Digital Culture and Communications

NFQ Level 8 major Award Honours Bachelor Degree

Entry route(s):

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences
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Duration
4 Years
Fees
See what fees may apply to students
Subject area
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Course Director
Barry Wharton
Email
Barrie.Wharton@ul.ie
Admissions:
Tel
+353 (0)61 233755
Queries
Contact the Academic Registry
Apply Now for September

Digital Culture and Communications can be taken on both LM002 Bachelor of Arts & LM019 Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences. Subject combinations & course structures can be reviewed on the appropriate programme page.

About you

You want to learn more about media and culture, the individual in society, and to be creative in a challenging world. You are bright, perceptive and curious, good at working on your own but also in a team, keen to express and communicate ideas and opinions. You are interested in a wide range of texts – social media, film, video, TV, books, news. You are open to new ideas, and to the power of words and images to inform, influence and convince.

Why study Digital Culture and Communication at UL?

The development of digital and social media has led to profound changes in our cultural practices.  Increasingly, our lives are lived through mediated communication, which makes it even more urgent to examine the relationship between culture, media and technology.  The pathway in Digital Culture and Communications is designed to address these challenges and to enable graduates to live and work in the digital present and future.  Students will undertake modules which enable them to develop media production and media writing and to develop the critical and analytical skills to examine the relationship between communication, technology and culture.

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Read about our students' experiences:

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Amy Croffey: English and Digital Culture and Communications

"I chose UL because of its great reputation as a centre of excellence"
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What you will study

Modules are offered on both Bachelor of Arts (LM002) and BSc. Social Sciences (LM019) - Both are subject to change.

Year 1 Semester 1   Semester 2

CS4161

Introduction to Digital Media for Arts

JM4006

Social Media and Society
Year 2 Semester 3   Semester 4
  Students select 1 or 2 depending on their programme of study   Cooperative Education Work Placement

CU4027

Visual cultural Studies

    

CS4031

Introduction to Digital Media

    

TW4003

Introduction to Technical Communication

    

SO4033

Sociology of the Media

    
Year 3 Semester 5   Semester 6
  Erasmus/Exchange placement with a partner institution abroad  

Students select 1 or 2 depending on their programme of study
   

CU4116

Cultural Studies 4: Cultural Theory
   

CU4026

How to Read a Film
   

CU4014

Analyzing Media discourse
   

TW4006

Writing for New Media
Year 4 Semester 7   Semester 8
  Students select 1 or 2 depending on their programme of study   Students select 1 or 2 depending on their programme of study

CU4011

Comparative Literature: Crime Fiction as Critical Memory

CU4018

European Cinema post 60's

CU4037

European Cinema to the 50's

CU4006

Travel Literature

CU4128

New Media, Language and Globalisation

TW4118

Content Development and Information Management
    JM4052 Media Challenges in the Digital Age

 

Entry requirements

Additional considerations

Entry requirements are dependent on your programme of choice. Please click your preferred programme below:

For certain subjects, additional special qualifications specific to individual subjects or disciplines may be determined by the respective departments in accordance with Academic Council regulations.

Applications are especially welcome from Mature Students. Mature applicants must apply through the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 1 February.

QQI Entry

Certain QQI Awards are acceptable in fulfilling admission requirements for both LM002 and LM019. More information on the UL Admissions QQI page including a full list of modules.
Non-EU Entry Requirements

How to apply

Where are you applying from? How to Apply
Ireland Irish students must apply to UL via the CAO. More information can be found here. 
The UK  Students who have completed their A-Levels can apply to UL via the CAO. More information can be found on the Academic Registry website. 
The EU EU Students can apply to UL via the CAO. More information can be found on the Academic Registry website.
Non-EU country

If you are outside of the EU, you can apply for this subject through the Bachelor of Arts degree

or

If you are outside of the EU, you can apply for this subject through the Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences degree.

 

Fees and funding

Student course fees are broken into three components - Student contribution, Student Levy and Tuition Fees.

A number of illustrative examples of fees for this course based on the current fee levels have been set out in the tables below.

An explanation of the components, how to determine status and the criteria involved is provided below the examples as is a list of possible scholarships and funding available.

EU Students with Free fees status in receipt of a SUSI grant

HEA pays Tuition Fees €2,558
SUSI pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€5,658

EU Students with Free fees status not in receipt of a grant

HEA pays Tuition Fees €2,558
Student pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€5,658

Students with EU fee status not in receipt of a grant

Student pays Tuition Fees €2,558
Student pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€5,658

Non-EU Students

Student pays Tuition Fees €15,262
Student pays Student Levy €100
€15,362

Student course fees are comprised of the following components:

Student Contribution

Annual charge set by the government for all full-time third level students. All students are liable unless they have been approved for a grant by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Please refer to https://www.studentfinance.ie to determine your eligibility for a grant and for instructions on how to apply. The current student contribution is set at €3000.

Student Levy

All students are liable to pay the Student Levy of €100. Please note the Student Levy is not covered by the SUSI Grant.

Tuition Fees

These are based on Residency, Citizenship, Course requirements.

Review the three groups of criteria to determine your fee status as follows

  1. Residency
    • You must have been living in an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course
  2. Citizenship
    • You must be a citizen of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland or have official refugee status
  3. Course Requirements (all must be met)
    • You must be a first time full-time undergraduate (Exceptions are provided for students who hold a Level 6 or Level 7 qualification and are progressing to a Level 8 course in the same general area of study).
    • You must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least 2 year’s duration
    • You cannot be undertaking a repeat year of study at the same level unless evidence of exceptional circumstances eg serious illness is provided (in which case this condition may be waived)

Depending on how you meet these criteria your status will be one of the following -

  • Free Fee Status: You satisfy all three categories (1, 2 and 3) and therefore are eligible for the Higher Education Authority’s Free Fees scheme.
  • EU Fee Status: You satisfy both the citizenship and residency criteria but fail to satisfy the course requirements and are liable to EU fees.
  • Non EU Fee Status: You do not meet either the citizenship or residency criteria and are therefore liable to Non EU fees.

More information about fees can be found on the Finance website

These scholarships are available for all courses

Your future career

Digital Culture and Communications graduates find work in a wide range of careers including:

  • Communications and public relations
  • eCommerce and ePublishing
  • Technical Writing and editing
  • Print and electronic media journalism
  • Media production
  • Media research and analysis
  • Advertising and marketing
  • Research and teaching at third level
  • Development and research in voluntary organisations

Follow-on study:

Student Profile

Ciara Murray 

I am a 2nd year Bachelor of Arts student studying Digital Culture and Communications with Sociology. When applying for a course, it was important to me to choose a course with flexibility and choice. In first year, I studied Economics, Psychology, Sociology and Digital Culture and Communications.  

I loved Digital Culture and Communications. In first year, we studied the history of digital communication and computers. We then went on to do various projects such as creating a website and live tweeting. I love the practical and creative aspects of the module. We continued to use our own WordPress websites to submit assignments throughout the semester. This was really fun and very different to anything I was doing in other modules. In my second year, I got to study mass media from a sociological viewpoint, the influence of media and also visual cultural studies. These were really interesting topics. My lecturers were very interactive and enthusiastic. 

Next semester, I am heading to Tenerife for my Erasmus to study Digital Media. After my degree, I would love to explore a career in Digital Marketing in the fashion industry. I really think that studying Digital Culture and Communications in UL will have greatly prepared me for this. 

" "

 

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