Media Studies – Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

With Massey’s Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (Media Studies), you’ll develop versatile skills that will make you highly sought-after in many careers.

Where you can study

Distance and online

International students

International students are not New Zealand citizens or residents.

Definition of New Zealand citizens and residents

Not open to international students

Specialise in Media Studies for your Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at Massey

Massey’s BA (Honours) (Media Studies) will prepare you for the future challenges of an information-rich society.

Media studies analyses the production, consumption and content of a range of media:

  • film
  • social media
  • television
  • popular music
  • smartphones. 

At Massey, media studies is taught through an innovative programme that blends theory with creative practice.

Get sought-after media skills

You’ll be introduced to research and analysis skills and will complete a research report in an area that interests you. You’ll develop versatile skills that will make you highly sought-after in many careers, as digital media literacy becomes increasingly important across all sectors.

Engage with the future of the media world

Develop an advanced understanding of the varied conceptual tools needed for analysis and argumentation about:

  • media texts
  • forms
  • processes
  • practices. 

You’ll learn how media industries, policy and technology influence the production, distribution and consumption of media.

Learn from the leaders

Massey offers the latest educational technology through our new state-of-the-art facilities and online learning system.

Your lecturers are internationally published experts in their fields.

A Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Media Studies is a good fit if you:

  • were a high-achieving undergraduate media studies student
  • want to follow your intellectual curiosity and begin to develop your research skills
  • have a media studies issue you’d like to investigate through independent, supervised research.

Planning information

Completing a subject is compulsory. A Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (Media Studies) requires 120 credits.

If you study full-time, you’ll take 120 credits per year or 60 credits per semester.

Not all courses are available in each semester.

Official regulations

To understand what you need to study and must complete to graduate read the official rules and regulations for this qualification.

You should read these together with all other relevant Statutes and Regulations of the University including the General Regulations for Postgraduate Degrees, Postgraduate Diplomas, and Postgraduate Certificates.

Returning students

For returning students, there may be changes to the majors and minors available and the courses you need to take. Go to the section called ‘Transitional Provisions’ in the Regulations to find out more.

In some cases the qualification or specialisation you enrolled in may no longer be taking new enrolments, so may not appear on these web pages. To find information on the regulations for these qualifications go to the Massey University Calendar.

Please contact us through the Get advice button on this page if you have any questions.

Courses you can enrol in

Course planning key

Prerequisites
Courses that need to be completed before moving onto a course at the next level. For example, a lot of 200-level courses have 100-level prerequisite courses.
Corequisites
Courses that must be completed at the same time as another course are known as corequisite courses.
Restrictions
Some courses are restricted against each other because their content is similar. This means you can only choose one of the offered courses to study and credit to your qualification.
Choose between 30 and 60 credits from
Course code: 154797 Research Report (60) 60 credits
Course code: 154798 Research Report (30) 30 credits

A supervised and guided independent study.

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Subject courses

Course code: 154701 Modern and Postmodern Visual Cultures 30 credits

An introduction to the key critical debates and cultural practices that have defined the response to modern mass media and their major ideological formations. Particular emphasis is placed on avant-garde notions of montage and their continuing influence on postmodern media theory and practice.

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Course code: 154702 Advanced Film Studies 30 credits

This course engages students with a variety of critical and theoretical approaches to cinema, mapping their development across history and examining their usefulness in understanding the social, cultural, economic, political and aesthetic significance of film.

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Course code: 154704 Researching Media and Cultural Studies 30 credits

An introduction to theoretical frameworks and research designs and methods in Media Studies and Cultural Studies and to various issues that arise in the conduct of research. Students preparing to undertake research-based theses or projects will receive assistance in the preparation of their proposals.

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Course code: 154707 The World of Noir 30 credits

A study of the historical phenomenon of film noir, along with the related genre of the noir novel. The emphasis will be on classical film noir but more recent texts will also be examined. A variety of critical and theoretical approaches will be used.

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Course code: 154708 Modern Fiction, Popular Culture and the Media 30 credits

An examination of major developments in approaches to fiction in the twentieth century, focusing on modern and postmodern trends, and on how these have impacted on the rise and alleged decline of distinctions between elite art and popular culture. Texts for analysis are selected from both literature and film and include examples of canonical as well as popular fiction.

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Course code: 154709 Technology and Cultural Change 30 credits

This course examines the role of technology in producing and transforming contemporary culture. Through the investigation of key theorists, particular attention is given to the pivotal role technology plays in shaping space, time, and experience.

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Course code: 154747 Media Practice and Global Culture 30 credits

This course examines the critical context of contemporary media practice, exploring how media texts, technologies, and institutions respond to and produce processes of globalisation. Students will focus on the use of digital and mobile media technologies, and consciously negotiate decisions regarding the cultural, social, political, economic, ethical and environmental implications of their own media production, distribution and consumption.

Prerequisites: 154204 or 154224 or 154304

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Entry requirements

Admission to Massey

All students must meet university entrance requirements to be admitted to the University.

Specific requirements

To enter the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) (Media Studies) you will have been awarded or qualified for a:

  • Bachelor of Arts degree or equivalent qualification with a major in the intended postgraduate subject or close equivalent, or
  • Bachelor of Arts degree with a minor in the intended postgraduate subject, followed by a Graduate Certificate in Arts endorsed in the intended postgraduate subject or close equivalent, or
  • Bachelor of Arts degree followed by a Graduate Diploma of Arts in the intended postgraduate subject or close equivalent.

You must have achieved at least a B grade average over the 200 and 300-level courses.

You will need to provide copies of all official academic transcripts for studies taken at all universities other than Massey University.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language and your qualifying degree was not completed at a University where English is the medium of instruction, to enter this qualification you must have achieved an IELTS of 7.0 with no band less than 6.5.

English language skills

If you need help with your English language skills before you start university, see our English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses.

Fees and scholarships

Fees, student loans and free fees scheme

Your tuition fees may be different depending on the courses you choose. Your exact fees will show once you have chosen your courses.

There will also be some compulsory non-tuition fees and for some courses, there may also be charges for things such as study resources, software, trips and contact workshops.

Already know which courses you're going to choose?

You can view fees for the courses that make up your qualification on the course details pages.

Student loans (StudyLink) and Fees Free scheme

You may be eligible for a student loan to help towards paying your fees.

The New Zealand Government offers fees-free tertiary study for eligible domestic students. Find out more about the scheme and your eligibility on the Fees Free website. To use the site's eligibility checking tool, you will need your National Student Number.

Current and returning Massey students can find their National Student Number in the student portal.

Scholarship and award opportunities

Search our scholarships and awards

Fees disclaimer

This information is for estimation purposes only. Actual fees payable will be finalised on confirmation of enrolment. Unless otherwise stated, all fees shown are quoted in New Zealand dollars and include Goods and Services Tax, if any. Before relying on any information on these pages you should also read the University's Disclaimer Notice.

Careers and job opportunities

With a BA (Honours) (Media Studies) you can choose from a wide range of careers including:

  • advertising
  • digital postproduction
  • film and TV production
  • web content editing
  • journalism
  • public relations.

Accreditations and rankings

QS Ranking - Communication and Media

Massey is ranked by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) as one of the top 100 universities for communication and media studies. QS is an organisation that ranks universities worldwide in various topics.

Learn more

ShanghaiRanking - Communication

Communication at Massey is ranked #1 in New Zealand, and 76th in the world, by ShanghaiRanking.

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