Bachelor of Media and Journalism Studies (BA MJS)

The Bachelor of Media and Journalism Studies sits in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zambia. It produces graduates equipped to work as experts in print journalism, digital journalism, media practice, public relations, advertising, and the production of stories and reports.

The programme is built around a deliberate balance between theory and practice, so that students develop both the conceptual grounding and the hands-on ability that industry and career advancement demand. Students gain skills in news reporting and writing, programme production, script writing, producing and directing, and media management, across newspapers, television, radio and online platforms.

It is a four-year programme at ZQF Level 7, carrying 480 credits, and responds directly to the University's mission of providing relevant, innovative and demand-driven higher education for socio-economic development.

In today's globalised information age, communication and media practitioners need more than technical and practical training. They need a clear understanding of their society and the forces acting on it. A practical and theoretical grasp of the ever-changing media landscape is what allows a practitioner to get the right message across to their audience.

The programme responds to that need in several ways. It:

• contributes to Zambia's human capital development by producing graduates with technical, practical and theoretical knowledge of journalism and media in a developing and globalised world
• produces media experts able to work across multimedia, old and new media, providing information and media services to Zambian society and beyond
• equips graduates to interpret, analyse and communicate on the challenges facing Africa — challenges that largely concern survival and sustenance in a globalised context — while retaining positive cultural values and social integration
• supplies industry and the wider community with graduates able to provide professional service to public and private institutions and to non-governmental organisations
• prepares graduates for self-employment as freelance journalists and consultants
• provides a basis for advanced training in specialised areas of information communication technology and public relations

The programme enables learners to develop critical knowledge and skills for their academic advancement and for the professional delivery of services that meet societal needs, through the exploration of contemporary issues, theories and practical skills in the practice of journalism and media using multimedia, old and new media.

On completion of the programme, graduates will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge and a critical understanding of the well-established principles of media and journalism, and of the way those principles developed
• apply underlying concepts and principles outside the context in which they were first studied, including in varied contexts where appropriate
• apply systematic, extensive and comparative knowledge and understanding of journalism and media studies as a whole, and of its links to related subjects
• apply knowledge of the main areas of enquiry in journalism and media studies
• apply a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake critical analysis of information, and to propose solutions to problems in the field of journalism and media
• communicate information, arguments and analysis effectively, in a variety of forms and media, to different audiences