Study MA Public Relations and Digital Communications with Placement Year

Course Highlights

On this exciting Sandwich Placement, two-year course, you will learn core principles and gain an advanced understanding of public relations and digital communications. The first year of this course is the same as the one-year MA Public Relations and Digital Communications course. It is the second year that differentiates these courses.

This MA Public Relations and Digital Communications is a conversion programme and will enable you to:

• Develop an understanding of the challenges in the PR and communications industry and apply your knowledge from the course to identify effective solutions to real-life case studies.
• Feel confident and prepared to work in the industry. This course incorporates theoretical and practical learning styles to equip you for a career in the field. This includes traditional lectures as well as workshops, masterclasses and online study.
• Continuously develop and advance your PR and communication skills. You will familiarise yourself with media planning, writing for the press, reputational management and how to strategically analyse data to measure the impact of digital campaigns and more.
• Challenge your thoughts and learnings to an advanced level, ensuring you are always open-minded and accepting of different perspectives that will positively influence the way you handle different PR situations.
• Explore the public relations industry and trends of today, taught to you by our experienced staff, authentic coursework assignments and expert speakers.

Course Modules

Learning Structure

Teaching

• You will study the details of public relations, corporate social responsibility and the importance of ethical PR, legal frameworks and the risks involved. Advertising and marketing also go hand in hand with PR and digital communications, making it important you recognise the close intersections and how this industry enhances PR communications by promoting messages further and to more targeted audiences.
• You will learn more about the current digital environment and online culture so you will be able to make careful but strategic decisions. The course will cover the latest digital trends, personalisation, audience participation, SEO practices, metrics and the issues that this diverse online setting welcomes.
• Throughout, you will learn a mixture of traditional PR skills as well as immersing yourself in the shifting PR landscape made up of more advanced digital technologies that are able to reach changing consumer demographics.

Assessment

• Placement you will complete a related assessment and dissertation in the area of your choice.

Entry Requirements

• A 4-year Honours degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with CGPA 2.75 or 55% of marks (or above) from recognised institution.

English Language Requirements

IELTS Academic

Overall 6.5

With minimum 5.5 in each components

TOEFL iBT

Overall 79

Minimum in Listening: 17, Reading: 18, Speaking: 20, Writing: 17

PTE (Pearson Test of English) Academic

Overall 59

With minimum 59 in each components

LanguageCert Academic

Overall 70

With minimum 60 in each bands

OIETC (Oxford International English Test Centre)

Overall C1

With minimum B2 in each bands

Duolingo

Overall 120

With minimum 92 in each bands

Study Gaps

For applicants with an academic or professional gap of up to 5 years, admission is generally considered acceptable. If the gap exceeds this period, applications may still be successful but will typically be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

To strengthen your profile, it is important to:

• Provide a clear explanation of how you spent the gap period (e.g., employment, further learning, personal responsibilities).
• Emphasize the skills and experiences you developed during this time that are relevant to the program.
• Demonstrate that your academic qualifications continue to meet the course entry requirements.