How is the MA Communication and Media Practice different from a CIPR Diploma?

The CIPR Diploma is a professional-body practitioner qualification. The MA Communication and Media Practice is a UK Master's degree with broader academic depth and a dissertation component. Many senior communicators do both at different points in their career.

Can I take the MA Communication and Media Practice part-time?

Yes. The MA Communication and Media Practice can be taken over two years part-time, with online and distance modes designed for working professionals. Most working students complete the dissertation in the second year alongside reduced taught content in year one.

Do I need a communications undergraduate degree to apply?

Not necessarily. The MA Communication and Media Practice accepts related undergraduate degrees and accepts applicants with a 2:2 in any subject plus two years of relevant professional experience. Discuss your background with admissions at application.

Does the MA Communication and Media Practice include a placement?

The MA does not include a formal placement, but the dissertation is often built around a live brief from a student's own organisation or an industry contact. Students with placement ambitions are supported individually by their tutor.

What fees, scholarships and instalments are available?

Fees for the MA Communication and Media Practice vary by mode, intake and student status. LSJHML offers automatic scholarship review for every applicant, instalment plans and a small employer-sponsorship discount. Contact admissions for the current schedule.

MA Communication and Media Practice in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The MA Communication and Media Practice at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a one-year UK postgraduate degree for working communicators, senior practitioners and Bachelor's-level graduates wanting advanced training in strategic communications and multimedia production. The course is built in dialogue with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, the PRCA and the Media Society.

You will work through senior-track strategic communications, advanced multimedia production, audience-research methods at Master's level, and produce a 12,000–15,000-word dissertation on a strategic or production question of your own.

Key Features

UK Master's degree — one year full-time or two years part-time, with online and distance routes available.
Advanced strategic communications module covering board-level planning, change communication and reputation management.
Advanced multimedia production — video, audio, written and visual content to senior standard.
Audience research at Master's level — qualitative and quantitative methods, social-listening, behaviour change measurement.
Industry-led masterclasses from working comms directors, agency leads and senior broadcast producers.
12,000–15,000-word dissertation on a strategic or production question, supervised by a working senior practitioner or academic.

What You Will Learn

The MA Communication and Media Practice is structured around the working life of a senior communications practitioner — set strategy, lead production, manage stakeholders, measure and report at board level. You finish able to set communications strategy for a major organisation, lead multimedia production at senior standard, and write a Master's-level dissertation grounded in current research and practice.

Senior strategic communications — board-level planning, change leadership, reputation management.
Audience research at advanced level — qualitative and quantitative methods, social-listening, behaviour change.
Advanced narrative architecture — message-house design, prebunking, framing at scale.
Multimedia production at senior standard — video, audio, written and visual content.
Crisis leadership — pre-crisis preparation, in-crisis decision-making, post-crisis recovery.
International communications — cross-cultural communication, global brand communications.
Communications law and ethics at senior level — CIPR code, GCS standards, professional codes.
Dissertation research methods — research design, mixed methods, ethics, academic writing.

Who This MA Is For

Bachelor's graduates in communications, journalism or media wanting senior-track specialism.
Working communicators with two-plus years' experience moving into leadership roles.
Career-changers from journalism, marketing or design with relevant experience.
Government Communication Service-aligned civil servants wanting a structured external Master's credential.

Career Pathways

The MA Communication and Media Practice supports progression into senior practitioner and director-level roles across in-house, agency and public-sector settings. Typical post-MA destinations include:

Communications Manager (senior or head-of-function role)
Strategic Communications Adviser (senior agency or in-house role)
Public Affairs Manager (senior corporate, regulator or trade body role)
Press and Comms Officer (senior public-sector role)
Media Analyst (senior insight role, in-house or agency)
Director of Communications (small to mid-size organisations)

The MA also supports doctoral research in strategic communication or progression into chief-of-staff-style senior roles.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:2 honours degree (or international equivalent) in a related subject, OR a 2:2 in any subject with two years of relevant professional experience.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
Personal statement (max 1 page) outlining your motivation, relevant experience and intended specialism.
Two academic or professional references.
Applicants without a related undergraduate degree may be considered with significant industry experience and a written sample.

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.