Disciplines and areas of study
Media studies
Program Coordinator: Associate Professor Sue Turnbull.
The Media Studies Program has developed a unique approach to media education, combining the study of various media with the development of practical media skills. Consequently, the program offers a wide range of units that explore the historical, political, and cultural aspects of media and are linked to units that allow students to develop a range of media production skills. Media studies units are available in both the Bachelor of Media Studies and the Bachelor of Journalism degrees and as a major in the Bachelor of Arts degree.
Full details of the course structure for the Bachelor of Media Studies and the Bachelor of Journalism are available at the beginning of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences chapter of this Handbook.
Media studies in the Bachelor of Arts
A media studies major in a Bachelor of Arts degree combines the study of media and media production with a wide range of other units, including politics, history, English, sociology, cinema studies, and drama.
Students taking a major in media studies must complete at least 130 credit points from the units listed below, including the core first year units MST1CCO Constructing Communication and MST1AAC Audiences and Communication, 40 credit points at second year level and 60 credit points at third year level. No more than 60 credit points of production units can be included in the major.
The unit listings below illustrate those units other than media studies units can be credited towards a media studies major.
Available units
The following units are available to students studying media studies in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Media Studies, and Bachelor of Journalism.
| Teaching period | Unit title | Unit code |
|---|---|---|
| First year units (15 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Constructing Communication | MST1CCO |
| TE-SEM-2 | Audiences and Communication | MST1AAC |
| Second and third year units (20 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Australian Cinema | CST2CAC/CST3CAC |
| TE-SEM-1 | Cinema and Sexuality | CST2CAS/CST3CAS |
| TE-SEM-1 | Image and Industry: Australian television | MST2IAI/MST3IAI |
| TE-SEM-1 | New Media and Society | MST2NMS/MST3NMS |
| TE-SEM-1 | Press and Society | MST2PAS/MST3PAS |
| TE-SEM-1 | Radio Sound Production | MST2RSP/MST3RSP |
| TE-SEM-1 | Radio Theory and History | MST2RTH/MST3RTH |
| TE-SEM-1 | Researching the Media | MST2RTM/MST3RTM |
| TE-SEM-1 | Single Camera Video | MST2SCV/MST3SCV |
| TE-SEM-2 | Digital Media Cultures | MST2DMC/MST3DMC |
| TE-SEM-2 | Hollywood Cinema | CST2CLH/CST3CLH |
| TE-SEM-2 | Media and the Spectacular | MST2MAS/MST3MAS |
| TE-SEM-2 | Popular Culture and the Media1 | MST2PCM/MST3PCM |
| TE-SEM-2 | Researching Media Audiences | MST2RMA/MST3RMA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Screen Criticism | CST2FCR/CST3FCR |
| TE-SEM-2 | Sex and the Media | MST2SAM/MST3SAM |
| TE-SEM-2 | Violence and the Cinema1 | CST2VAC/CST3VAC |
| TE-SEM-2 | Writing for Radio | MST2WFR/MST3WFR |
| TE-SEM-2 | Writing for Video – non-fiction | MST2WFV/MST3WFV |
| Third year units (20 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Publishing and Editing | MST3PAE |
| TE-SEM-1 | Reading Course A | MST3RCA |
| TE-SEM-2 | Reading Course B | MST3RCB |
| TE-SEM-2 | Advanced Media Production – Radio | MST3MPR |
| TE-SEM-2 | Writing and Editing for Multimedia2 | MST3WEM |
- Key: 1 Not available 2008.
- 2 Available only to Bachelor of Arts students.
Units with restricted availability
The following units are only available to students in the Bachelor of Media Studies or Bachelor of Journalism.
| Teaching period | Unit title | Unit code |
|---|---|---|
| First year units (15 credit points) | ||
| TE-SEM-1 | Making the News | MST1MTN |
| TE-SEM-2 | Writing for the Media | MST1WFM |
| Teaching period | Second and third year units (20 credit points) | Unit code |
| TE-SEM-1 | Computer Assisted Journalism | MST2CAJ/MST3CAJ |
| TE-SEM-2 | Journalism Production Workshop | MST2JPW/MST3JPW |
| Teaching period | Third year units (20 credit points) | Unit code |
| TE-SEM-1 | Broadcast and Electronic Journalism | MST3BEJ |
| TE-SEM-1 | Media Industries | MST3MIN |
| TE-SEM-1 | Media Internship | MST3INT |
| TE-SEM-2 | Advanced Journalism and Design | MST3AJD |
| TE-SEM-2 | Advanced Journalism Practice2 | MST3AJP |
| TE-SEM-2 | Advanced Media Production – Television | MST3MPT |
| TE-SEM-2 | Dilemmas in Journalism: legal and ethical issues | MST3DIJ |
| TE-SEM-2 | Media Internship | MST3INT |
| TE-SEM-2 | Media Project Development | MST3MPD |
- Key: 2 Available only to Bachelor of Journalism students.
Honours in the Bachelor of Arts
Students are selected into honours at the end of their third year. Prospective students should make their interest known to the Media Studies Honours Coordinator by early July or November so that a decision can be made and the student notified in time for re-enrolment in December. Mid-year enrolment is also available.
The principal requirement for selection is consistently high performance (normally at least a B average) in a media studies major and, in particular, distinction in third year level media units. Successful completion of more than the major of 130 credit points would be an advantage.
To complete the course a student must complete 60 credit points of coursework units at fourth year level and either a 12000 to 15000 word thesis or a media production with supporting analysis.
For full details of the fourth year offerings please see the Postgraduate Handbook.
Graduate Diploma in Journalism (AGJ), Graduate Certificate in Journalism (ACJ)
A Graduate Diploma in Journalism and a Graduate Certificate in Journalism are offered by the faculty. See the Postgraduate Handbook.
Graduate Diploma in Media Studies (AGMS), Graduate Certificate in Media Studies (ACMS)
A Graduate Diploma in Media Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Media Studies are offered by the faculty. See the Postgraduate Handbook.
A full description of these units (including the unit name, unit code, credit points, campus/location, unit coordinator, class requirements, assessment, prerequisites, and readings) appears at the end of each discipline entry. A full description of MST units appears below. For the most recent descriptions of all units, please access the unit database at www.latrobe.edu.au/udb_public.