Bachelor of Arts Honours in Media Studies

Purpose

The Bachelor of Arts Honours in Media Studies provides the learner with a specialised postgraduate focus in film, television, media studies, new media, journalism, and cultural studies. It is designed to cater to learners with an undergraduate basis in these fields and to equip learners with critical skills within these fields.

On completion of the qualification, qualifying learners will be able to

• Apply critical analytical frameworks to evaluate mass media content creation processes, distribution mechanisms, and audience reception patterns.
• Display comprehensive understanding of and crucial insight into the complex interrelationships between mass media institutions and broader socio-political structures and processes.
• Conduct research into the fields of Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Cinema Studies, and Visual Communication.
• Evaluate and adhere to the evolving ethical responsibilities of media practitioners and researchers within South Africa's diverse socio-cultural landscape and regulatory environment.

Rationale

The Bachelor of Arts Honours in Media Studies will provide learners with specialised knowledge of the subject content and understanding of theories related to the study of mass media and journalism. However, the focus is on critical analysis of mass media production, dissemination, and reception within the contexts of media effects theory, journalism, political economy of the media, and critical realism.

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On completion of the qualification, graduates who, through acquired critical insight into the socio-political function of the mass media and applied journalism practice, will be able to research specific planning and intervention strategies for mass media segments in relation to production, dissemination, and reception. Through this, graduates will be able to make significant contributions to the media industry in the service of a democratic South African society.

The information industry is growing at an increased rate, and skills are scarce in terms of multi-skilled media professionals who understand the needs of a converging media environment. Industry trends also point to a need for cultural and philosophical awareness in graduates, which is currently lacking and which this qualification will provide.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The institution has an approved Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy, which applies to equivalent qualifications for admission into the qualification. RPL will be applied to accommodate applicants who qualify. RPL thus provides alternative access and admission to qualifications, as well as advanced standing within qualifications. RPL may be applied for access, credits from modules, and credits towards the qualification.

RPL for access

• Learners who do not possess a degree but wish to be admitted to the qualification based on recognition of prior learning may be given recognition in terms of the RPL policy.
• To be considered for admission in the qualification based on RPL, applicants should provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that they have acquired the relevant knowledge, skills, and competencies through formal, non-formal, and/or informal learning to cope with the qualification expectations, should they be allowed entrance into the qualification.

RPL for exemption of modules

• Learners may apply for RPL to be exempted from modules that form part of the qualification. For a learner to be exempted from a module, the learner needs to provide sufficient evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that competency was achieved for the learning outcomes that are equivalent to the learning outcomes of the module.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Advanced Diploma in Media Studies, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies, NQF Level 7.

Or

• Bachelor of Arts in Media Communication and Culture, NQF Level 7.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory and elective modules at NQF Level 8, totalling 125 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, NQF Level 8, 50 Credits

• Media Research Methodology, 20 Credits
• Treatise, 30 Credits

Elective Modules, NQF Level 8, 75 Credits (Select any three modules)

• Critical Approaches to Media Design, 25 Credits
• Moving Image Production and Reception, 25 Credits
• New Media Cultures, 25 Credits
• Cinema and Transgression, 25 Credits
• Southern African Cinema, 25 Credits
• Culture, Philosophy and the Environment, 25 Credits
• African Media Contexts, 25 Credits

1. Apply critical analytical frameworks to evaluate mass media content creation processes, distribution mechanisms, and audience reception patterns.
2. Display comprehensive understanding of and critical insight into the complex interrelationships between mass media institutions and broader socio-political structures and processes.
3. Conduct research into the fields of Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Cinema Studies, and Visual Communication.
4. Evaluate and adhere to the evolving ethical responsibilities of media practitioners and researchers within South Africa's diverse socio-cultural landscape and regulatory environment.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Engage critically with key theoretical paradigms in media studies and contextualize media texts within broader theoretical discourses on representation, identity, and meaningmaking.
• Synthesise diverse theoretical positions to develop nuanced understandings of media's social and cultural significance.
• Apply appropriate theoretical frameworks to examine the media's role in addressing social justice issues specific to the South African context.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Critically examine the media's role in democratic processes, public sphere formation, and civic participation.
• Assesses how media representations reflect and shape socio-political discourses around race, class, and gender.
• Formulate original critiques of media's functioning within the public sphere, drawing on advanced theoretical perspectives from political philosophy and critical theory.
• Apply and develop appropriate strategies to engage media-related policy and executive realities at a local, as well as international levels.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Formulate coherent research questions that address significant theoretical or empirical gaps
• Investigate and apply the epistemological foundations and the relative applicability of various research methodologies.
• Critically engage with existing scholarly literature and media artefacts. Research findings are competently articulated through clear, coherent academic writing that adheres to disciplinary conventions
• Produce original research that contributes meaningfully to scholarly discourse in the selected field(s).

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Apply a comprehensive understanding of ethical principles to media practitioners and researchers, which is reflected in research and creative outputs
• Apply appropriate ethical frameworks when navigating complex issues of representation, voice, and power
• Analyse, report, and develop ethical and responsible strategies for data collection, storage, so that the privacy and dignity of participants are protected
• Formulate contextually appropriate responses to emergent ethical challenges in digital research and media production environments, considering issues of online consent and data privacy.

Integrated Assessment

Learning and assessment should be integrated throughout this qualification. Continuous formative assessment is required to ensure that learners get feedback on their progress towards the achievement of specific learning outcomes. Summative assessment is concerned with the judgement of the learning in relation to the exit-level outcomes of the qualification. Such judgment should include 'integrated assessments' which assess the learners' ability to integrate the larger body of knowledge, competencies, and attitudes that are represented by the exit-level outcomes, either as a whole or as components of the qualification.

Assignments designed to meet the requirements of integrated assessment must be such as to achieve

• An integration of the achievement of exit-level outcomes in a way that demonstrates that the purpose of the qualification has been achieved, into the parts of the qualification of study.
• Evaluation of learner performance to demonstrate applied competence.
• Criterion-referenced assessment, which is clearly explained to and understood by the learners, and that can be applied in the recognition of prior learning.

It is essential that a wide range of knowledge, skills, competencies, and attitudes be integrated using innovative methods - and in the assessment of outcomes, due recognition should be given to assessment criteria and methods that assess these appropriately and adequately.

Learners are assessed both formatively and summatively.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment in postgraduate theory and research programmes functions as an ongoing, developmental process embedded throughout the learning journey. It serves primarily as a scaffold for intellectual growth, which allows for an ongoing exchange between learner and instructor to the end of developing competencies and building knowledge.

In this context, formative assessment

• Provides iterative feedback on conceptual understanding and methodological approaches while theoretical frameworks are still being developed
• Facilitates the refinement of a research project through critical dialogue between supervisor and learner
• Occurs at critical junctures in the research process to enable substantive revision before summative evaluation

Summative Assessment

Summative assessment at the postgraduate level moves beyond mere evaluation of content mastery to assess the learner's capacity to make original contributions to knowledge. In theory and research-focused qualifications, summative assessment:

• Measures the quality of critical engagement with primary and secondary sources, including the ability to synthesize complex theoretical positions
• Includes comprehensive examinations, final research papers, and critical analysis projects that demonstrate mastery
• Examinations cover broader theoretical terrain than specialized research papers, allowing evaluation of learners' grasp of the field's full conceptual landscape.