Course description

We teach the next generation of talented journalists. This degree gives you all the skills you need to go behind the headlines and build a career as a journalist in the age of the internet.

• Journalism at Derby has been ranked Top 30 in the Guardian University Guide 2022
• Choose our foundation year route if you want to strengthen your knowledge and skills before you progress to stage one of the BA (Hons) Journalism degree
• Gain substantial practical experience of researching and producing powerful print, audio, video and online stories
• Get to grips with the latest techniques and technologies which are transforming journalism in an era of digital news
• Enjoy work placements with media organisations in the UK or overseas
• Hone your skills in our outstanding facilities which include TV and radio studios as well as a fully equipped newsroom
• Take the chance to specialise in a journalistic genre of your choice – from film to fashion, sport to crime, science to politics
• Prepare for a rewarding career in journalism, online or broadcast media production, PR, advertising, corporate communications, law, public administration or politics
• Spend time studying abroad in America or Europe

We've developed this course with your future in mind. New technologies are revolutionising the industry and the ways in which people receive their news. We’ll equip you to be a multi-skilled multimedia professional who can rise to the challenge.

Your Foundation Year provides you with a firm grounding in the skills and knowledge you need and introduces you to the subject of journalism, enabling you to achieve your full honours degree in four years.

New skills for a new era

In an age of digital news, there has never been a more exciting or challenging time to study journalism. This dynamic course enables you to produce compelling content for both traditional and emerging media platforms.

You'll gain the core journalistic research and writing skills as well as studying media law, ethics and public administration. At the same time, you’ll develop a multi-platform mindset - producing print, radio and TV reports as well as creating blogs and podcasts, digital photos, audio/video stories and content for websites and external devices.

Hone your expertise in news gathering

Throughout your studies, you’ll have significant hands-on experience of newsgathering and reporting - developing your news values and working across a designated ‘news patch’ to source, research and produce original stories.

You’ll visit courts and public meetings, make your own contacts, cover community issues, conduct interviews and produce fair, balanced and accurate reports.

Exciting work experience opportunities

As part of your course, you’ll gain practical work experience with a media organisation, in the UK or overseas. All our students are expected to have completed at least 15 days of work placement by the time they graduate.

Drawing on our strong partnerships with local and national media, you can choose a range of work-based modules to expand your professional know-how and boost your CV. We also encourage you to work with charities and arts organisations to gain an insight into why media matters so much. In addition, you can work for various print, radio and online news outlets at the University, which is itself a rich source of news, debate and topical comment.

Outstanding facilities

You'll be based at the main campus at Kedleston Road and at our Markeaton Street site where you'll study in our excellent facilities including three radio studios, a fully equipped television studio, video editing suites, Mac suites and a newsroom featuring the latest software.

We're an Apple accredited centre and you’ll work with the industry standard recording and editing software that is used worldwide. It means you’ll be both confident and competent with up-to-the-minute technology - giving you a real advantage when you're looking for a job.

How you will learn

During your foundation year you will be assessed mainly by coursework, and with some in-class tests.

For the rest of your degree you’ll be assessed in several ways, including academic essays, audio and video reporting, case studies, editing skills, examinations, extended reports, journalistic writing, presentations, process analyses, production design and content production, production skills in image manipulation, reflective diaries, report writing and self-evaluation.