Master of Arts

MA Digital Media, Culture and Society

Develop in-depth knowledge and skills at the intersection of digital media, culture and society.

  • Year of entry: 2027
  • Duration: 1 year full-time
MA Full-time: In person

Due to high demand for this course, we operate a staged admissions process with multiple selection deadlines throughout the year, to maintain a fair and transparent approach.

Full entry requirementsHow to apply

Overview

Course overview

Explore how digital media and technology are transforming culture, society and everyday life.

  • Develop critical and practical skills relevant to careers across digital media, communications, cultural and creative sectors.
  • Study in Manchester, home to MediaCityUK, the Sharp Project and a thriving digital economy.
  • Benefit from interdisciplinary teaching spanning digital media studies, digital humanities, sociology, history, geography and the arts.
  • Explore contemporary issues including artificial intelligence, data, surveillance, social media, identity and platformisation.
  • Study at a world-leading institution ranked among the top 50 globally for Arts and Humanities (Times Higher Education 2026).

Our students. Real experiences. Visit the page to hear from our students as they share what it's really like to study here.

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MA Digital Media, Culture and Society

Open days

The University holds regular events throughout the year, including webinars and the annual on-campus Master's Expo, all of which offer the opportunity to find out more about our facilities and courses from our academic and admissions staff.

We also attend a number of education fairs both in the UK and overseas throughout the year.

For more details on how you can meet us, visit out events page

Contact details

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Courses in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview

We normally expect students to have a First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent in a humanities or social-science based subject area.

English language

Candidates for whom English is not their first language must submit the following:

An overall grade of IELTS 7.0 with 7.0 in writing and no skill below 6.5 is required or 100+ in the TOEFL iBT with a minimum writing score of 25 and no skill below 22.

If you have obtained a different qualification, please check our English language requirements to ensure that it is accepted and equivalent to the above requirements.

PLEASE NOTE:

Due to the high volume of applications, if an English language test result is required, we will only assess applications that include a valid test result at the time of submission.

Applicants who receive an offer with the option to attend a pre-sessional English language course but choose instead to submit a new test result may have their offer deferred to the next academic year if all places are filled before the new result is received.

English language test validity

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

Other international entry requirements

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country.

Fees and funding

Fees

Fees for entry in 2027 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2026 were as follows:

  • MA (full-time)
    UK students (per annum): £14,700
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £33,100

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International Student Course Deposit

International applicants will be required to pay a course deposit of £2,500 to secure their place on the programme. Full details of how and when to make this payment will be included in your offer letter. This deposit confirms your intention to study in the UK and replaces the need for a separate CAS deposit.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

Application and selection

How to apply

Staged admissions

As there is a high demand for our courses we operate a staged admissions process with selection deadlines throughout the year. Due to the competition for places and high quality of applications that we receive, we give preference to students from high ranking institutions and with grades above our minimum entry requirements.

Please ensure you submit all supporting documentation with your application before the application deadline to avoid a delay in processing.

Applications for 2027 entry:

Stage 1: Application received by6th December 2026; Application update by19th February 2027

Stage 2: Application received by1st March 2027; Application update by2nd May 2027

Stage 3: Application received by4th May 2027; Application update by18th June 2027

Stage 4: Application received by4th July 2027; Application update by30th July 2027

Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the deadline date, in some instances due to the competition for places and the volume of applications received, it may be necessary to roll your application forward to the next deadline date.

Applications received after our final selection deadline will be considered at our discretion if places are still available.

Please note: All places are subject to availability and if you apply at one of the later stages, some courses may already be reaching capacity or be closed to further applications. We, therefore, recommend that you apply early in the cycle to avoid disappointment.

Advice to applicants

English Language Requirements

Due to the high volume of applications to this course, we will only assess applications that include standard English language test results (e.g. IELTS, TOEFL, etc.) valid for the course start date.

Please ensure your test results meet the required standards and are within the validity period at the time of your intended enrolment.

Submitting Updated English Language Test Scores

If you choose to resubmit an English language test score to meet the requirements for direct entry onto the course, please be aware that we will continue to make offers while your new score is pending. If the course reaches capacity before your updated score is received and assessed, we reserve the right to defer your place to the following academic year.

Overseas (non-UK) applicants

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries that equate to a UK 2.1. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .

If English is not your first language, please provide us with evidence of:

  • an overall grade 7.0 (with a minimum writing score of 7) in IELTS; or 100+ in the IBT Internet-based TOEFL).

The other language tests we accept can be found here:

Exceptions to needing a language test (if English is NOT your first language) are:

  • if you have successfully completed an academic qualification deemed by UK NARIC as equivalent to at least a UK Bachelors Degree or higher from one of the following countries:

Antigua & Barbuda; Australia; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Ireland; Jamaica; New Zealand; St Kitts and Nevis; St Lucia; St Vincent and the Grenadines; Trinidad and Tobago; UK; USA.

Deferrals

Applicants may defer entry for 12 months provided they contact MASALC@manchester.ac.uk before September 1st. Please note that applicants are subject to the fees for the entry year they will start the course.

Re-applications

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.

Course details

Course description

Understand and critically engage with the digital technologies shaping contemporary culture and society.

The MA Digital Media, Culture and Society offers advanced interdisciplinary study of digital media and technology, with a particular focus on their cultural and societal implications. You will develop the knowledge and skills to analyse how digital technologies influence communication, creativity, culture and everyday life.

The course explores the ways digital technologies and practices are transforming daily life leading to the some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary societies.

From social media and identity to artificial intelligence and platformization, you will examine how these developments affect individuals, communities, and institutions across different social and cultural contexts.

Alongside critical understanding, you will develop digital methods expertise and gain experience using approaches that support independent research and digital project work. Students may also benefit from opportunities to undertake industry experience on relevant projects, subject to availability.

Manchester's position as a major centre for technological innovation and cultural production provides an ideal setting for exploring the relationship between digital technologies, culture and society.

Special features

State-of-the art facilities

Our teaching takes place in the Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media Lab, a dedicated, state-of-the art teaching and research space with large screens, flexible seating, and high-performance laptops. Our research-led teaching combines theoretically informed study and critique of digital media and technology with training in creative digital skills that are transferable in a wide range of roles, such as data analysis and visualisation.

Work placement

Students may benefit from at least 20 days industry experience on a relevant project or programme, subject to availability, hosted on site and remotely by a relevant business or organisation, supported by the host supervisor and an academic supervisor. There is potential for students to develop their own industry placement, subject to the approval of the course unit convenor and programme director. Find out more on the .

Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media

You will be taught by an interdisciplinary team based at the , which brings together staff, students, and external partners promoting cutting-edge research at the intersection of the humanities and technology. MA students will be encouraged to contribute to the Centre's research community by attending invited talks and methods training.

Additional course information

The course is part of the Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media which brings together staff, students, and external partners working at the intersection of the humanities and technology. Its research has particular strengths in the spatial humanities, digital media studies, science and technology studies, digital visual culture, distant reading, data visualization, and heritage digitization.

As part of a wider university expansion in digital research and data science, Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media is leading a number of cutting-edge projects. Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media maintains close collaborations with key partners across the university, including the School of Computer Science, The John Rylands Library, the University of Manchester Library, Research IT, and the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. Together with its PhD students, Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media coordinates a vibrant research community, with seminar series, workshops, and project development and methods training.

The Centre's state-of-the art Digital Humanities Lab hosts a range of interdisciplinary courses. The School launched an undergraduate Minor in Digital Humanities in September 2019 and made major investments to prepare the launch of the MA and BA programmes in Digital Media, Culture, and Society. A combined focus on technical skills and criticism enables our students to bridge the gap between creative and technical work and places them in a uniquely powerful position in the digital economy.

Teaching and learning

Students on this course will be taught in a variety of formats, including:

  • in-person lectures and seminars
  • blended teaching
  • student group and project work
  • discussions on conceptual and critical questions; individual office hours; as well as hands-on tutorials with state-of-the-art digital technology in our new state-of-the-art labs.
  • independent research by students
  • individual office hours

Coursework and assessment

Students will encounter a wide range of assessment formats including: academic essays, creative reflections, Storymaps, visualisations, and practical portfolios.

Students will have the opportunity to submit digitally-enhanced or practice-based dissertations. They will also have the option to undertake an industry placement, co-supervised by their host organisation and with an academic tutor.

Course unit details

A master’s degree is formed of 180 credits.

120 of these credits are made up by a mix of mandatory and optional course units, with 60 credits taken in each semester.

The availability of individual course units may be subject to change. Information that is sent to you in August about registration onto the course will clearly state the course units that are available in the academic year ahead.

The remaining 60 credits are awarded through a compulsory research component in the form of a dissertation. Your dissertation must be within the area of one of the course units you have chosen and you will be assigned an academic dissertation-advisor who is experienced in your chosen field.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
DIGI60000 60 Mandatory
DIGI60011 30 Mandatory
DIGI61331 30 Mandatory
DIGI60022 30 Optional
DIGI60132 30 Optional
DIGI60512 30 Optional
DIGI60882 30 Optional
DIGI61112 30 Optional
DIGI65522 30 Optional
SALC70300 30 Optional

Facilities

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ has world-class facilities.

Students will benefit from their own dedicated teaching space: the Centre for Digital Humanities, Cultures and Media Lab, a state-of-the art teaching and research space with large screens, flexible seating, and high-performance laptops.

As a student of the Graduate School, you will have access to excellent training within a dedicated postgraduate space where you can meet with each other, access resources, organise events and participate in a thriving academic community. Find out more on the page.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk

CPD opportunities

Each year, a number of mid-career professionals take our MA degrees on a part-time basis and find that the University provides a valuable space for reflection, as well as for further learning.

Careers

Career opportunities

Graduates pursue careers across the digital, cultural, creative and public sectors. Potential areas include marketing, journalism, publishing, data analytics, digital media, communications, design, project management, consulting, policy and NGO work. The programme combines critical understanding with practical and digital research skills, supporting a broad range of professional pathways. It also provides a strong foundation for students wishing to progress to doctoral research.

Careers support

Whether you are interested in digital communications, media, policy, research or cultural sectors, Manchester offers support to help you develop your professional profile. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability, such as careers fairs, employer presentations, and workshops through the University's dedicated Careers Service. As a student at Manchester, you would have full access to this service during your studies and for two years after you graduate.

Regulated by the Office for Students

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the .

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our .