Curious about studying Society, Culture and Media MAat University of Leeds? 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.
MA - Master of Arts
Leeds, Main
Full Time
Sep 2026
1 Year
This interdisciplinary course will provide you with an in-depth understanding of key issues, debates and theoretical perspectives on a wide range of sociological, media and cultural themes. You'll acquire the skills to critically analyse how these themes intersect and their implications for how we interact with culture and media in contemporary society. You’ll be taught by leading researchers in the fields of media and social media; consumption; audiences; representation; globalisation; migration and place; tourism; inequality; creative work and material culture. With a grounding in sociological approaches to the study of culture and media, you’ll explore themes around power, inequality and identity, enabling you to think critically about the relationship between gender, class, race and ethnicity in the cultural realm. In addition to developing specialist knowledge in the field, you’ll acquire key transferable skills in research, communication, sociological analysis, self-management, and group working, which will open up a range of career pathways in the media and creative industries, academia, third sector and beyond. Course highlightsBenefit from the expertise of the School of Sociology and Social Policy. Gain specialist knowledge in the areas of consumption, traditional media and social media, globalisation, representation, popular culture and more. Tailor the programme according to your interests with optional modules which cover journalism, promotional communication, video games, digital resistance and reality TV. Develop transferable skills including research, analysis, group work and communication. Prepare for careers in academia, communications and media policy, creative industries, media market, audience research and others.
Individuals are embedded in complex networks of international, national, and local flows of culture, media and new media from which we draw our understandings of ourselves and our worlds. This module explores a broad range of methods and approaches used to critically understand media and cultural texts and the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.
This module will support students through the process of designing and conducting a substantial piece of independent research. It seeks to enhance: their ability to develop and carry through to completion an in-depth analysis focussed on a specific topic relevant to their programme; their capacity to work independently, selecting and using appropriate research methods and/or deploying appropriate advanced theoretical concepts; their understanding of ethics in relation to research; their ability to relate an in-depth study to current broader debates and concerns in the advanced study relevant to their programme of study; their ability to critically engage in the development of professional / disciplinary boundaries and norms; their skills in written communication and organisation within a lengthy format.
On completion of this module students will be able to: identify the epistemological underpinnings of social research relating to the media representations of inequality;- understand ethical debates;- critically analyse research practice;- review and critically appraise media representations in relation to a range of social inequalities including life course, disability, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality and social class;- synthesize information and knowledge from a range of sources and perspectives; During the course of the module students will also have had the opportunity to: - engage with a range of viewpoints on research practice in relation to representations of inequality;- demonstrate knowledge of a range of methodologies and strategies for research;- demonstrate their developing skills, knowledge and understanding in a variety of learning and assessment contexts.
The module equips students with a high-level interdisciplinary and critical understanding of media and culture. By exploring applied examples students will be able to apply conceptual, theoretical and empirical insights from recent sociology to the study of contemporary issues within the media and culture.
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