Programme Specification
A statement of the knowledge, understanding and skills that underpin a
taught programme of study leading to an award from
The University of Sheffield
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Programme Title
Web Journalism
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Programme Code
JNLT25
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JACS Code
P500
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Level of Study
M level
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Final Qualification
MA
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Intermediate Qualification(s)
Postgraduate Certificate
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Teaching Institution (if not Sheffield)
Not applicable
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Faculty
Social Sciences
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Department
Journalism Studies
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Other Department(s) involved in
teaching the programme
Information Studies (some optional modules)
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Mode(s) of Attendance
Full-time
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Duration of the Programme
1 Year
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Accrediting Professional or Statutory
Body
Not applicable
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Date of production/revision
August 2013
15. Background to the programme and subject area
The emergence of the world wide web as a publishing medium has begun to revolutionise the journalism
industry and created an area of new employment which offers exciting possibilities to students entering the
profession. The Department of Journalism Studies has close links with the media industries and is well aware of
employers’ increasing interest in electronic skills. Journalism Studies also has a well-equipped new media
laboratory. Information Studies, which offers some optional modules on the programme, has an international
reputation for research in the field of information studies and information management. Journalists are
increasingly using online systems for research and the amount of information available on the web provides a
valuable resource for CAR (computer-assisted reporting). This MA programme is committed to giving students
the knowledge and working skills needed to work in the rapidly-changing media industries. This includes being
able to relate media law to working journalism practice in the UK. Students are taught how to research and write
news, and given the opportunity to design, produce and publish their own websites. Students are encouraged to
examine the historical context within which journalism online has evolved with a view to examining current
issues and the direction in which new media are heading. The MA programme is directed towards potential
employment and this is clearly a contemporary area of great expansion in the labour market. The programme is
taught by experienced journalists and established media academics in an environment that simulates the
pressures and practices of a newsroom producing online content. The programme has close links with wellknown new media organisations, including BBC Online, Guardian Unlimited and Ananova.com, with guest
speakers visiting at various times during the programme and fieldtrips to major news companies arranged for
the students, who also have the opportunity to undertake work placements.
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16. Programme aims
Consistent with the general aims of the department, the programme aims to:

Equip students with the abilities to use electronic multi-media technology to research, substantiate, collate
and produce information and news relevant to the full range of online journalistic production

Provide students with the knowledge and context, both historical and contemporary, relating to journalism,
and more specifically the online media, and to enable them to reflect on the role of web journalism in society

Equip students with the basic journalism skills and also those specifically to produce and publish web-based
multi-media journalism and to critically understand the implications of the new medium for journalistic
practices, products and roles
17. Programme learning outcomes
For the award of Postgraduate Certificate, students will have acquired some of the following:
Knowledge and understanding:
K1
Of the research, gathering and presentation of structured, authoritative and accurate news information for
online consumption.
K2
Of assessing news values and identifying news stories.
K3
Of the history, nature and role of web media forms.
K4
Of the implications of the medium for journalistic practices, products and roles.
K5
Of media law and the courts.
K6
Of ethics and codes of practice.
Skills and other attributes:
S1
The researching, gathering and producing of news by electronic means.
S2
Relevant basic skills in IT and web publishing.
S3
The ability to work independently.
S4
The ability to meet deadlines.
S5
Core journalism skills including researching, reporting, organising and structuring information,
interviewing.
S6
Writing for the world wide web.
In addition to the above, for the award of Postgraduate Diploma students will also have acquired the
following:
Knowledge and understanding:
K1
Of the full process involved in designing, planning, managing and producing a web-based media product.
K2
Of the use and implications of multimedia on the web.
K3
Of government, political institutions, lobby groups ad public services, their structure and organisation.
Skills and other attributes:
S1
Advanced web-based multimedia publishing using the relevant software.
S2
Practical journalistic experience of working as part as a team in a major web-based media project .
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In addition to the above, for the award of MA students will also have acquired the following:
Skills and other attributes:
S1
The ability to relate academic research and critical self-assessment to the web production process and its
products.
S2
Of devising, researching and independently executing a major piece of web journalism.
S3
The ability to reflect critically on their own journalism.
S4
The ability to solve problems that arise in a complex production process.
18. Teaching, learning and assessment
Development of the learning outcomes is promoted through the following teaching and learning
methods:
The academic modules are taught via lectures and seminars. The professional modules employ a combination
of lectures, group workshops, newsroom activity, reporting, individual and team projects. The practical
workshops are designed to help to develop the students’ journalistic skills, particularly in the area of research
and news gathering. There are also workshops which teach students the processes of designing, producing and
maintaining websites. They are taught basic HTML coding and how to use web-authoring software with a view
to producing online content and their own websites. A series of lectures run alongside many of these
workshops, providing students with the theoretical background, both historical and contemporary, to the online
media environment in which they plan to work. The lectures encourage debate about the major journalistic
issues, including the major differences between old and new media, some of which they test in their practical
work. Early in the programme, the students visit a well-respected online news media organisation with whom we
have secured a number of work placements. Students also have the opportunity in semester two to visit major
media organisations. Working journalists from both within and outside academia are invited as guest speakers
and to also take part in some of the newsdays which form the culmination of two of the core modules, with
students working both individually and as a team to produce online content in real-time. The teaching of
professional skills incorporates peer support and simulation of the professional working environment.
Opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the programme learning outcomes are provided through
the following assessment methods:
All learning outcomes are assessed using a variety of means: through the creation of web products, exercises
and assignments; by essays. Students critically examine their own online portfolio through a dissertation which
tests their ability to relate academic research to a web product.
19. Reference points
The learning outcomes have been developed to reflect the following points of reference:
Subject Benchmark Statements
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/AssuringStandardsAndQuality/subject-guidance/Pages/Subject-benchmarkstatements.aspx
Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (2008)
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidance/Pages/The-framework-for-higher-educationqualifications-in-England-Wales-and-Northern-Ireland.aspx
University Strategic Plan
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/strategicplan
Learning and Teaching Strategy (2011-16)
http://www.shef.ac.uk/lets/staff/ltsDepartment Aims and Objectives
Department Learning and Teaching Strategy
Employers
External examiners’ reports
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20. Programme structure and regulations
The core modules in semester one are designed to introduce students to the key concepts of online journalism,
while also engaging them in the practice of gathering and writing news, underpinned by an understanding of
media law and how it impacts on a journalist’s work. Students also start to use web-authoring software with a
view to individually producing several journalistically-related web pages. In semester two, the students work as a
team to produce a website with each member assuming specific roles for which they are assessed. They then
produce their own individual websites as online portfolios which they critically evaluate through a dissertation.
Detailed information about the structure of programmes, regulations concerning assessment and progression
and descriptions of individual modules are published in the University Calendar available on-line at
http://www.shef.ac.uk/govern/calendar/regs.html.
21. Student development over the course of study
The early weeks of the programme involve introducing and developing basic journalism and technical skills in
workshops which involve both group and individual instruction. Lectures set out the key concepts and issues
with the aim of steering students towards making correlations between practice and theory. The field trip midway
through semester one gives them the opportunity to witness online journalism in action in the workplace and the
chance to question people working in the industry. Students will also study law as it relates to journalism
practice, how journalism is regulated and the ethics of journalism practice. By the end of the first semester,
students will be designing their own web pages and providing their own web content produced on the news
research and production days. Semester two combines journalism skills with more advanced technical
instruction as students start to develop more substantial online web products, both individually and in teams.
They will increasingly be expected to develop creative skills in relation to the use of software in online
journalistic production, culminating in the final third of the programme with a news-related website as the online
portfolio and a major academic piece of work, the mini-dissertation, in which the students show they can
critically evaluate and interpret as well as report. Students will also study the structure and workings of local and
central government, lobby groups and other public institutions. In the online portfolio, students will be expected
to show creativity and imagination with both their technical skills and in their journalistic content, drawing upon
all the knowledge and understanding they have acquired throughout the programme.
22. Criteria for admission to the programme
Detailed information regarding admission to the programme is available at http://www.shef.ac.uk/prospective/
Candidates seeking admission should possess:
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A good degree or an alternative qualification approved by the University as degree equivalent. The
Department is happy to consider applications from mature students.

Proficiency in written and spoken English. Applicants whose first language is not English must reach level
7.0 with a minimum of 7.0 in the writing element of IELTS.

An interest in and aptitude for acquiring journalistic knowledge and skills.
23. Additional information
None
This specification represents a concise statement about the main features of the programme and should be
considered alongside other sources of information provided by the teaching department(s) and the University. In
addition to programme specific information, further information about studying at The University of Sheffield can
be accessed via our Student Services web site at http://www.shef.ac.uk/ssid.
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