Digital Cultures - Online

Course Outline
Our online MA in Digital Cultures at University College Cork is delivered entirely through distance learning and explores and operates within the digital moment, developing knowledge, skills and critical awareness through theoretical engagement and critical practice.

Participants in the programme develop the practical skills needed to flourish in the digital age, while also examining the impact of the digital on culture, power, and identity in society. Our programme fosters those new literacies of consumption, production and creativity essential in the contemporary world.

The MA in Digital Cultures invites you to consider the moral, ethical, social, cultural, political and economic implications of digital technology on humanity.

It prepares you to understand such transformations in society, identity, and culture, and to develop digital skills necessary to provide innovative and creative leadership in the digital age. This programme encourages truly transdisciplinary engagement that is creatively enriching for students within a scholarly atmosphere.

The programme offers an introduction to how digital tools and methods can be used in research and it combines innovative elements of theory and practice in digital cultures.

Students will receive instruction in how digital tools can be used to capture social and cultural data sources in digital form, using standards-based tools to frame research questions, collaborate on research using social networking tools, and present results both in print and on the web using current standards-based presentation technologies. Students will be encouraged to and facilitated in the creation of digital artefacts individually and in teams. International engagement and participation is expected and encouraged.

The MA in Digital Cultures is geared towards introducing graduates to the use of appropriate digital tools to address research questions in their undergraduate disciplines or areas of expertise. It lays the foundations for work on capturing, reading, and writing sources in digital form, and using them for analytic and creative work.

Course Practicalities
Modules in the programme require students to work hands-on with current and emerging tools and interact with standards-based ICT. This will include assessments requiring engagement with both theory and practice of inquiry in the digital age. It is expected that students will create digital research artefacts in the course of their research. Assessment may include practice and/or performance-based elements where appropriate.

Why Choose This Course?
If your career and interests drive you to engage with cutting-edge concepts and tools to forge new knowledge and practices in the digital age, then this course will be of interest. It will provide a structured perspective on contemporary digital culture, and appeal to those interested in the arts, communications, information technology, philosophy, law, language, literature, and education, as well as all graduates who wish to improve their digital skills. Participants will engage with a group of like-minded students in a framework designed to foster the skills of self-directed, life-long transformation and development for the 21st Century.

This course is provided by a diverse and internationally recognised team experienced in teaching, development and research in the digital arts and humanities at every level from undergraduate to PhD. This experience has been demonstrated and delivered using blended and online learning tools to foster student-centred, research-based learning.

General

The MA in Digital Cultures is a full-time programme running for 12 months. In total students take modules to the value of 90 credits in two parts:

Part I Students take taught modules to the value of 60 credits incorporating 3 two-day on-campus workshops and 8-10 hours a week of structured online activity during the term, supplemented by reading and other study.
Part II Students complete a Digital Cultures Dissertation worth 30 credits.
Modules

Part I (60 credits)

DH6013 Getting Started with Graduate Research and Generic Skills (5 credits)
DH6016 Digital Humanities Institute (5 credits)
DH6022 Communities of Practice in Digital Scholarship (10 credits)
DH6023 Conceptual Introduction to Digital Arts and Humanities (10 credits)
DH6024 Humanities and New Technologies: Tools and Methodologies (10 credits)
Elective Modules (choose 20 credits)

DH6006 Teaching and Learning in Digital Humanities (5 credits)
DH6007 Models, Simulations and Games (5 credits)
DH6012 Contemporary Practices in Publishing and Editing (5 credits)
DH6018 History and Theory of Digital Arts (5 credits)
DH6026 Principles of Game Design (5 credits)

Part II

DH6029 Digital Cultures Dissertation (30 credits)
Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Cultures (NFQ Level 9, Minor Award): Students who pass at least 30 credits of taught modules (to include DH6023) may opt to exit the programme and be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Cultures.

Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Cultures (NFQ Level 9, Major Award): Students who successfully complete Part I may opt to exit the programme and be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Cultures.

Consult the Academic Calendar (MA Digital Cultures) for further programme and module content.

Additional Teaching Mode Information
This MA in Digital Cultures programme is delivered online using University College Cork's learning management system, as well as a range of other digital tools that will reinforce and provide experience in online collaboration and team building. Online delivery of the course also offers online, synchronous, face-to-face tutorials to support the other online material accessed by students.

Modules

Further details on the modules listed above can be found in our Book of Modules. Any modules listed above are indicative of the current set of modules for this course but are subject to change from year to year.

University Calendar

You can find the full academic content for the current year of any given course in our University Calendar.

The entry requirement is a Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or equivalent in any discipline.

Candidates who hold a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) will also be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) subject to the approval of the programme selection committee.

Some applicants who do not fulfil the usual entry requirements may be invited for interview to satisfy the selection committee of their suitability for the programme.

All applicants are required to comment on the following statement:

Please explain your interest in the MA in Digital Cultures. Briefly outline the narrative extent and analytic issues which you may be interested in as research topics for the MA Thesis. As this programme, requires engagement with digital tools for research, you should indicate your experience and aptitude for working with digital tools (750 words approximately).

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Please visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.

International/Non-EU Applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.

In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.

The closing date for non-EU applications is 30 June 2023

How Do I Apply
1. Check Dates: Check the opening and closing dates for the application process in the fact file boxes at the top of the page.

For Irish and EU applicants we operate a rounds system and you can check the rounds closing dates here.
Note that not all our programmes are subject to the rounds system so check the opening and closing dates for your specific programme in the fact file boxes above.

2. Gather Documents: Scanned copies of supporting documents have to be uploaded to the UCC online application portal and include:

Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC.
Any supplementary items requested for your course if required.

3. Apply Online: Apply online via the UCC online application portal. Note the majority of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee.

Any questions? Use our web enquiry form to contact us.
Additional Requirements (All Applicants)

Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following questions:

You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.

In addition to your previously declared qualifications, please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning and professional training relevant to this programme.

Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.

Please detail your research interest(s).

Please detail your computing/technical/IT skills.

1 year full-time online.

Skills and Careers Information
The UCC MA in Digital Cultures will equip you with a range of tools and methods to provide the digital element now essential for careers in education, heritage, and the 'cultural economy', in digital content creation and management, in web content creation, editing and management, and storytelling in a variety of domains.

Digital Cultures is a field that equips practitioners with the conceptual awareness to apply digital tools to research problems in the Arts, Humanities and related fields. It produces digitally literate interdisciplinary graduates ready to fill a variety of roles in the knowledge economy.