Are you keen to futureproof your career and experiment with doing what’s next for journalism, today? Join our world-leading research and innovation studio, and the UK’s oldest journalism school.

We aim to bring people together to rethink how journalism can enrich lives. This flexible programme will enable you to master the key skills and knowledge required to harness the exciting opportunities in the contemporary media. The course is underpinned by a passionate belief that through innovative thinking we can achieve excellence that delivers real-world industry impact. You will develop intellectual skills and creative insights to enable you to become a reflective practitioner with sustainable and flexible career options. We want you to see the big picture. You will learn to analyse critically and challenge the theory of contemporary journalism and to exploit that understanding in the development of new skills, technologies and innovative practice.

The programme culminates in a placement, project or dissertation which can be tailored to develop a major project of your choosing. This programme has been re-launched for 2018 with the aim of appealing to non-journalism graduates, journalism undergraduates and industry professionals who are looking to extend their skills and knowledge base for sustainable career development. The course benefits from staff who are internationally renowned practitioners including:

Our community is interdisciplinary and includes researchers, policy makers, students, business people, entrepreneurs, technologists, and designers. The Media Innovation Studio has also built up a discussion community who are internationally renowned practitioners.

Our lecturers who teach on journalism practice modules worked as professional journalists before they moved into teaching. Some still combine working in industry with their university role.

The media industry has gone through dramatic change over the last decade. It is likely to change even more over the coming years. This course aims to ensure students have sustainable and viable career options.

Industry contacts

Thanks to the world-class research of the Media Innovation Studio, students have the opportunity to meet and work with editors from around the world. Students can take part in the Digital Editors Network, the leading academic-industry think tank. Thanks to our strategic partnerships, such as the Global Alliance for Media Innovation, we have internationally acclaimed guest speakers including media studies professor Mark Deuze, digital editor in chief Alison Gow, REACH PLC, and leading media development practitioner Sameer Padania. The course benefits from a partnership with Reach PLC (formerly Trinity Mirror) the UK’s largest regional publisher. Students will have the opportunity to go on regular placements at their new digital publication Lancs Live.

"Journalism could scarcely have ever been more important to society - yet both its delivery and funding models are in existential doubt. This is a timely course that seeks to address that, and future proof a new cohort of journalism leaders capable of creating the right content, and means of financing and delivering it, in the 2020s."
Alex Connock,  Leader in Residence

"The old Journalism Leadership programme, of which I’m a proud alumnus, was excellent. The proposed new programme is promising to be even better, content wise."
Jethro Goko,  Publisher: Associated  Newspapers, Zimbabwe (Titles include Daily News and Financial Gazette)

"The programme transformed how I thought about news, audiences and leadership. The course content was exactly what I needed then (and continue to draw on now) to navigate the huge and on-going disruption of the media industry. And I met smart, amazing people who I count as great friends to this day."
Alison Gow, Editor in Chief, Reach Plc Regionals, UK

"It’s critical that those seeking a sustainable way forward footing for journalism take time out of the newsroom to think and learn from others when assessing new opportunities and ways of working. This will ensure that when they consider introducing changes to their newsrooms they have had time to think critically about the implications for journalism - and the communities their newsrooms serve."
Cherilyn Ireton, Executive Director of the World Editors Forum of WAN-IFRA, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.

"Innovation is the lifeblood of future publishing and it runs through every UCLan course."
Keith Harrison, Leader in Residence

Recent graduates

Kyle Bessey, former UCLan journalism undergraduate, worked with REACH Data Unit as part of data journalism and learned new skills using drones in journalism.

“The MA course has been a versatile and varied experience, and the range of different modules has allowed for my own skill set to develop and expand as well as my knowledge of the journalism industry. The style of teaching paired with the projects has led to great connections and a progressive and informative experience. The best part of the MA course is the course leaders: their dedication and motivation to help you to succeed is what’s got me through, and they become genuinely interested in your life and education. They show how much they care and this allows the student to thrive while studying this degree.”

Graduates include Kirsty Styles, award-winning podcaster, investigative journalist and co-founder of a pioneer public speaking programme. She was the only student to speak at the World Association of Newspapers and Publishers annual congress in 2019 having developed comedy as a public engagement strategy for journalism as part of MA Journalism.