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 course 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 MA in Digital Cultures fosters those new literacies of consumption, production, and creativity essential in the contemporary world. It invites you to consider the moral, ethical, social, cultural, political, and economic implications of digital technology on humanity.



The MA in Digital Cultures 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. It truly encourages transdisciplinary engagement that is creatively enriching for students within a scholarly atmosphere.



The course 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. You will receive instruction on 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. Our MA students will be encouraged 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.

The MA in Digital Cultures is a full-time course 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.

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



Applicants 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).



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.



English Language Requirements

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

Closing Date: Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.



Non-EU Closing Date: Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.

1 year full-time online.

Start Date: 8th September 2025.

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.