MEDIA STUDIES: It's the media age . . . and everybody wants a piece of the action. Janet Stafford reports
Communications, public relations, print journalism, radio broadcasting, television production, web design, sound engineering - the whole area, sometimes loosely grouped under the umbrella name of media studies, is deluged with eager applicants.
We are all increasingly skilled and sophisticated in critically reading or appraising media images and soundbites such as television advertisements, politicians' "spin" or the manufacturing of the latest pop band. Accordingly, there are opportunities to study both the analysis of media and the production side from one year certificate courses right up to masters level.
"Leaving Cert English contains a media studies component and it is such an increasingly important subject that I'm sure it's only a matter of time before there is a separate Leaving Cert for media studies," says Dr Eithne Guilfoyle, head of department of humanities at Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (DLIADT).
The school of art, design and media at DLIADT has long had a reputation for offering excellent courses in design and production - for instance the full-time two year national certificate courses in technology/commercial photography, in humanities with radio broadcasting and make-up for film, TV and theatre.
"We're currently undergoing a huge review and overhaul of our courses. We're considering offering television production to degree level in the future. Our graduates are highly regarded in the industry and have an excellent achievement record," says Aileen MacKeogh, head of this particular school. "One thing which is excellent for students here is the cross-over between courses and schools. You could have model-making happening in conjunction with television production, for instance. People are not being tied down to narrow roles, they are multi-skilled. It makes for an exciting and experimental creative space," she says.
On offer is a three-year national diploma course in model-making and design for film and media, or if you fancy a career in an advertising agency you could consider the national diploma in design communications, or for film and production work the national diploma in design communications for film and video.
The area of media analysis is also being developed in DLIADT with the four-year BA in English, media and cultural studies which will be in its third year of existence in September.
"The course has become very popular and people are a bit surprised to see a course which deals with literature and criticism because of our reputation for courses aimed more toward production," says Guilfoyle. "It is the equivalent of doing a full English degree combined with the media studies aspect as well."
The small class sizes appeal to students and thisd, together with continual assessment and a dissertation in the final year helps keep students focused. "The course contains two modules on scriptwriting and one on multimedia publishing, which gives students an opportunity for creative writing as well as critical and analytical thought," she says. For more information on these and postgraduate opportunities see www.iadt-dl.ie or phone 01 2144600.
St Kevin's College, Crumlin is one of several City of Dublin VEC colleges which offers courses in media studies. It offers a one-year course in media production certificate in photography, and a two-year BTEC national diploma in media production - moving image and information design. "The media production courses have been running for about 12 years now and are well established," according to Frank Buckley, deputy principal. "We keep updating to maintain excellent facilities, for instance we have added a superb digital editing suite in recent years," he says.
St Kevin's diploma course includes a period of work placement and modules studied include TV and video production, desktop publishing (DTP), media analysis, film studies, communications and print journalism. Some of the graduates will progress straight into employment, whilst others will continue on to further study in institutes of technology. For further information phone 01 4536397.
If you're interested in some postgraduate opportunities to help you specialise in the area of media studies, you could take a look at the courses on offer in Dún Laoghaire College of Further Education (DCFE). The college offers a one-year full-time graduate diploma in radio and print journalism. The course includes modules on practical journalism and writing skills, radio presentation and production, legal studies and photography. This is a City and Guilds and Institute of Commercial Management (ICM) validated course.
Another one-year postgraduate course on offer is the Public Relations Institute of Ireland certified postgraduate diploma in public relations. It involves a period of work placement and includes elements like marketing, advertising, psychology, behavioural studies alongside training in computer applications.
"The area of media studies is expanding so quickly; when we began in this field, a few years ago, we had about 30 students signing up for courses, now, we're expecting about 150 next September. We're consolidating our good base of experience whilst thinking ahead and making new courses available in the area," says Michael Condren, director of the college.
An example of one of those new courses was brought on stream in response to demand from students. "We're introducing a FETAC level two course in sound engineering starting in September. We're building a new sound engineering studio to go along with that," says Condren.
"We also work on progression routes for our graduates so we have two advanced courses - our diploma in radio and print journalism and in television and video production."
The course in television and video production looks at areas like research, administration and practice, post production, editing theory and practice, media analysis and legal studies. For more information on the range of courses available at DCFE see www.dlcfe.ie or phone 01 2809676.
Courses are available at all levels all around the country so you should consider places like Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, Cork for radio broadcasting or graphic design, see www.csn.ie, or the Galway campus of Galway-Mayo IT for a national diploma in film and television or video production, see www.gmit.ie or phone 091 751107.
Check out the University of Ulster for a BA in media studies or theatre studies, see www.ulst.ac.uk, or Dublin IT for a BSc in communications, journalism or a BA in media arts, see www.dit.ie or phone 01 402 3003.
