Course overview
MA Fashion Journalism and Content Creation is a well-established course that has been designed for graduates/professionals who wish to explore the changing face of fashion journalism and content creation, whether that be from an academic, consumer or entrepreneurial perspective. In the light of globalisation and numerous ongoing controversies surrounding the fashion industry, the course examines a number of sociological and ethical issues that are emerging for journalists and content creators.
The course offers a proactive approach to the rapidly changing global landscape and challenges the role of the fashion media and examines how, as a practitioner, you can successfully disseminate your editorial message through it.
You’ll be encouraged to challenge the current fashion system and develop authentic and provocative editorial strategies that could potentially have both social and politically active outcomes.
Focusing on both the written word and the curated fashion image, the course will teach you expertise in both commercial content creation and traditional journalism as well as publishing; in short, how to be a commentator, editor, and entrepreneur, both digitally and in print.
You will engage with a broad range of media and journalistic topics through a number of different approaches, from theoretical discourse, to vocational publishing and digital projects, developing a skill base that fosters a broad variety of expertise.
Course content encompasses an in-depth knowledge of the fashion industry globally (in both western and non-western contexts), to practical editorial and technical skills that will enable you to assemble and create multi-platform products that incorporate both traditional journalistic and content creation skills together with more experimental methodologies.
What to expect
- Exposure to industry: Engage with a number of industry professionals from a variety of fields (digital, creative, editorial, publishing), and examine the broader market forces that are contextualising the industry commercially and creatively.
- A holistic view of journalism: Investigate both traditional and disruptive technologies within fashion communication – from traditional media publishing and zine culture to digital journalism and content creation for brands.
- Opportunities to personalise your learning: Depending on your career aspirations, choose to produce a traditional dissertation, book proposal or commercial media product during your self-negotiated Master’s project.
- An expert teaching team: Guided by tutors with decades of experience working in the industry, develop key, practical journalistic skills, and learn how to apply them to the fashion industry.
Research at MA Level
Research is core to the curriculum and pedagogical approaches for the course. The development of effective approaches towards research enquiry is central for the emergence of a critically reflective and culturally aware practitioner/learner. An iterative approach highlighting the crucial interrelationship between theory and practice, and the value of interdisciplinary modes of interrogation for the potential generation of new knowledge is prioritised. Throughout the course, an understanding of the processes and methodologies of research will be developed within the discipline and situated within a broader cultural arena.
The integration of theoretical and/or philosophical frameworks provide ways to look at the world in relationship to project work. A systematic approach to research is supported, including the shaping of ethical and achievable research questions and prototyping (of ideas) that may lead to new insights, connections and understanding. Through the course core research capabilities are developed, tested, and extended to underpin progressive cycles of reflexive practice. The application of research and critical perspectives in both theory and practice using a range of techniques and research methods are evaluated through formative and summative assessment. This helps to identify areas for potential improvement and development appropriate to your professional aspirations and advanced research potential that culminate in the proposition and independent pursuit of the Masters Project.
Climate, Social and Racial Justice
UAL is committed to developing ethical journalistic practices. To achieve this, we are working to embed UAL’s Principles for Climate, Social and Racial Justice into the course.
