Is BA Professional Journalism NCTJ-accredited?

The course's media law, public affairs and shorthand modules are designed around the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism syllabus. Students choosing to sit NCTJ examinations alongside the BA are supported in doing so. We do not currently hold formal NCTJ accreditation; the curriculum is structured around what UK newsrooms recruit for.

Do I have to learn shorthand on BA Professional Journalism?

Shorthand is a core module taught to Teeline 100 wpm for students who choose to pursue NCTJ exam alignment, and is highly recommended for any student aiming at a regional newsroom role. Students focused on digital-first or specialist publishing routes may opt for a digital-skills alternative.

Can I study BA Professional Journalism online?

Yes. The online route runs the same weekly newsroom seminars and uses video filings, with court and public-affairs reporting completed in your own local area under tutor supervision. Distance learners attend two intensive on-campus weeks per academic year.

What is the difference between BA Professional Journalism and BA Multimedia Journalism?

BA Professional Journalism focuses on core news reporting, media law and the disciplines of a working regional or national news reporter. BA Multimedia Journalism puts more weight on cross-platform video, social and podcast production. Both are credible routes; choose by where you see yourself working.

Will BA Professional Journalism prepare me for a national newspaper?

It builds the foundations. Most national newspaper hires come through trainee schemes after early-career regional or specialist experience. BA Professional Journalism gives you the portfolio, the law literacy and the reporter discipline to compete for those trainee places and the regional roles that lead to them.

BA Professional Journalism in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BA Professional Journalism at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a three-year UK honours degree in core news reporting — the disciplines a working journalist uses every day across press, online and broadcast. You will report and write news from the first week, study UK media law in depth, complete the shorthand training employers still ask for at interview, and graduate with a substantial working portfolio of published news, features and short investigations.

This degree is built around the core craft. We do not treat journalism as a specialism you pick up in year three; we teach you to be a news reporter from the start, on real stories, with deadlines that move every week. By graduation, you have done the work a junior reporter at a regional title is asked to do — and done it well enough to compete for the job.

Key Features

Weekly news reporting — pitch, report and file news stories every week of the academic year.
Media law strand aligned with NCTJ syllabus standards across the three years.
Shorthand training to 100 words per minute (Teeline) for students who choose to pursue NCTJ exam alignment.
Court and public-affairs reporting modules with visits to local courts and council meetings.
Industry masterclasses with working journalists at national titles, regional newsrooms, broadcasters and specialist publishers.
Graduating portfolio of published work assessed against UK regional and national newsroom hire standards.

What You Will Learn

The BA Professional Journalism is structured around three years of producing real news. You leave able to walk into a regional newsroom, take a news desk brief at nine, file a story by lunchtime, attend a court hearing in the afternoon, and write up the day for publication — under UK law and house style.

News reporting — story construction, top-line discipline, attribution, accuracy.
News writing — house style, sentence-level craft, headlines, intros, structure.
Interviewing — telephone, in-person, doorstep, on-the-record and background.
UK media law — defamation defences, contempt, reporting restrictions, harassment, privacy, data protection.
Court reporting — magistrates', Crown and civil; the structure of a hearing and what you can and cannot report.
Public affairs — UK central and local government, councils, devolved bodies, public records.
Shorthand — Teeline to 100 words per minute for students sitting NCTJ alignment.
Ethics and standards — Editors' Code, IPSO and IMPRESS, accuracy logs, right-of-reply discipline.
Feature writing and longform — research, structure, narrative discipline.
Digital publishing literacy — web writing, social distribution, audience metrics.

Who This Course Is For

School leavers who want a UK honours degree in core journalism with the skills regional and national newsrooms recruit for.
International students looking for a UK journalism degree taught in the heart of the London news industry.
Career-changers from teaching, law, the civil service or the third sector ready for a three-year commitment to journalism.
Mature students with community-newspaper, blogging or community-radio experience ready to formalise their practice.

Career Pathways

The BA Professional Journalism feeds graduates into the full range of UK newsroom employment — regional press, online news titles, national newspapers (entry routes), broadcast newsrooms, specialist publications and corporate journalism functions. Typical first or next roles include:

News Reporter (regional newspaper, online title, hyperlocal publisher)
Staff Journalist (specialist trade title, magazine, B2B publisher)
Multimedia Journalist (national title digital desk, social-first publisher)
Press Officer (NHS trust, local authority, charity, professional body)
Editorial Assistant (national newspaper, magazine, broadcaster)
Junior Sub-Editor (national or regional title, online publisher)

Graduates progress to an MA in Investigative Journalism, International Journalism, Broadcast Journalism or Documentary Journalism for specialist focus, or directly into staff reporter roles.

Entry Requirements

Three A-Levels at BBC or above (or international equivalent — IB 28 points, BTEC DMM, or accepted national qualification).
GCSE English Language at grade 5 or equivalent English proficiency test.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A short personal statement; a short written sample may be requested.
Mature applicants (21+) without standard qualifications may apply with a portfolio and short interview.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.