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University of Bedfordshire
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
UK, LU1 3JU
This course has been developed in a partnership between the University of Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes College and the local journalism industry within Milton Keynes and Buckingham.
You will benefit from teaching by staff from both institutions, and through workshops and projects led by local employers and industry professionals. There is a vocational emphasis to the course which will involve work placements in the journalism industries and involvement in the running of a university radio station and magazine, which will enhance your work-based learning experience.
During this course you will gain experience in a wide range of journalism, from news reporting to news gathering and feature writing, for a variety of media including newspapers, magazines, TV and radio.
This course offers you a good grounding in the skills and attitude required to work in journalism, helping you to develop new and existing skills using the latest industry standard software and equipment. While on your course you will use: Quark Express, In Design and Final Cut Pro Studio, Photoshop and Illustrator. The course also offers the latest in moving image equipment and audio recording facilities.
During the course you will:
Assessment for this course has been conceived with guidance from section seven (Teaching and Learning) of the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies, 2008 and paragraphs forty - seven to fifty - one of the QAA Foundation Degree Qualification Benchmark, 2004. Both publications emphasize the partnership between theoretical study and work - based learning. Therefore the learning and assessment strategies for this course emanates naturally from the guidance from local employers, their input in delivery and contribution to assessment.
The requirements for assessment range through the types listed below.
Practical Projects are a key learning and assessment tool within the programme and formative and summative assessments of practical assignments are seen as an important method of ensuring your understanding and progress.
Continuous appraisal by both the students themselves and their tutors is a feature of the programme. Formative assessment is carried out in relation to all the assignments that are an integral part of the course. Summative examinations are also held for Teeline shorthand assessment as a means of identifying practical progress in this essential journalistic skill. An accumulation of the work that is done in response to learning activities is assessed summatively at the end of each unit for practical elements usually in the form, of a written, or audio - visual portfolio.
The following are examples of the various assessment methods used:
Key Skills are embedded in the teaching and learning of the course and will be taken into account in all assessments.
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Produce publishable, accurate, legally sound, grammatically secure, creative and readable copy from a variety of sources, working to a set deadline.
2. Collate, analyse and employ a variety of news and feature gathering techniques.
3. Produce work in accordance with professional standards, conventions and legislation.
4. Identify the differing publication platforms and the demands of the audience upon the journalist.
5. Identify the nature of language and meaning within different contexts.
6. Script and transcribe material taken down in Teeline shorthand to a speed of between 60 to 80wpm.
7. Use print, visual and audio equipment and software to industry entry level standards.
8. Identify, evaluate and apply of the structure, organization and implementation of the UK local and central government.
9. Identify and apply the relevant legislation and legal rights of reporting in the UK relevant to all aspects of the journalism industry.
10. Effectively assess the ways in which journalism has developed and the critical and cultural forces which have been applied during the evolutionary process and their origins.
Skill set and the Quality Assurance Agency assert that work-based learning is a defining feature of a Foundation Degree, and so the main aim of this course is to provide a constant relationship between theory and practical experience within workplace contexts.
The course also seeks to provide students with a core of key skills that will enable them to meet the broadcast and print industries requirements for industry knowledge and practice, so that they may demonstrate a breadth of skills needed for todays multi-skilled journalist within a constantly changing multi-media environment.
The course will encourage you to work and learn independently; however this will be achieved with academic tutorial support throughout the course.
A full course of induction week activities is offered for all new students in the Division of Journalism and Communication and at the University Centre Milton Keynes during the first week of your course. All students are supported by induction sessions at the start of each year, by personal and project tutors, by academic advice sessions and by dedicated technical support staff. The induction will familiarise you with the curriculum structure and timetable as well as study support and resources for the course.
Early in the course you will be asked to write a short essay, which will enable us to see whether you may require any special support with your writing skills and your learning. If dyslexia is identified, students will be referred to the either the College or the University of Bedfordshire Disability Support Unit.
You will be allocated a personal tutor and you will meet with your tutor regularly throughout the year. You should have a minimum of three formal one to one personal tutorial sessions during the academic year in order to monitor your progress.
Personal tutorial appointments are also available via a booking system for students to meet with academic staff and discuss aspects of their work and academic progression. A supportive Programme Manager offers both academic and professional practice advice. The role of the Programme Manager is pro-active, enabling issues of concern to be identified at an early stage, and to assist in the retention of students who may be encountering particular difficulties.
The Subject Librarian at the University Centre Milton Keynes is pro-active in assisting journalism and media students, and contributes study support elements where required. The course will involve a work placement as part of the work based learning element of the course. During your placement you will have a supervising tutor and a work placed mentor to ensure that you are able benefit fully from the experience.
The University and Student Union provide centralised advisory sessions for students. If you have problems that prevent you from engaging with the course you should seek advice from the College support service. Details will be in the course handbook.
Most units include group work of some kind. Team working skills are developed through group project work incorporated within both the practice and theory units. Moreover the level two practical modules, with a consideration of work related learning, will involve working with others either through consultation or collaboration.
You will produce creative and realistic solutions to complex problems including time management, monitoring progress to work to deadlines, evaluating your group and individual strategies to achieve the desired outcome. Much of the teaching and learning involves group discussion and you will be expected to participate and contribute to this effectively.
These skills will relate heavily to the work based learning on the course, where you will work in production teams on unit assessments and live project work, such as the projects driven by BBC Three Counties Radio and the on-line magazine.
Careers development is integrated into the course and the course seeks to provide you with an awareness of the real world context of the journalism industries in general. You will be helped to develop a strategy for obtaining appropriate employment at the end of your course.
Professional practice will be emphasised as part of all learning units but the work related learning units especially will help you to become more focused on managing your own career. You will be helped with the preparation of a professional portfolio as well as a CV (curriculum vitae) and material so that you can market yourself.
You will aided in career planning and work based learning placements through the course team and your personal tutor. You may also seek guidance from the careers guidance service, where a careers officer can help you plan for your future employment. You may also consult your work based learning mentor, who may have specific advice regarding specific areas of the journalism industry.
Career:
This course offers you a good grounding in the skills and attitude required to work in journalism. The transferable skills that you will gain will also help you to become a desirable candidate within the media industry as a whole.
Successful completion of this qualification will enable students to enter into the industry or move onto a third year at the University of Bedfordshire.
There are multiple opportunities open to journalism graduates. The obvious openings are as news and / or features journalists within newspapers, radio, television and online. Each of these media platforms is structured into local, regional, national and international layers, all of which require journalists. Behind the scenes in regional, national and international media companies are teams of researchers, sub - editors, production staff, editors, new media producers, columnists and subject specialists.
Subject specialisms often demand journalists with particular knowledge in a specific field, and those fields may form part of a larger organisation such as the BBC or Reuters, or have their own newspapers, trade press and / or websites. News, sport and features journalists are employed permanently within a wide variety of agencies, including news and specialist agencies, and an increasing number of freelancers operate at all levels and within all sectors of the media.
The transferable and relevant skills which journalism graduates acquire on their courses, if these are carefully developed, remain in demand in the fields of publishing; copywriting, public relations work, in - house press office positions, teaching, sports journalism, media research, digital media production and academia.
Progression:
Students who complete their two years on this course will be able to top up their qualification by completing a third year with the University of Bedfordshire. This will enable students to be eligible for a BA subject to achievement in the final third year.
The completion of a third year and a BA full degree at either 2:1 or a first will entitle students to progress on to study for a Masters degree in a specialist journalism or related subject.
The standard top-up for this course is BA (Hons) Journalism.
Standard:
Standard entry requirements for UK students - http://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/ukugentryreqs
Students from the European Union - http://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/eu/guides
International students - http://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/international/apply
Additional:
Portfolio Interview
A foundation degree will be of particular interest if you have completed a Modern Apprenticeship, vocational A levels, BTEC National or equivalent.
Foundation degrees are also particularly suitable if you want to qualify while working.
Many students studying for foundation degrees come to us through work-based routes so you can apply for a foundation degree even if you don’t have traditional academic qualifications.
We welcome applicants with relevant work experience.
We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for both breadth and depth in your current studies as well as enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.
The general requirement is one of the following:
Postgraduate applications (MA/MSc) should be made direct to the University using the standard University application form. There are some exceptions, please see individual course descriptions for details.
As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.
We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications.
(Please note that applicants on a full student visa are not eligible for part-time study)
We recommend that you apply directly to the University where possible, as this allows us to offer the quickest turnaround time for your application.
Please read the Direct application instructions before completing the course application form.
Application forms for accommodation in the student halls at Bedford campus and Luton campus are available in the Student life section
APL is available for international students applying for undergraduate (Bachelor degree) study. Please do not use this APL form to apply for postgraduate courses.
Use the APL form to tell us about any non-standard qualifications and/or work experience you have that you think should be taken into consideration with your application. `
The APL form should be submitted at the same time as the course application form.
We regret we are unable to process APL forms from students who have not submitted a formal course application form.
Return your completed application to:
University of Bedfordshire
International Admissions
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU1 3JU
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)1582 489326 (non-EU Students)
F: +44 (0)1582 743469
E: international-admissions@beds.ac.uk
An essential feature of the learning and teaching will be your involvement in practical learning activities that engage you in written and audio visual communication. At the same time learning activities will take professional and work related practices into consideration. From an early stage in the programme, you will be encouraged to work independently, taking ownership of your creativity and its outcomes, whilst at the same time developing an understanding of the contexts that affect your working. The course aims to build a close relationship between practice and a critical understanding of the role of journalism in society.
At the end of the programme you should be able to realise a journalistic project of your own devising and be able to demonstrate your own particular insights into the cultural and work related contexts in which your own work is placed.
To help you to learn independently and take responsibility for your own learning, the whole curriculum is organised to promote the progressive acquisition and entrenchment of the necessary concepts, skills, attitudes and knowledge associated with journalism. The programme will offer a degree of choice and is flexible in its approach to student learning with an underlying educational philosophy of self - directed learning managed and supervised through close contact with you, the student.
Teaching and learning strategies include practical workshop sessions, personal study involving sustained practice in the studio or workshop or on location, a variety of work related and work based learning opportunities, one to one tutorials / supervision, seminars, demonstrations, and importantly the use of a professional reflective notebook as a means of understanding and documenting your individual progress as a writer and broadcaster.
UCMK recognise that a relatively high proportion of art and design students encounter difficulties with dyslexia. Special arrangements are in place to offer flexibility and learning support in the preparation and submission of written work.
Students with visual impairment may encounter difficulties with aspects of the programme, and there would be a need for prior assessment of requirements and capabilities for this type of student.
The philosophy of the Department is to support and facilitate all students regardless of disability in their chosen field of study whenever practicable.
The Quality Assurance Agency Subject Statement Benchmark for Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies, 2008 highlights a set of subject-specific skills that a graduate from a course such as this should possess. The skills that students will develop while on this course have those benchmark learning standards embedded within them.
N.B. all QAA references are taken from section five and six of the current 2008 publication.
Communication:
Section 6.1: communicating effectively in interpersonal settings, in writing and in a variety of media.
To help with the development of this you will:
Be involved with oral communication that will be practiced and tested in presentations and individual critiques. Written and verbal communication skills will be developed and assessed as part of the contextual studies units. You will be asked to produce work of different lengths and formats that should be properly referenced. Visual and verbal communication skills will be taught through all the practice units and emphasized through differing contexts, such as through Teeline Shorthand sessions and assessments.
In the work - related units you will engage in activities that include working with clients and recording their communications in a variety of documents.
You will assess the quality of your own oral and visual communication and identify areas for improvement and deliver written or presentation assignments which succeed in communicating a series of points effectively.
Information Literacy:
Section 6.1: put to use a range of Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills from basic competencies such as data analysis and word processing to more complex skills using web - based technology or multi - media, and develop, as appropriate, specific proficiencies in using a range of media technologies.
To help with the development of this you will:
Use of a range of computer software is an integral part of the course and these skills are embedded in the practice - based units. Information technology skills development for generic purposes such as research and data analysis.
Be able to complete a complex search using appropriate primary and secondary sources, and draw accurate conclusions independently using the subject methodology. Searching and evaluating internet sources is taught and you will analyse the information found using appropriate techniques. You will be introduced to the services of the LRC where specialist staff will be able to disseminate best practice on this. Your multi-media practice will be fostered through taught and practiced elements in writing and publishing for on-line journalism, where basic HTML skills will be developed. Your use of subject specific ICT such as Adobe InDesign will be developed through group magazine production projects and during your work-based learning projects where appropriate.
Research and Evaluation:
Section 5.3: Research Skills
To help with the development of this you will:
Be encouraged to formulate appropriate research questions in essay planning or newsgathering, and develop the thinking to evaluate sources and conceptual frameworks. The importance of action plans, strategies and success criteria will be measured for both your individual work and any group work that you may be involved in.
Have the opportunity to work in teams and, through your own records or progress and from feedback, you will monitor the groups progress and evaluate its individual effectiveness to achieve its aims. Working individually, you have to set your own tasks to achieve your research goals, drawing on previous learning experience to achieve creative solutions to common problems.
Creativity and Critical Thinking:
Section 5.2: Skills of Intellectual Analysis and Section 5.5: Creative, Innovative and Imaginative Skills
To help with the development of this you will:
Engage with critically a range of major thinkers, debates and intellectual paradigms that inform journalism. Develop your reflexive learning in exploring the emergence of historically relevant movements and processes. This will be encouraged through a series of practical learning activities at the heart of which will be the development of solutions to problems associated primarily with journalism. You will be encouraged to become self-reliant and you will have to decide on action plans and implement these effectively in order to complete work.
The skills that you will develop here will link largely to the development of your literacy and practical production skills in the Practice and Key Skills and the Development and Production Methods units, where you will practice creative thinking in relation to writing and broadcast projects.
Throughout the course you will be involved with reflective practice, the purpose of which is to monitor and document your personal learning journey. Through records that you keep about the development of your work and from feedback you will receive from your tutors, you will be able to monitor your progress and evaluate your own individual effectiveness in achieving your aims. You will have access to your grades through the grading grid, where you will be able to see the outcome of your assessments at any time. Working individually you will have to set your own tasks to achieve your research goals, drawing on previous learning experience to achieve creative solutions to problems. Sometimes you will work in groups and you need to be able to measure your own performance in relation to the group.
As a part of the tutorial system, you will be able to monitor your own progress on your course by gaining access to you electronically stored grading grid. This is an electronic file within a database that contains all of your grades obtained on all of your unit assessments. Your personal tutor will regularly review your progress and help you to develop the reflective and evaluative skills you will need to help you monitor and review your progress as well as setting your own targets for improvement.
You will be able to record your targets and reflections within your Individual Learning Plan (ILP), which will serve as a tracking document for all of your targets and progress.
Your work - based learning progress will be monitored by you, your employer and your tutor on a regular basis through your ILP and through employer evaluation and activity forms, while you are on work placements. (These documents can be found in your work - based learning students handbook).
The essential aims of the course are to develop the students knowledge and professionalism and to enhance your potential for employment within specific sectors of the journalism industries. To this end the course will aim to promote professional attitudes and behavior as well as to provide specific insights into professional ways of working. Your engagement in the course should reflect professional standards and failing to do so may affect assessment outcomes.
Professional standards include:
Every unit within the FdA is designed to equip students with the necessary skills to able to become employed as responsible journalists after they complete their studies.
The professional standards that are implemented within this course are a direct reflection of the National Occupational Standards developed by the sector skills council for this industry and guidance from regulatory bodies such as the NCTJ and the BCTJ. This is reflected in the practical units where the skills goals are influenced from the industry NOS and the units and projects that involve work-based learning elements, where the professional standards and regulations are taken from sector regulators such as OFCOM and the professional industry bodies above.
