Political Communication MSc

Taught by leading academics in the fields of politics, media and communication, in the Political Communication MSc, you will study communication strategies of political actors whilst acquiring practical skills for designing political campaigns, crafting communication strategies, identifying fake news, and writing news and features.

Interdisciplinary curriculum and international coverage: Communication has always been integral to politics and politics to communication but the interplay between them is changing dramatically in the social media age. New forms of politics emerge in spaces as far afield as the Arab Spring, Trump’s America, Brexit Britain. Modi’s India and Post-Covid China. Such developments challenge at a global and national level the taken-for-granted assumptions about what is political and how we communicate it. In the Political Communication MSc, you will learn how politicians, journalists and activists utilise verbal/written rhetorics, visuals, symbols or symbolic acts to communicate the current political developments. The academic component of the degree aims to critically examine current developments but also locates them historically and within an internationalised curriculum.

Wide range of career options: The degree will also prepare you to design and pitch your own communication campaigns and work in areas as diverse as political campaigning, broadcasting, social media, public relations and crisis communication, public affairs, marketing, political satire, and journalism. The new interdisciplinary degree is unique in offering a strong practical strand of modules that aim to upskill you within a theoretically robust degree.

Academic and practical training: You will also have the opportunity to take practical modules where you will learn how to write news or acquiring technical competencies to analyse deep-fakes in an age where facial recognition, AI, deep fakes and micro-behavioural targeting are creating new possibilities and challenges. Theory-practical modules, on the other hand, offer the potential to upskill you in different types of writing, analysing skills and presentational elements. The academic component is grounded in a flagship module in political communication which locates current developments historically, theoretically and critically as well as nationally and internationally. You will not only study conventional political communication topics on elections, but also learn about digital cultures, strategic communication, political satire, digitally supported social movements and fake news.

2.6/4, 3.2/5 or 65%

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
• BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

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