Doctor of Philosophy in Media and Communication

Purpose

The purpose of the Doctor of Philosophy in Media and Communication is to allow learners to contribute to the development of the field of media and communication by encouraging innovation in thinking within the global systems of the local, regional, and continental African context and the globalised spaces in which media and communication play out. The new knowledge produced will be inter- and cross-disciplinary and will include innovative thinking pertaining to all kinds of visual and written media and communication spanning the film and photographic arts, news and actuality, entertainment media on broadcast and networked media channels, and public relations communications within a complex business, cultural and social environment.

The interdisciplinary qualification will allow learners to develop high-level research capabilities and to make a significant and original academic contribution at the frontiers of the field of media and communication. It seeks to encourage critical engagement to the highest, internationally competitive level of cognitive complexity and research skill, as benchmarked against comparable programmes both locally and internationally. Learners will have a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of relevant fields and ethical awareness of research and professional conduct. They will be equipped with skills in the evaluation, selection and application of appropriate research approaches, methodologies, and processes in the pursuit of a research objective. Learners will have strong abilities in self-reflection and autonomy; as well as excellent communication skills and honed critical and analytical thinking skills for problem-solving.

In line with the HEQSF, the qualification will provide training for an academic career by developing proficiencies in undertaking research at the most advanced academic levels. Graduates' original contributions to both media and communication studies will prepare them to become the next generation of lecturers, scholars, and industry thought leaders, thereby building the field, the profession of media production, the creative arts and the business of cultural production more broadly.

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

• Specialise in a specific area of the discipline.
• Conduct the original research work.
• Expand the borders of the discipline.
• Apply theoretical knowledge on the subject.
• Obtain competencies and skills for future decision-making and strategic thinking on the corporate level.

Rationale

The media, creative and cultural industries are undergoing radical change locally and internationally due to the complex shifts between politics, economics, social and cultural norms on the one hand, and changes in technology on the other. Previously different sub-disciplines like journalism, film production, photography and public relations communications are responding to drastic changes in the kinds of communication produced, the means of production and distribution, and the effects such communication has on society broadly. To produce deeply theorised knowledge that speaks productively to both local and international shifts and trends in what constitutes media and communication, how it is produced and the effects it has on society, the economy and the world, scholars and industry leaders in media and communication alike must be able to critically analyse the economic, socio-cultural, technological, political and creative environments, and must have an advanced understanding of the influences and flows of practice across a range of disciplines.

There is a strong need for a qualification offering that encourages and supports the discipline of media and the field of communication at the highest level, in support of the values and objectives of the National Development Plan (2030) of South Africa, the aim of which is to empower learners to become active participants in national economic development through the prioritizing of "improving the quality of education, skills development and innovation". The need was conveyed through focus groups with academic staff who are active in the field of media and communication, informal consultation with industry experts and both local and international academics at benchmark institutions that host comparable programmes. This need was further informed by discussions with alumni and the advisory boards that represent a broad base of industry specialisations in film and photography, (including corporate films, documentaries, commercials, feature films, and film and photographic servicing of foreign productions), as well as in journalism (including text-based, broadcast, and online media) and public relations.

Communication and media are listed as critical skills in a Technical Report for the 2020 Critical Skills List. The qualification is intended to attract candidates who want to obtain the highest-level knowledge of media and communication that they can use as lecturers, scholars and industry thought leaders. They will have had substantive experience working in the media and communication sector and might have been trained as journalists, photographers, videographers, archivists, public relations professionals, and graphic designers. Learners will benefit from the qualification's clear focus on the field of media and communication that provides a space for theoretical engagement with the intersections between the social sciences and arts in the context of where meaning is constructed through the design, production and distribution of media and communication artefacts, whether digital or analogue. They will be welcomed to explore media and communication-based research in Human, Health, and Social Dynamics; The Digital Society; and The Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability. They will benefit from the skills they obtain in conducting complex research and developing innovative knowledge in these areas, especially as it relates to the growth of the media industry, the international media sphere, and new media products that encourage sustainable business.

Learners from disadvantaged backgrounds will benefit from the qualification as it will widen access and achieve the appropriate levels of demographic diversity in the learner profile regarding class, gender, race, and economic circumstances. Access will further be widened through admitting doctoral candidates who do not meet the formal admission requirements but have made significant professional achievements in the media and communication sphere or have other relevant high-level prior learning and have demonstrated relevant understanding and skills in research and knowledge production at the appropriate level of cognitive complexity. Given the need for funding offered for qualification for people from previously disadvantaged groups and the need to upskill and change the demographic profile of scholars in the field of media studies, partnerships with various funding organisations to provide scholarships will be established.

Graduates will benefit society by being able to exhibit the technological, ethical, and relational capabilities identified in the Charter of Graduate Attributes, which include:

• The ability to optimally communicate and follow through with technological solutions.
• The ability to use practical knowledge, which involves the ability to transform knowledge and technology to new situations.
• An awareness of social priorities and responsibilities which may have technological solutions.
• An ability to discern whether professional practices are within ethical boundaries.

The qualification will focus on responding to the scholarship of media and communication in ways that feed into graduate attributes relevant to postgraduate qualifications of resilience and research capability. Graduates will have technological capability and foresight, resilience and problem-solving, relational capability, and ethical capability, which are central to the institution's Graduate Attributes (2017) aims at the construction of knowledge that is innovative and driven towards technological and environmental awareness and social responsibility. As contributors to knowledge production in the field and discipline, graduates will conduct research that is theoretical and practice-focused in the media and cultural spheres, thereby honing skills as scholars, high-level strategists and thought leaders who have a high level of autonomy and critical thinking skills obtained through a carefully supervised understanding of research methodology, epistemology, and ontology.

Graduates will, in turn, benefit the economy by producing new knowledge that supports the values and objects of the National Development Plan (2030) of South Africa with its aim to empower learners to become active participants in national economic development through their high-level understanding of media and communication. This is in line with the NDP's prioritizing of "improving the quality of education, skills development and innovation". The qualification is central to developing a key area of specialisation in the knowledge economy. The qualification will enable the production of new knowledge that addresses the shifts and changes in the field of media and communication through the development of high-level skills in research processes, analysis and synthesis of knowledge related to the discipline, and high-level communication skills. Graduates with these skills will shape both scholarship and the creative and cultural industries through their deep level of understanding of and ability to produce high-level critical and creative contributions to the theories and practices that relate to the communication and media industry in South Africa, which is touted to reach R177bn in turnover by 2022 (Price Waterhouse Coopers' Entertainment and media outlook: 2018-2022).

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 for or towards the qualification.

RPL for access

• Learners who do not meet the minimum entrance requirements or the required qualification at the same NQF level as the qualification required for admission may be considered for admission through RPL.
• 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.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirements for this qualification are

• Master of Communication and Media, NQF Level 09.

Or

• Master of Arts in Communication Science, NQF Level 09.

Or

• Master of Arts in Communication Studies, NQF Level 09.

Or

• Master of Public Relations and Communication Management, NQF Level 09.

Or

• Master of Arts in the cognate field, NQF Level 09.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 10 totalling 360 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 10, 360 Credits

• Thesis, 360 Credits.

1. Demonstrate expertise and critical knowledge in an area at the forefront of media and communication studies.
2. Demonstrate the ability to conceptualise ethically new research initiatives and create new knowledge or practice in the field of media and communication studies.
3. Demonstrate the ability ethically to make independent judgements about managing information, including incomplete or inconsistent information or data in an iterative process of analysis and synthesis.
4. Demonstrate the ability to apply specialist knowledge and theory in critically reflexive, creative, and novel ways to address complex practical and theoretical problems, and to develop significant original insights into new, complex, and abstract ideas, information, or issues.
5. Demonstrate the ability to contribute to scholarly debates around theories of knowledge and processes of knowledge production in an area of study or practice, through a communication strategy for dissemination and defence of research, strategic and policy initiatives and their implementation to specialist and non-specialist audiences using the full resources of academic and professional or occupational discourse.
6. Demonstrate the ability to produce a complex media or communication product that exhibits a novel response to the defined research problem and/or its potential solutions based on knowledge of the scholarship of the field and complex argumentation.
7. Demonstrate the ability to produce substantial, independent, in-depth, and publishable work which meets international standards, is new or innovative by peers, and makes a significant contribution to the discipline, field, or practice.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1

• Debate the key ontological and epistemological stances within the existing scholarship of an area within media and communication studies.
• Critically analyse the existing scholarship of an area within media and communication studies.
• Describe and explain theoretical underpinnings in the management of complex systems to achieve systemic change within the context of media and communication studies.
• Evaluate and explain the conflicting debates within the existing scholarship of an area within media and communication studies.
• Make context-based statements of conclusion concerning debates within the existing scholarship of an area within media and communication studies.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2

• Critically analyse and apply the key theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches within the scholarship of an area within media and communication studies.
• Demarcate, describe, and persuasively argue a novel and significant research problem that is coherent in relation to a similarly coherently described in Ontology, Epistemology, Theoretical framework, Literature review/analysis, Research aim, Research question, Significance and Relevance of Study, Assumptions and Limitations.
• Explore, address, and manage emerging ethical issues in research design.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3

• Obtain information from the iterative research process.
• Analyse the in-depth information obtained in the research process.
• Compare and contrast different items of information obtained in the research process.
• Analyse the conflicts between different sets of information obtained in the research process.
• Make evaluative assessments of the different sets of information obtained in the research process.
• Engage in ethical decision-making, including monitoring and evaluation of the consequences of these decisions.
• Demonstrate intellectual independence, research leadership and management of research and research development.
• Work independently and take full responsibility for the work, and lead, oversee and be held ultimately accountable for the overall governance of processes and systems.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4

• Compare and contrast different sets of information obtained in the research process.
• Identify gaps in the existing specialist knowledge within the scholarship of an area within media and communication studies.
• Examine the conflicts between sets of information obtained in the research process and existing specialist knowledge within the scholarship of an area within media and communication studies.
• Critically apply unusual analytic lenses to sets of information and specialist knowledge within the scholarship of an area within media and communication studies.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5

• Analyse the different sets of information obtained in the research in a coherent manner.
• Identify and address the gaps in the scholarship of an area within media and communication studies that relate to different sets of information obtained in the research.
• Describe and evaluate relationships between different sets of information obtained in the research and the scholarship of an area within media and communication.
• Argue logically and coherently the value of a conclusion derived from a comparison between information obtained in the research and the scholarship of an area within media and communication.
• Explain and support new methods, techniques, processes, systems, or technologies in original, creative, and innovative ways appropriate to specialised and complex contexts.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6

• Identify a defined research problem suitable for addressing a complex media or communication product.
• Identify the resources, conceptual approaches and alternatives required to develop a complex media or communication product.
• Develop a plan of production of a complex media or communication product.
• Follow a plan of production in the development of a complex media or communication product.
• Exhibit a complex media or communication product in a public space.
• Communicate in specific communication and media problem-solving situations effectively.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7

• Identify a conceptual problem suitable for investigation and argument in the form of one or more scholarly journal articles.
• Identify key points of dispute within the epistemology within which the problem resides.
• Conceptualise an argumentation point suitable for expression in one or more scholarly journal articles.
• Write a complex argument that logically leads from a research problem to a scholarly point in a way suitable for scholarly journal articles.
• Identify an approach appropriate to scholarly journals for publication.
• Confirm publication requirements and effect revisions to peer review requirements.
• Write a thesis demonstrating the useful application of appropriate theoretical knowledge and research methodology.
• Submit research papers to be presented at local, national and or international conferences and submit articles for publication in accredited journals.
• Present research papers at local, national and or international conferences.
• Publish articles in accredited journals.