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Maynooth University

Creative & Critical Media

This one year (full-time) MA advances practical, research, and writing skills while deepening creative and critical engagement with media of all kinds. The core module in Critical and Creative Media Research develops transferable research, writing, and analytical skills, and several optional pathways combine theory and practice, taking students through Irish media history and contemporary media archives; creative interactive computing and digital identities; and writing for screen media and screen production.

Students will be offered the flexibility to pursue traditional scholarly and practice-based research, with most modules permitting a blend of critical and creative assessment options. Electives in Digital Humanities, Sociology, Law, English, and History are available for students keen to explore the interdisciplinary character of media.

Entry requirements

Candidates for the MA in Critical and Creative Media must have the equivalent of a 2.1 honours degree in Media Studies, or in a related subject in Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, or Communication and Information Technology.

Applicants from abroad must have a recognised primary degree that is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level.

For international students whose first language is not English, an English language exam certificate showing IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required.

National University of Ireland Maynooth's TOEFL code is 8850

Duration

MHS58: 1 year – Full-time
MHS59: 2 years – Part-time

Careers or further progression

Knowledge of and skills in media are required across a whole range of sectors including media-specific organisations and also companies that interact with the public, that have internal communications and that wider social presence. These include sports, arts and heritage organisations, charities and NGOs, businesses and brands that increasingly require media-trained graduates particularly in the areas of writing/content production/publishing, social media, graphic design and video production/editing.

Graduates of this programme are well prepared to find employment in several sectors of the media industries or to pursue further media scholarship opportunities. They will be able to apply their critical understanding of the media industries and forms to organisations and businesses and identify future opportunities for innovation in creative media. The programme's unique and flexible structure provides students with an accelerated route through three media-related areas to facilitate specialisation: media and histories, digital media and screen production.

Further enquiries

Programme Director Dr Sarah Arnold and Dr Marcos Dias
Tel +353 (0)1 708 3624 (Anne Byrne, Department Administrator)
Email sarah.arnold@mu.ie and marcos.dias@mu.ie
Website https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/media-studies
Address Department of Media Studies Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland

Subjects taught

A single compulsory module, Critical and Creative Media Research, lays the foundation for the programme in Semester One. Students have the freedom to select individual pathways that combine critical media studies and practical work, honing creative computing, audio-visual production, and screenwriting skills. Modules in Irish Media History, Media Archives, and Identity Technologies explore media in cultural and historical context across formats and platforms, from print to celluloid to digital. The MA programme culminates with a supervised individual thesis project that may assume a variety of forms, from scholarly essay to a practice-based project, where creative outcomes are contextualised and framed theoretically. A Postgraduate Diploma is available to students who do not wish to complete a thesis.

Comment

Media Studies
Postgraduate research in Media Studies at Maynooth encompasses the study of both historical and contemporary media forms. Staff research and supervision interests include 20th and 21st century print media and popular culture in Ireland; early Irish cinema history; contemporary cinema and its digital turn; queer film and television studies; animal studies and post-humanism; digital literature; feminism and digital culture, and racism in online communities.

Application date

All applications should be made through the PAC system.

Closing Date : 31 August 2020

Course fee

In general, there are two levels of fees payable. EU students from EU countries including Ireland pay a subsidised level of fees for both taught courses and research programmes. Tuition fees for students from outside the EU are not subsidised and are thus somewhat higher than for EU students.