The Bachelor of Media Communication responds to the increasing global demand for graduates with a deep understanding of the role of media in contemporary social, cultural and economic life and well-developed professional skills in communication. The course will provide you with analytical and critical thinking skills through a core program of professional communication practice alongside specialist study in a related field such as journalism, media, screen, or digital humanities.
The core units will offer a range of practical experiences utilising the Monash Media Lab, culminating in a key component of the course; a final year media project or industry internship, taken either locally or overseas.
You will develop cross-cultural competency, social awareness and a global outlook. This course is suited for students who wish to pursue a career in media communication occupations across a broad range of media industry sectors and other professional domains, including government, corporate and NGO. Relevant occupations include journalist, video producer, media content coordinator, public relations professional, digital communications coordinator, director of social media, researcher, media educator.
NOTE: With permission from the Course Coordinator students can replace the internship unit with additional lab units.
Double degrees
The Bachelor of Media Communication can be taken in combination with the following courses:
- B2000 Bachelor of Business
- F2002 Bachelor of Design.
This will lead to the award of two degrees, the Bachelor of Media Communication and the degree awarded by the partner course. The requirements for the award of the Bachelor of Media Communication degree are the same whether the award is earned through a single or double degree course. Students should refer to the course entry for the partner course and the course map for the double degree for the requirements of the other degree.
Specialisations
Digital humanities
Digital humanities is an innovative, multidisciplinary specialisation at the intersection of the study of human culture and digital technologies, of the disciplines of the arts, humanities and computing. It utilises a variety of different critical approaches that make use of new digital technologies to research and understand media communication. Rather than taking digital technologies as simply objects of study, digital humanities employs them as tools for making sense of the media-saturated world in which we live and the cultural transformations that are taking place with their development. By combining the expertise of the faculties of Arts, IT, and Art, Design and Architecture you will develop the necessary skills to create and evaluate digital media content, use digital technologies to analyse complex problems and creatively express yourself and to work both independently and collaboratively with others across disciplines boundaries. The specialisation will prepare you for professional media practices such as data journalism, data visualisation, data archiving, social media analysis and other computer-mediated communication analysis, and interactive experience design.
Journalism
This specialisation will prepare you for the professional practice of high-quality journalism and production across all media platforms. It recognises the fundamental interdependence of journalism practice, theory and empirical research, where each is an essential thread in the fabric of journalism that matters. You will gain knowledge of all production technologies using the state-of-the-art Monash Media Lab, which houses integrated teaching and production/research facilities. The specialisation will provide you with advanced skills in research, writing and communication for professional practice and is founded on the principle that robust and accurate journalism is an essential component of a democratic society. You will also explore foundational and contemporary scholarship about the context and practice of journalism in Australia and internationally, with extensive use of media examples and case studies.
Media
The media specialisation provides a strong, grounded understanding of contemporary media. You will gain in-depth knowledge of media studies as a discipline and develop skills in media analysis that have applications across a wide range of professional contexts - from social media strategy in organisations to media management and communication and media policy. You will develop an understanding of the transition from 'broadcast' to 'networked' media systems and of the social, economic and political disruptions this transition has brought around the world. The specialisation introduces principles for making critical and ethical judgments relevant to professional practice in the new media environment. It offers an international approach, providing opportunities to locate yourself as a responsible global citizen.
Screen
Screen industries, technologies and cultures are changing faster than ever before. This specialisation provides you with the knowledge to understand these transformations, navigating how film, television and newer screen formats have led to and function within contemporary media ecologies. You will study an extensive range of units covering historical, analytical and practical approaches to screen content and formats from around the world. In this, you will consider current academic debates concerning the shift from local to global and analog to digital economies, and also address issues to do with the representation of gender, race and class on screen. The screen specialisation also combines conceptual and practical video production skills relevant to a broad range of media platforms and screen cultures.
These course outcomes are aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework level 7 and Monash Graduate AttributesAustralian Qualifications Framework level 7 and Monash Graduate Attributes (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/alignmentofoutcomes.html).
Upon successful completion of this course it is expected that students will be able to:
- identify, research and analyse the great media and communications challenges of our age and develop creative and effective solutions
- demonstrate in-depth knowledge of a specialist media and communications discipline
- work both independently and as part of a team to encompass diverse abilities and perspectives
- show evidence of conceptual and technical skills in a specific media and communications practice
- understand the principles for making critical and ethical judgments regarding professional media and communications practice
- apply knowledge of media communication to a range of professional contexts
- exercise cross-cultural competency and social responsibility as a global citizen
- communicate effectively with diverse audiences and in a variety of formats.
The course develops through three themes that combine to underpin media communication practice: Part A. Strategic knowledge, Part B. Practical and professional skills and Part C. Collaboration and leadership. Part D involves free elective studies.
Part A. Strategic knowledge
These studies build students' competence in: analysing and understanding the current state and past developments in media communication locally and globally; understanding impacts of media and communication transformation, and media power; creating future scenarios and media communication visions by developing students' preparedness and adaptability for future media communication change and creativity.
Part B. Practical and professional skills
This involves developing students' competencies in linking knowledge and media practice in professional contexts, such as conceptual and implementation skills, project and content management skills, hands-on experience in putting knowledge into practice, and thereby testing and creatively experimenting with (strategic) knowledge about media transitions and transformations. It also involves developing students' competency in ethical and legal aspects of media communication.
Part C. Collaboration and leadership
This involves competencies necessary for students to work in teams and in different knowledge communities and media communication professional settings. It includes competence in engaging with stakeholders, media literacy, and participatory research and media making in collaboration with experts from academia, industry, government, and the community. It also includes competency in social and cross-cultural awareness.
Part D: Free elective study
Free elective units in all specialisations enable students to further their knowledge of their specialisation, or media communication more broadly, or to select units from across the University in which they are eligible to enrol. For students in a double degree course, some units required for the other degree can also be credited as electives towards the media communication specialist degree.
The course comprises 144 points, of which 96 points are media communication studies and 48 points are free electives.
The course develops through theme studies: Part A. Strategic knowledge, Part B. Practical and professional skills and Part C. Collaboration and leadership. Part D involves free elective studies.
Elective units may be at any level, however, no more than ten units (60 points) can be credited to the media communication course at level 1 and a minimum of 36 points must be completed at level 3, of which 24 points must be from the specialisation. It is recommended that you complete level 1 sequences first as these lay the foundation for further study.
A minimum of 12 points must be chosen for the media practice labs units listed under your specialisation, with at least 6 points at level 3, up to a maximum of 24 points of media practice can be counted towards a specialisation.
Part A. Strategic knowledge, Part B. Practical and professional skills and Part C. Collaboration and leadership
Common units (36 points)
Students must complete:
- ATS1206 Media challenges
- ATS1119 Communicating in the digital era
- ATS3216Not offered in 2018 Media communication professional project or ATS3213Not offered in 2018 Media communication professional placement (12 points)
Two media practice labs (12 points) with at least one at level 3 chosen from:
- ATS2186Not offered in 2018 Audio lab
- ATS2187Not offered in 2018 Video lab
- ATS2188Not offered in 2018 Media scriptwriting lab
- ATS3191Not offered in 2018 Media analytics lab
- ATS3192Not offered in 2018 Media entrepreneurship lab
- ATS3193Not offered in 2018 Virtual reality lab
Specialisations
Students complete core and elective units in one of the following specialisations:
Part D. Free electives (48 points)
Free elective units in all specialisations enable students to further their knowledge of their specialisation, or media communication more broadly. Units from the elective lists for the specialisations in this course are recommended, as are any remaining cornerstone or capstone units from any of the specialisations. Elective units may also be taken from non-arts disciplines to broaden your knowledge or to complete a major or minor(s) from another course as long as you have the prerequisites and there are no restrictions on enrolment in the units.The units may be at any level, however, no more than ten units (60 points) at level 1 can be credited to the Bachelor of Media Communication.
Free electives can be identified using the browse unitsbrowse units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/search) tool and indexes of unitsindexes of units (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/units/) in the current edition of the Handbook. MajorsMajors (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/index-bydomain_type-major.html) and minorsminors (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/aos/index-bydomain_type-minor.html) can also be identified using the Handbook indexes. The level of the unit is indicated by the first number in the unit code; undergraduate units are those that commence with the numbers 1-3. You may need permission from the owning faculty to enrol in some units taught by other faculties.
For students in a double degree course, some units required for the other degree are credited as electives towards the global studies degree.
