Curious about studying Journalism with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad) - BA (Hons)at University of Essex? 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.
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Colchester Campus
Full Time
Oct 2026
4 Year
In a world of conflict and uncertainty, you can be the voice for those who need to be heard. Challenge the way human rights are understood across the globe. Our BA Journalism with Human Rights enables you to learn about the fundamental principles and practices which underpin the protection and promotion of human rights around the world. Alongside this you develop your journalistic skills, helping you to analyse information and understand it within the context of human rights law. You gain a strong understanding of the world we live in and how to engage with the audience, allowing you to develop your own unique journalistic style. Explore a wide spectrum of human rights topics ranging from war to immigration. This is combined with the practical journalism component of this course; you use multi-media channels such as radio, television and online media, and deepen your knowledge of journalism on an international scale. This course gives you the flexibility to choose the areas of the subject that interest you. Topics which you can study include: - Protection of human rights - Is everyone entitled to human rights? - Production skills - International journalism At Essex we specialise in business law, public law, criminal justice, health law, law and technology, socio-legal studies and human rights law. During your final year, you have the opportunity to bring all aspects of the course together in a final multimedia project on a subject linked to the human rights element of your studies. You will join our Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies and our Human Rights Centre where you will join our diverse community of students from all corners of the globe.
This module introduces you to the basics of news and of storytelling, core skills for all jobs in journalism. You discuss the nature of news and how to identify a story, learn how to look for and uncover the information that will make a story, and study the different ways in which that information can be presented. You develop your skills in absorbing and condensing information and producing an accurate and engaging narrative. Understanding the need to check and verify everything that you write, you begin to learn the basics of multimedia production, and start producing content for print, online, radio and television outlets. You work on practical reporting assignments from an early stage.
This module covers the history of journalism in Britain from its beginnings in the 17th century to the start of the internet age. Topics include: the impact of printing; the first news serials; government attempts to control the press from the 17th to the 19th centuries; the emergence of mass circulation papers; the role of press barons in the 20th century; radio and the rise of the BBC; the press from 1945 to 2000; the arrival and development of television; ownership and control of the media; and the impact of the internet. The module critically considers the evolving political, economic and social contexts of journalism and the media more generally, underpinning and informing the content of all other elements of the degree course.
This module will get you up and running in the world of podcasting. You’ll learn advanced production skills and develop the ability to tell great stories through sound. In this module the classroom becomes a studio and the instructor becomes an editor. You will work both individually and collaboratively to produce your own short and long-form podcasts. You will learn such production skills as recording, editing, mixing and mastering; and become familiar with a wide range of production equipment including microphones, field recorders and audio interfaces. You will also develop such enduring journalistic skills as researching, scripting, and interviewing for stories.
This interdisciplinary module serves several functions. Firstly, you will develop an understanding of your degree in the context of the wider world and specifically the graduate jobs market. You will come to understand the employability and career-development opportunities that are available to you during and after your time at Essex, and you will begin the life-long process of continuous professional development with a firm grounding in the practical skills and reflective practice involved. The module is divided into two parts: career-development learning; and Speaker Weeks, when a member of staff will interview guest speakers about their careers in fields that are allied to the arts and humanities. These will cover a range of career areas that may be of interest to humanities graduates in general: from media, arts, journalism, education, publishing, to entrepreneurship in related areas. These weeks are intended to be inspiring but also full of practical tips and ideas, with an emphasis on showing how careers develop over time, and what pathways students can explore to get to where they want to be; as well as what kinds of extra-curricular activities students can engage in now to open more doors professionally before and after graduation. In the career-development learning part of the module, you will cover topics such as the Graduate Labour market, the Humanities graduate, self-reflection and personal development, and how to research and apply effectively for jobs. Skills such as CV writing and interview technique will be covered. Two-hour interactive lecture/seminars will introduce students to careers resources and ideas, but will also include discussion and group work.
What are human rights? How do we protect them? And what challenges do we face when promoting human rights on an international level? Discover the fundamental principles and practices, including topics related to international law and ethics, which underpin the protection and promotion of our human rights.
This module focuses on helping you to operate effectively in a number of different news and features platforms, and with a clear understanding of the distinctive nature of each and its implications for the way you work. Supported by your tutor, you find news and features stories, pitch them in editorial meetings, research, write, edit, proof-read and determine how best to present and publish them. You develop your use of social media, and understand more about how social networks are used as a part of mainstream journalism. As you begin to produce radio and television programming for streaming across the campus, classes will examine interviewing techniques, voice training and presentational techniques.
This module builds on the foundations laid in the first year and introduces students to the institutions that uphold and enforce international human rights standards, as well as the multidisciplinary nature of Human Rights and Social Justice.
Alongside and complementary to the Multimedia Journalism module, this module develops the technical and production skills you learned in Year 1. You examine in more detail the individual characteristics and technical requirements of different media, and to start producing radio, television and more advanced print and online content, both on your own and as part of a team. You learn how to use appropriate editing software, and to produce engaging and dynamic content in each medium.
This module is about the theory and practice of narrative. You will consider the origins and enduring power of dramatic form. Through the comparative analysis of key examples, you will develop an understanding of the core principles of storytelling. You will address this primarily in the context of journalism both as a technique legitimately employed to relay ‘news’ and as a means of distorting the reality of events by interested parties. We will consider the ethical issues presented both for journalists and those employed in the public relations industry. We will consider the way storytelling techniques transcend specific media and have continued through the digital communications revolution of the past twenty five years. We will look at how some of the best journalistic storytellers have transferred those skills to longer-form writing and to fiction. In practical workshops, you'll develop your practical storytelling skills.
This module builds on everything you have learned so far about writing, reporting and production, with a particular emphasis on the broadcast media of radio and television. You will already have had the opportunity to gain extensive experience of newspaper and online reporting, and this module will bring your broadcast skills up to the same high standard of knowledge and expertise. This module will also prepare you for the Specialist Option element of your NCTJ Diploma.
How important are human rights today? What role do they play in contemporary society? And can you analyse their impact on topics like freedom of expression or global justice? Learn to identify and evaluate human rights issues in range of real-life situations, within a regional, national and international context.
Year Abroad
Full time annual fee would be 19500, Student would pay 3900 in their year of Placement/sandwich. Living and accommodation costs (per year, approximately)- 8,776 – 14,995
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