Political Communication (Taught)

Birkbeck's MSc Political Communication is an advanced training programme designed for students interested in the intersections of politics, media and public policy.

It offers both critical and practical perspectives on a broad range of issues, including campaign strategies, the effects of media on political behaviour, misinformation and disinformation, and digital politics.

We deliver a diverse, inclusive and globally conscious curriculum, which equips you with an understanding of key issues in this field and the techniques used by grassroots and institutional actors to communicate with their audiences.

Distinctive features of this political communication Master's degree include:

• a customisable curriculum: you can tailor your studies to include theoretical subjects such as British politics and public policy, as well as practical training in areas like digital journalism and professional communications. In addition, many of our modules are available as hybrid-flexible (hyflex) options, providing the flexibility to choose between on-campus, face-to-face learning and online participation.

• a world-leading research environment: our research in political communication has directly informed recent UK government and third-sector strategy on AI and misinformation, improving public engagement with science in policy-making, and on open data and transparency.

Highlights

• Our MSc Political Communication offers graduates and practitioners in adjacent fields (media, government) a meaningful opportunity to engage with current research in pursuit of their professional aims and to strengthen their communication and strategies.

• Birkbeck is a world-renowned centre of original, influential research in politics. We organise a lively programme of seminars and conferences and are home to affiliated research centres, such as the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life, which run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research.

• Our academic staff are international authorities in their respective fields, publishing and delivering stimulating teaching in a wide range of political topics including civil society and the state, public policy, development, gender, international security and terrorism, and social and political theory, among others.

• Our location in central London puts us at the heart of the UK’s political life and at the centre of academic London. You can walk down to Parliament and Whitehall, while Bloomsbury contains some of the world’s most famous libraries and centres of research. Our departmental building was once a key location for members of the Bloomsbury Group, so you could be studying in rooms that have hosted distinguished visitors, including T.S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw and Maynard Keynes.

• You can take advantage of the rich research collections nearby, including Senate House Library, which is right next door to Birkbeck, the British Library, which is five minutes’ walk away, and the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics, which is walkable from Birkbeck. Birkbeck Library has a large politics collection, including the major specialist journals, and provides you with access to an extensive range of online materials.

Careers and employability

Politics graduates from Birkbeck have gone on to a wide range of careers in the public and private sectors. Some join the civil service or parliamentary offices and several MPs are also Birkbeck alumni. In particular, this new MSc in Political Communication is designed to enhance career paths in:

• central and local government offices

• campaign groups and think thanks

• local community groups and charities running publicity activities

• media and research.