Future Media - MA

As the tsunami of future media continues to grow exponentially, we’ll teach you how to ride the wave, optimise emerging technologies and exploit opportunities in a sea of new and evolving digital communications markets.

You’ll get to work in classes and teams to strategize, create and deploy simulated real-world campaigns, you’ll experience the jeopardy of client-facing deliveries and you’ll be guided by industry mentors and tutors throughout the process. There are neither exams nor lengthy dissertations in Future Media; every assignment is rooted in client or agency briefs and all your work is assessed on the quality of your delivery, your ‘pitch’ presentations, your professional reports and your practice. This experiential learning equips you with the knowledge you need to achieve your Masters, a creditable track record of professional practice and an accumulation of evidence that you can showcase in your continuing personal and professional development. 

You’ll spend the first nine months of your year progressing through the theory and practice of developing and delivering digital marketing and advertising campaigns to client briefs. You’ll be learning on the job as the course introduces you to agencies and teaches you their methodologies, exposes you to professional practice and challenges your abilities in self-reliance, teamwork and performance under pressure. You’ll learn how to talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk because in a ‘pitch’ presentation everybody is depending on you, there is nowhere to hide and you only ever get one chance to make a first impression.

You also use this time to prepare for your final major project: usually collaboration activities with an agency, brand or mentor where students extend the research, development and delivery of innovations in digital marketing and advertising communications that they care about. This is all about you, your professional development, your pursuit of perfection and your proven application of knowledge to practice through an employment-led portfolio that showcases your expertise, talent and professionalism.

Learning from industry professionals

Find out more about the inaugural Forward 2020 conference which gave students the chance to hear from and network with leaders in the digital marketing industry.

Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

• Details of the entry requirements for our courses
• Some of the good reasons why you should study here
• How to improve your language skills before starting your studies
• Information relevant to applicants from your country
• Where to find financial support for your studies.

Our students

Future Media is defined by the diversity of its students and their continuing professional development in a constantly evolving global media landscape. A wide representation of cultures are represented in our graduates: Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia, India, Asia Pacific and the Americas We know that our nations and cultures give us contexts and we leverage these by building shared experiences and values in all our interests and communications. Channels for communicating with audiences face constant disruption, as a global marketing student you will learn how to define the message and chose the channel to achieve maximum effect.

In their final major projects, many Future Media students use this disruption as a sandpit of real-world-risk to develop their own professional expertise and monetise their proficiency: Students from India and Russia have worked with viral ad giants Unruly to look at optimising campaigns in their own territories; similarly, students from Africa and China have worked with SEO experts MediaComm on developing mobile search campaigns and buying apps in their home nations while students from Europe, the Middle East and the Americas have worked with top agencies like AMVBBDO, Ogilvy One and OMD on innovative FMCG and communications campaigns using emerging technologies in culturally appropriate deployments. In every case, students build a portfolio of practice to showcase their skill-set at the cutting edge of a highly competitive job market.