The School of Communication Studies at AUT is part of the Faculty of Digital and Creative Technologies (FDCT). Journalism taught here gives graduates the broad base of skills they need to excel in today’s rapidly changing news media environment. Students gain experience in news reporting, different writing specialisations, bi-cultural reporting, media law and ethics. Student’s options include:
• Broadcast journalism
• Magazine journalism
• Photo journalism
• New media journalism
• Editing and design
• News production
Graduate Diploma in Pacific Journalism (GradDipPacJourn)
Some 8 million people live in the South Pacific. The Pacific region offers cultural diversity, and is one of New Zealand’s biggest sources of migrants and export trade. It is also under threat from climate change, can be a hotbed of political tension and is rapidly becoming a highly contested place for resources. For journalists, the South Pacific is a complex region with a wealth of fascinating stories.
The Graduate Diploma in Pacific Journalism (GradDipPacJourn) is designed to develop more journalists with the specialist skills to report on the South Pacific. Students will explore the role of the Pasifika media and the treatment of Pasifika, Māori and diversity issues in the mainstream media. They will also learn to analyse and comment on Pasifika political, social, economic and cultural issues, and other issues in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Addresses the shortage of Pasifika journalists
• Suitable for anyone who wants to develop journalism skills in and about the
South Pacific in as little as 1 year
• A pragmatic and critically relevant journalism qualification for the many Pacific
Islanders (and others) across the region already working in the media
• Focuses on practical and critical news reporting skills for print, broadcast,
narrowcast and digital media
• Develops a critical awareness of the demands of the local and wider
publishing and broadcasting industry in a Pasifika context
• Opportunity to complete media attachments and a newsroom internship in a
Pasifika or mainstream news media organisation
• Encourages bilingual or multilingual interviewing skills
• Papers cover ethics, media law and digital media storytelling in a cross-cultural
context
Content: Students can take core papers within the Bachelor of Communication Studies in Journalism, which provide the fundamental skills for professional journalism work. In addition, they take Pasifika media papers and are able to choose other electives that reflect their particular interests in the Asia-Pacific region. The core papers include a media industry internship.
The Pacific Newsroom Practicum paper offered in the second semester allows students to create a wide range of media products including films, video, sound, image installations plus traditional print stories and related analysis through a journal. The AUT programme leader is open to other proposals from students who might wish to demonstrate reporting through other means.
More information
Bachelor of Communication Studies in Journalism
The Journalism major gives graduates the broad base of skills needed to cope with the challenges of news media environment. The strength of the major is in its professional focus, alongside grounding in broad communication theory. Students write stories for real publications, often beating the professionals to the punch.
The students gain experience in news reporting, different writing specialisations, bi-cultural reporting, media law and ethics. The core papers cover news gathering and court and local government systems. Students learn how to take notes in shorthand. Options include broadcast journalism, magazine journalism, photo journalism, new media journalism, editing and design and news production.
Students in the Journalism major also have access to the Journalism newsroom and the award winning Te Waha Nui newspaper in print and online. During the final year of study, students undertake a range of attachments and internships to prepare them for transition to work in the news industry. An honours year is also available for students who wish to study further.
Through projects and papers studied, students will be able to get a feel of working for a real client in the journalism industry. Core papers studied in this major are Principles of News Journalism, Principles of Broadcast Journalism, Practicum Journalism Law & Ethics, Public Affairs Reporting, Specialist Writing and News Reporting.
Course Content: Most papers last one semester and are worth 15 points. Students must complete 120 points each year (360 points for the entire degree). In each year students study core (compulsory) papers, and select other papers from a range of options.
The year one introduces essential theory and practice as a basis for later specialisation. This focuses on media and interpersonal communication and the relationships between communication, technology and New Zealand society. In the first year, the students are required to complete 120 points.
In year two, the students undertake more practical work in all the communication disciplines while continuing to develop critical theory to complete another 120 points. This allows students to focus their studies more specifically but still keep options open for their final choice of a major. Majors and minors begin in Year Two. Students are required to complete 90 points for a major and 60 points for a minor (if desired).
In Year Three, students major in one of a number of fields including advertising creativity, communication and public relations, creative industries, journalism, digital media, professional communication, radio and television. Following the broader focus of Year Two, the majors now go deeper into the applied theory and practice of these various communication fields. Students who have begun a minor in Year Two will also complete this in Year Three alongside their major. An internship may be offered as part of the Year Three programme.
All Year Three students must study Media Communication III plus the equivalent of 60 points in their major to reach the 90 points required to complete a major. The remaining 45 points may be used to complete a minor or to study additional elective papers of the student’s choice.
Entry to a Year Three major may be restricted if applications exceed places available. Preference will be given to students who achieve good academic results and show aptitude in the relevant prerequisite papers in Year Two.
More information
Bachelor of Communication Studies (Honours)
The Bachelor of Communication Studies (Honours) is a postgraduate degree offering a blend of contextual and creative options. This programme will develop further the skills and knowledge obtained through their undergraduate degree.
Students choose papers to suit their individual interests, including a core research methods paper and at least one paper that contextualises current developments in media and communication studies. Further choices include other contextually oriented papers and a range of creatively focused papers.
Students also complete a dissertation, in consultation with the programme leader and a supervisory team. The dissertation can be produced in a traditional academic form but students are encouraged to develop research that includes a creative component (such as a screenplay, an in-depth journalism piece, digital media artefact, radio programme, or public relations campaign).
Dissertations that include a creative component will also include an analysis that places the creative work in its critical/theoretical, historical and personal context.
More information
Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies
The Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies offers students a blend of creative and contextual options and is designed to provide them with a relevant and flexible entry into postgraduate study.
From investigative journalism to screenwriting, from digital media to public relations, and from organisational change to radio, this qualification provides students with a one year intensive postgraduate qualification that covers the communications field. Students can either choose a generic pathway, in which they can select from a range of papers that best suit their interests, or a specialised pathway, in which they can develop and extend their creative and professional practice in one particular discipline area.
Pathway without specialisation
This option is designed for students who want to cover a broad range of communication areas and to gain expertise before embarking on further study or entering the workforce. Students tailor their study towards intersecting and emerging creative fields (for instance, by combining animation and screenwriting), or towards a more traditional academic focus (for instance, by focusing on patterns of media ownership and the impact of globalisation on society).
Specialised pathways
These options are designed for students who prefer to gain an in-depth, vocationally-oriented education in a specific discipline area. Each specialisation allows students to develop critical knowledge and professional competencies that are crucial for success in the contemporary world.
Communication and Public Relations
This pathway focuses on preparing students for communication management roles in corporate communication, consultancy work and internal communication. It is especially relevant for students who want to combine critical and academic analysis with experiential learning in a variety of ‘real-world’scenarios. Close relationships with industry leaders and professional associations ensure strong dialogue and mentoring opportunities between students and
the wider profession.
Creative Industries
The creative industries pathway is about becoming a manager in the creative sector, organising creative personnel and creative projects and working with teams on the production of cultural goods and services.It is particularly suited to students who want to focus on the dynamics of organisational change and combines a critical approach to policy with a grounded analysis of project-based work.
Digital Media
This pathway allows students to develop specific professional and vocational skills across a wide range of applications and platforms. It is particularly suited to students with a background in digital media who want to extend their professional practice to take advantage of emerging and dynamic links between the animation, moving image, digital video, web and interactive areas.
Journalism
This pathway focuses on preparing students for the news industry. Students learn about the professional demands of the news media and develop the theoretical knowledge and technical competencies required to meet those demands.
Radio
This pathway focuses on the professional practice of radio and the vocational demands of that practice. It is particularly suitable for students who have experience in radio who wish to develop the analytical and theoretical skills necessary to complement their careers.
On completing the Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies, students can elect to continue their studies with the Master of Communication Studies (subject to entry criteria).
More information
Master of Communication Studies
The Master of Communication Studies is a postgraduate degree offering a blend of contextual and creative options. Students are encouraged to mix creative and traditional academic work in the first year of taught papers and extend their knowledge and skills into their research in the second year. Current staff has expertise across a range of fields; from journalism to organisational communication, radio to creative writing, video post-production to public relations.
In the first year students choose papers to suit their individual interests, including a core research methods paper and at least one paper that contextualises current developments in media and communication studies. Further choices include other contextually oriented papers and a range of creatively focused papers.
Year Two is a research year and students work with a Programme Leader and a supervisory team to design and develop a thesis. The thesis can be produced in a traditional academic form but students are encouraged to develop research that includes a creative component (such as a screenplay, an in-depth journalism piece, digital media artefact, radio programme, or public relations campaign). Theses that include a creative component will also include an analysis that places the creative work in its critical/theoretical, historical and personal context.
More information
Master of Philosophy (MS)
The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) is a one year research only degree. It provides an opportunity for students to undertake a research topic of an applied or professional nature, under the supervision of School of Communication Studies staff.
Alternatively, the MPhil can provide a pathway to more advanced research at doctoral level.
Students will complete an original thesis during this year of study. Staff in the School of Communication Studies are available to supervise MPhil research on a wide range of topics. The school has extensive research capabilities in the following areas:
• Journalism
• Multimodal analysis
• New media
• Organisational communication
• Pasifika media
• Political economy of media
• Public relations and purposive communication
More information
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) constitutes an original and substantial contribution to knowledge in an academic discipline. The PhD offered in the School of Communication Studies provides research training that fosters development of independent research skills including the ability to: formulate a significant problem; master appropriate conceptual and methodological skills; and relate the research topic to a broader framework of knowledge.
Students work closely with their supervisor to prepare a thesis, which is examined by independent experts.
In year one, students put together a proposal that critically reviews work done in their area of research. In year two, they refine their design by experimentation or field work as appropriate. And the year three is spent finalising the experimentation and data analysis. The PhD thesis is written and submitted to the supervisor for feedback. It could take two or three drafts before the thesis is ready for submission and examination.
More information
Back to project