studies. The graduates of the programme will be awarded a Master of Social Sciences degree in communication with a specialisation in Media and Global Communication.

Over the last decades the media as a business sector and journalism as a profession, as well as the audiences have become more and more international due to globalization. The media sector needs internationally competent employees on all levels including the management level. There is a need for expert journalists to report on international issues. In the academic spheres, too, the focus shifts from national media phenomena to more global and international arenas.

The communications technologies as an infrastructure has made convergence possible between previously separate areas of broadcasting, print, and telecommunications. This convergence brings forward new types of connectivity, content and the circulation of mediated products that create new social imaginaries. The aim of this Master's programme is to study the dynamics of Globalization within the field of media and communication. The students will be encouraged to do research on the outcome of these processes and changes reflected in societies in the shape of political, economic, social and cultural activities.