Modules

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Full-time

Each year you will take compulsory and optional modules that explore communication from the perspectives of applied linguistics, media studies, sociology, psychology, multimodal studies, and intercultural studies. In your first year you will be gaining foundational insights and a deeper understanding of key issues in contemporary communication. We will address questions such as What is communication? and Who is communication for? You will learn ways of locating, describing and understanding audiences and their differing intersecting needs, views and behaviours.

In your second year, you will extend your conceptual learning to further engage with wider publics. We will address questions such as How can communication help solve grand challenges? and How to make communication happen? In addition to exploring the role of communication and policy in addressing some of today’s biggest challenges (inequality, public health, climate change, social cohesion), you will be introduced to the toolbox of a communications practitioner and the applicability of distinct means of communication (e.g. writing, infograph, video), which includes the notion of co-design. You will also have the option to take a work placement in your second year.

Your final year will expand beyond practical application to include research contexts. We will address questions such as How can different types of research inform a communication campaign? and How to disseminate communication research for social impact? You will learn about methods for conducting communication research and ways of shaping communication research for public engagement and outreach, including creative and multimodal approaches. Your studies will culminate in a research project of your choice and you will work alongside a faculty member to hone your focus and develop your research.

Year 1 compulsory modules:

Foundations of Communication

Communication is central to human sociality: it shapes how we feel, think, see, and act in the world, and it forms the basis for building social relations; joint sensemaking; developing, debating, and disseminating ideas; collective action; and behaviour change. Communication studies are therefore key to both understanding and addressing societies’ biggest challenges. This module introduces students to theories, methods of inquiry, and empirical findings from the multidisciplinary field of communication to enable them to engage critically with key questions about communication practices in the contemporary world, asking, Who (or what) communicates with whom? On what platforms? In what media? For what purposes? To what effects? How are messages designed, produced, interpreted, shared, and altered? How are means, tools and mechanisms for representation and communication acquired, controlled, and distributed? How are processes and effects of communication related to cultural, social, and technological change? 

Media Production

This module introduces students to media production for public communications. Informed by theoretical knowledge acquired in other modules and media theory, and through a combination of lectures, practical workshops, written reflections and self-learning, students will gain experience in media production in a range of different formats, such as video, audio and interactive media. This module is aimed at beginners, providing the first stepping-stone for better understanding the affordances of different media formats and experimenting with different media languages. Students will create a substantial media piece in a chosen format in response to a specific brief to experience the challenges of conceptual (abstract) communication through media production.

Social Media, Communicative Practice, and Social Change

The module explores the distinctive communicative practices found in different social media contexts. We will look at the ways that genres of practice (e.g. different types of YouTube or Instagram content) develop, and the particular features of communication that they draw on and construct. Through studies of particular memes, social media personalities, channels, and content genres the module analyses how their forms of communication gives rise to particular practices of identity construction, consumption, political/civic action, or educational/health engagement. A theme cutting across the module relates to the ethical implications for society (including researchers) of these communicative forms. 

Communication for the common good

This module explores communication for ‘the common good’, that is, calls for collective action to improve people’s lives in the domains of, for example, public health (‘stop smoking’), climate change (‘reduce your carbon footprint’), or social justice (‘zero tolerance towards harassment’). Drawing on case studies on a range of global and local social causes, we ask, Who are the senders of these messages? What social problems or challenges do they draw attention to? How do they define and frame these problems? What story do they tell about the world we live in? What solutions, transformations, reforms and interventions do they propose? What do they want from people? Guided by these questions, the module introduces students to the social arenas where these questions are negotiated, exploring the roles of social organisations and agents of change and the ways in which they mobilize support for adoption of their perspective on social causes.

Understanding Publics 

Who is communication for? To answer this, the module will first explore the nature of the relations and practices in some of the publics (social groups, networks, communities) that the students themselves participate in. What practices and what social relations define or delimit membership? Who is excluded? What alliances and what oppositions are formed within this public and between it and other publics (perhaps think of football fans or fans of particular musicians, actors or movies, or perhaps fanfiction writers following a particular canon)? How are they formed and maintained, can/do they become unstable? Having generated an understanding of where we are, we will then look at other publics with a view to identifying continuities and discontinuities, also how researchers from various disciplines and in different times and settings have explored and defined publics and the public/private divisions. 

Year 2 compulsory modules:

Understanding Public Discourses

This module uses analytical tools from linguistic and discourse analysis to explore how language works and how it is put to work in various forms of public communications. It introduces key frameworks of analysis to demonstrate how these can shed light on what is going on in different communicative situations and the potential effects specific linguistic choices might have. The frameworks are applied to a range of public discourse types (e.g. media reports, public information campaigns, advertisements, political speeches, policy documents), to explore issues of power, agency, persuasion, and framing among others. 

Researching Communication: Methodology & Methods 

The module will include the investigation of the advantages, disadvantages, and similarities between quantitative methods (survey and experiment, for example) and qualitative methods (narrative research, fieldwork, discourse and textual analysis, for example). The module will explore key processes within research, including sampling, methods of data collection, including questionnaires, interviewing and focus groups, and photo-elicitation, and data analysis including generalisation, the inference of causality, conceptualisation and theoretical saturation in Grounded Theory and Thematic Analysis; also the diagrammatic representation of quantitative and qualitative data and the use of digital technology in data analysis. The module will also explore the relation between research and theory, in particular through the discussion of particular theoretical and methodological and the philosophical concepts, epistemology and ontology. Central to the module will be field of research ethics.

Year 3 compulsory modules:

Dissertation in Communication  

The final year dissertation is an opportunity to undertake an in-depth investigation of a topic of students’ own choice. It allows students to develop and apply research skills acquired during the BA Communications. Individual supervisory support will help students to develop their confidence in articulating their ideas and structuring their arguments.   

Your learning

There will be a combination of methods and strategies used including lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, supervised independent and project work, and practical work. These varied methods will provide different opportunities to develop strategies of communication and information design, alongside development of social research, creative writing and digital media production skills.

A work placement will provide you with the opportunity to engage with an organisation in the public, private or third sector. You will be able to apply your learning, critical and communicative skills to address and contribute to solving problems in real world contexts.

Undergraduate students are expected to carry out 40 hours of study per week during term time. Approximately 30% of this time is spent in lectures and seminars. The remainder will be independent personal study time including research, reading and writing.

Assessment

Assessment will take on various forms and will enable you to engage in both academic and industry outputs specific to the fields of study. A sample of assessments include: short and long essays; reviews and reports including those from placements or simulated work environments; creative writing outputs; digital and multimodal artefacts and presentations; dissertation research or report; exams; strategy documents; and infographics.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team.