Curious about studying Digital Media and Communication MScat Aston University, Birmingham? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
MSc - Master of Science
Online Campus
Full Time
Sep 2026
12 Month
The MSc Digital Media and Communication is an innovative, interdisciplinary programme designed for those who want to lead and shape media and communication in a fast-moving digital world. Developed by Aston University in partnership with the Al Jazeera Media Institute, the course combines critical analysis, creative practice and advanced digital and research skills to address the social, political and ethical challenges of contemporary media.You will explore how digital platforms, data, automation and AI are transforming communication globally, while developing practical expertise in digital storytelling, data journalism, research and leadership. The programme is informed by cutting-edge research and applied to real-world practice, designed to prepare graduates for leadership roles across the media and communication industries.
This module will cover key aspects of the transformation from legacy to platform media, considering the changes in news-gathering techniques, the rise of user- and AI-generated content, the evolution of new distribution models, changes in news consumption patterns and the power of global networked flows of information. Practical development: students will develop models for transformation of news across alternative platforms for target audiences.
This module will cover key practical skills for extracting and working with data in digital journalism, and core principles of, and key tools and methods for, data visualisation. The module will cover how digital data can be utilised in contemporary journalism, with teaching and learning structured around a practical workflow from sourcing and manipulating digital data, to effectively communicating insights from data to specific audiences. Practical development: It is envisaged that students will work with real-world data and utilise data visualisation tools.
This module will develop a range of skills for content creation around narrative design and storyboarding for platform content. It makes use of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite and explores audio-visual methods, social media branding techniques, and the algorithmic lores of various platforms, useful for content discoverability. Practical development: it is envisaged that students will design, plan and produce online content with, and designed for, mobile devices.
This module draws on cutting-edge research and theory to critically evaluate the development of AI and machine learning in media contexts and interrogate the questions it raises for journalistic ethics and democratic citizenship. This includes the analysis of cases on the production and circulation of misinformation, deep-fakes, and prompt-engineering. Practical development: It’s envisaged that students will be able to work on case-studies which have emerged from their own experience and devise strategies for ethical journalistic practice.
This module will equip students with the skills to undertake a substantial piece of research, drawing on a range of research methods and reflecting on how strategic problems can be addressed through research design. It will develop core skills of data collection, data management and analysis with a transferable knowledge of digital research ethics.
This module will offer key theoretical and practical insights into business leadership and strategy. Aston University has a number of leadership programmes from which we could choose, including ‘Leadership for Transformational Change’ from the Aston Business School or ‘Advanced Leadership Communication’ from the Department of Communication and Culture.
This module will allow students to design and develop their own research project. Under the guidance of an academic supervisor, students will develop applied research questions and carry out a major research project. The dissertation may be a full 8000 written project – or a 60/40 split combining a creative experimental project with a 2000 word reflective discussion.
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