Humanities and Social Sciences

Media Studies Program

Postgraduate Studies

It is possible to study media and journalism in a wide range of taught courses and research programs.

Graduate Diploma in Media Studies

The program is designed for people who have not studied the media before and who wish to develop an understanding of the media and/or media skills. Students can choose subjects from the video/television, radio/audio or journalism streams as well as subjects which deal with the social political and cultural aspects of the media. This fee-paying course can be completed in two semesters full time. Part time enrolment is possible. A brochure is available from the Media Studies Programs Office.

Graduate Certificate in Media Studies

The Certificate represents one half of the Graduate Diploma and can be completed in one semester full time.

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Graduate Diploma in Journalism

The program is designed for people who have not studied journalism before and who wish to develop an understanding of journalism and/or journalism skills. In addition to journalism subjects, students can choose subjects which deal with the social political and cultural aspects of the media. This fee-paying course can be completed in two semesters full time. Part time enrolment is possible. A brochure is available from the Media Studies Programs Office.

Graduate Certificate in Journalism

The Certificate represents one half of the Graduate Diploma and can be completed in one semester full time.

Graduate Diploma in Humanities & Social Sciences

This Diploma is designed for graduates of any discipline who seek to develop their knowledge of subject areas which they did not cover in their first degree. Students can take undergraduate subjects from the Media Studies Program or other programs within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Six undergraduate coursework subjects are studied full-time over one year to eighteen months, or part-time over two to three years.

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Graduate Certificate in Humanities & Social Sciences

The Certificate represents one half of the Graduate Diploma and can be competed in one semester full time.

Preliminary Postgraduate Courses

Entry to a Masters degree (by Research or Coursework) is normally after four years of study, with high results, particularly at fourth year. The most direct route into postgraduate media courses is a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Media Studies, a Bachelor of Media Studies (Hons) or a Bachelor of Journalism (Hons) from La Trobe University. Not everyone wishing to pursue further study in media has those qualifications. You may have completed your first degree some time ago, or at a different university, or with insufficient media studies subjects or insufficiently high results for direct entry into a higher degree. If so, there are two ways to qualify for the equivalent of a fourth year of undergraduate study: the Master of Arts (Prelim) or the Postgraduate Diploma in Media Studies. Postgraduate Diploma in Media Studies - PGDip(MS).

The PGDip(MS) can stand alone as a qualification, leading either to higher degree study, or to enhance your employment prospects. The PGDip(MS) is a one-year to eighteen months full-time course or 2-3 years part-time. It requires the completion of 120 credit points (six level-4 subjects).

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Master of Arts Preliminary) MA (Prelim)

The MA (Prelim) is primarily intended as a route into a higher degree. The specific content of the MA (Prelim) course will vary according to your background and the subjects on offer. For instance, if you have already completed the equivalent of an Honours thesis, and require intensive grounding in Media Studies, it might take the form of 120 credit points (six semester length subjects) of taught subjects. See the list of taught subjects below.

If you have some media studies in your first degree, but have not completed the equivalent of an Honours thesis, it might be identical in form to the standard Honours year (i.e. 60 credit points in taught subjects and a thesis). This is negotiated with the Media Studies Postgraduate Coordinator.

The MA (Prelim) thesis may be written - approximately 12,000 words in length or a creative production of some kind, accompanied by written analysis and interpretation.

Fourth and Fifth year Subjects
The following taught subjects are available for Honours, MA(Prelim) PGD(MS) and MA (Coursework) students. Subject availability changes from year to year.

The normal prerequisite for admission to a Masters by Coursework is a four-year Honours degree or equivalent, with at least a 'B' average. Applicants without Honours will normally be required to qualify for entry through an MA(Prelim) program or a Postgraduate Diploma in Media Studies.
This may be taken entirely with media subjects or with a combination of media and other subjects. If a combination is taken, enrolment will normally be in the Program in which the majority of subjects are taught and/or the minor thesis is supervised.
Enrolment may be either full-time (1-3 years) or part-time (1-5 years). Details of fees which may be applicable to coursework subjects can be obtained from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences office.
The course consists of 60 credit points (three half-units) of taught subjects and a minor thesis of 12,000-15,000 words in length, or something less than this and a production component. Unless Media Studies 2/3RMA: researching the media audience and 2/3RM: researching the media or equivalent research methodology subjects were completed in the undergraduate degree, the core subject Media Studies 5MRI: media research issues must be included in the program. The final mark is composed 60% of coursework results and 40% thesis result.
The attainment of a high standard in the MA (Coursework) in Media qualifies for entry into PhD candidature.

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Master of Arts (Research)

Media Studies Program staff represent a wide range of research interests and are available to discuss possible Masters research topics.
The normal prerequisite for admission to a Master of Arts (Research) is a four-year Honours degree or equivalent, with at least a 'B' average. Applicants without Honours will normally be required to qualify for entry through an MA(Prelim) program or a Postgraduate Diploma in Media Studies.
The MA (Research) requires the completion of original research and a written dissertation that will not normally exceed 40,000 words in length or a creative thesis consisting of a dissertation of 20,000-40,000 words and an original media production component. The Program has a range of radio, video, film and multimedia production facilities available. If you are considering a production component in your research work, you should discuss your needs with the Media Studies Postgraduate Coordinator. Enrolment in an MA (Research) may be either full-time (1-1.5 years) or part-time (1-5 years) and candidates enrolled full-time will normally be expected to complete the degree between twelve and eighteen months

Doctor of Philosophy

Media Studies Program staff represent a wide range of research interests and are available to discuss possible PhD topics.
The normal prerequisite for entry to a PhD is a completed MA by Research or Coursework, however there are also procedures which allow particularly worthy Masters by Research work to be upgraded to doctoral level during the course of the MA program.
A PhD requires completion of original research and a written dissertation of 75,000 words (max. 100,000) in length or a creative thesis consisting of a dissertation of 25,000-50,000 words and an original media production component. Enrolment may be either full-time (2-4 years) or part-time (3-8 years).

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