MA in Global Communications: Digital Cultures and Industries Track

Track Description

This track is designed for students who want to meet the challenges of the changing landscape of global communications, and gain practical mastery of digital communications media literacies, including social media strategy, digital copywriting, multimedia storytelling through film and podcasting, visual design, coding, and data analysis and visualization. Students on this track gain access to a variety of career pathways in digital media production such as branding, advertising and public relations; film, television and design; and journalism and writing.

The rapid rise of digital media following the ubiquity of the internet has brought new conceptions of identity and community, and shifted the way we network, socialize, conduct business and engage with politics and activism into spaces that are increasingly digital.  These media are situated within rapidly changing global cultures and the economic context of communications industries themselves.  

In the digital era, it is vital that our students take a critical approach when it comes to information and data. AUP’s approach emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, exposure to industry professions and the combination of theoretical comprehension and practical skills prepares students to navigate fast-paced digital careers and ask the questions needed to thrive in this transforming digital world.

Alongside the skills developed through core MAGC courses, the Digital Cultures and Industries Track focuses on topics such as:

• the rise of digital media and ongoing global debates about its use;
• the cultural, economic and political transformations that have accompanied such a rise;
• mobile media and the new app economy;
• data and algorithmic cultures;
• data overload and fake news;
• digital global advocacy; and
• digital tools in context.

Digital Cultures and Industries students also have access to a limited number of electives from across global communications and other relevant disciplines, including those in brands and belief, politics and economics of global media, and advanced video production.