Bachelor of Arts in New Media and English

General Information

You like books and films, magazines,TV and radio, or chatting to your friends online.You are bright, perceptive and curious, and happy to work alone or in a team.You don't have to be the extrovert, but you're interested in expressing and communicating ideas and opinions.You are open to new ideas, and to the power of words and images to inform, influence, and convince.You want to know more about literature and the arts, the media and culture, the individual in society, and that society's future.

Introduction to Course

The B.A. in New Media and English is one of a number of two-subject degrees designed for students who wish to undertake specialised study in two subjects in the arts, humanities or social sciences, to degree level.The programme enables students to develop expertise in English literature, as well as exploring in-depth the social and cultural consequences of new media. New media refers both to the media that have emerged in response to technological evolution and to new ways of using traditional media as a result of technological change. In addition, students will also acquire critical and analytical skills; specialised new media production skills; research and writing skills (including an extensive research project in the final year); and the opportunity to study abroad and obtain work experience. Possible careers would include ecommerce, e-publishing, public relations, advertising, journalism, communication, media production, media research, teaching English and postgraduate research.

Course Structure

The programme combines English with New Media and students divide their time evenly between the two subjects.

English at UL has four main components that run throughout the four years of the programme:

• Literary analysis (e.g. Critical Practice 1; Introduction to Literary Theory)
• Historical schools/eras in literature (e.g.Augustan Literature;Twentieth Century English Literature)
• Anglo-Irish writing (e.g. IrishWriting in English; Imagined Spaces: Irish Cultural Texts)
• Specialist electives that reflect faculty research expertise (e.g.American Literature; Science Fiction; ContemporaryWomen’sWriting).

New Media also has four main components:

• Media and society (e.g. Sociology of the Media; Information Society)
• Media and culture (e.g. Introduction to Cultural Studies;Visual Cultural Studies)
• Media and technology (e.g. Professional and Technical Communication; Information Management and Content Production)
• Media and language (e.g. Language and Culture; New Media, Language and Globalisation).

Off campus programme

In semester 4 and 5 each student participates in an off campus programme.The off-campus programme typically consists of a period of paid employment in a sector related to the field of study (communications, research, journalism, public service), voluntary work, or a period of university study in either Europe or North America as part of a Socrates or other exchange programme.

Entry Requirements

Applicants are required to hold at the time of enrolment the Leaving Certificate (or an approved equivalent) with at least grade C3 in two higher level subjects and grade D3 in four ordinary or higher level subjects including Mathematics, Irish or another language; and English.Applications are especially welcome from mature students, that is those over the age of 23 on 1 January of the year of entry.Application forms for those applying in this category are available from the Admissions Office.

Career Prospects

• Communications and public relations • eCommerce and ePublishing • Print and electronic media journalism • Media production, media research • Publishing • Advertising • Teaching English with Media Studies • Research and teaching at third level, especially interdisciplinary studies based on New Media and English • Development and research in voluntary organisations