B.A. Journalism and Strategic Communication

Degree awarded	Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Duration	6 semesters
Starts in	October (winter semester)
Language of instruction	German

About the programme

If you wish to pursue a career in the fields of journalism and public relations in times of continuous transition in the mass media, practical and up-to-date training in all media formats is a necessity.

As you study this degree programme, you will acquire competencies in journalism and public relations for interconnected multimedia production and cross-media distribution of diverse media formats (text, audio, video, photo etc.) on both traditional and modern platforms (print, TV, radio, online, mobile). You will develop sound knowledge of the functions, processes and mechanisms of journalism and strategic communication as well as their normative legal and ethical boundaries. In order to deepen your empirical and practical knowledge, you will have the opportunity to carry out applied research and hands-on projects.

Features

Integrated university training in the fields of journalism and strategic communication: studying Journalism and Strategic Communication will qualify you for two central occupational areas in the media industry.
Closely interlinked theory and practice: you will acquire both theoretical and methodological knowledge, which you will apply in your research and project work Acknowledged experts from journalism and strategic communication will additionally enrich the taught modules by offering insights into current media practice.
Cross-media work in Passau’s Centre for Media and Communication: The ZMK is one of the most modern media production centres at any German university and the home of the study programme. Use its cross-media newsroom, TV studio, multimedia laboratories, sound and radio studios to learn the ropes of the journalism and public relations industry.
A clear programme structure: The division of the programme into primary and secondary subjects allows for targeted, gradual and successively structured learning processes as well as the development of interdisciplinary knowledge.
Creative work in student clubs and societies:KONNEX PR (PR practice), PRO.FIL and spaetschicht.tv (TV and film), Campus Crew (university radio), CaTer and BLANK Magazin (print and online journalism), Fotoprojekt Lichtgestalten and many more.

The study of Journalism and Strategic Communication will prepare you for a journalistic career in traditional and digital media (TV, radio, print media, online and mobile media) as well as a career in public relations for agencies, companies, associations, public institutions, non-governmental and non-profit organisations.

Not only you become qualified for editorial work, but you will also acquire the skills needed for various new occupations in the field of communication, such as social media manager, community manager, technical editor, data journalist and user experience profiler. Having graduated from this programme, you will have the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge for work in media research, market and public opinion research as well as media or political consultancy and in media management.

Over the course of the programme, you will study Communication Studies as your primary subject, giving you a thorough grounding in:

the media landscape
economic and political conditions
theoretical and practical principles of public communication
methods of empirical communication and media research
cross-media use in media production, and
international communication.

In addition you will choose elective modules, which form a secondary subject. Compulsory electives in political science, economics, media informatics, geography and visual culture cover important specific fields. Furthermore, elective modules in Development Studies, Human-Computer Interaction/Psychology, Digital Humanities, Theology, Cultural Mediality Research and Media Linguistics provide you with broad cross-disciplinary competencies.

For further details, please consult the Academic Advice Service's information sheet (German) and the module catalogue.

To apply for this degree programme you need a recognised university entrance qualification, e.g. the German Abitur or an equivalent qualification.

You will need German language skills at level C1 CEFR or higher to study this degree programme, as that is the main language of instruction for this programme. Therefore, you will have to provide a recognised German language certificate such as DSH-2 or TestDaF 4 in all four categories, unless German was the language of instruction for your secondary school education (e.g. Abitur at a German international school) or prior tertiary education.

The University of Passau has set up a German language teaching unit, German Courses Passau, which offers a selection of preparatory language programmes tailored to the needs of international students. These range from summer courses to a full academic year and cater to learners of all levels.

Degree Programme	B.A. Journalism and Strategic Communication	B.A. Media and Communication
Content focus	Social (public and interpersonal) communication	Media production and its cultural and historical significance
Science	Communication Science (empirical social science)	Cultural and media studies (analytical humanities)
Occupational area	All communication professions, especially journalism and public relations, corporate and organisational communication, social media management, work in communication departments of companies, NGOs, foundations, associations, etc.	Professions in the field of media production (content in social media, games, movies and television, advertising), media analysis and media conception (editorial work, programme planning), media didactics, media literacy, adult education
Professional qualification	Work in all areas of journalism (print, online, cross-media, data journalism etc.) and multi-channel PR as well as in the field of data analysis (e.g. market and opinion research)	Analysis and reflection of contemporary media production in cultural contexts, use of media in educational processes
Specialties	Practical cooperations with partners from the media and business (especially practical work in editorial departments), free choice of supplemental minor subject (e.g. political science, psychology, economics or computer science), complementary to the academic Bachelor's thesis practical final thesis (journalism or PR) at the Centre for Media and Communication	Interdisciplinarity, many elective options (e.g. cultural studies mediality research, cultural-aesthetic media education, digital humanities or psychology with a focus on human-machine interaction), two-month compulsory internship
Stay abroad	Voluntary in the 5th semester	Voluntary in the 5th semester
German requirements	C1	C1