The course

International Media Management (MA)

This course combines a thorough knowledge of business practices and the management of projects with a detailed understanding of specific management practices within the media industries. Your knowledge of media management will span traditional and digital media and cover how to manage all levels of project, along with digital and marketing skills essential to navigating the wider media landscape encompassing a variety of business models and audiences.

There will be a number of high-calibre tutors leading this course, many of whom are actively producing for TV and big-screen, as well as publishing extensively in the area of media and communications. You will also benefit from visits by many industry speakers and guest lecturers throughout the year.

This course teaches the project management, business and vocational skills essential for working within the media industry and overseeing the life cycle of complex projects from conception to completion
This programme believes that learning both creative and business skills is the most effective way to prepare next generation media graduates for the industry
The multi- faceted nature of the media demands a multi-skilled professional and that is what we hope the students will grow into through your experience on this programme

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Course structure

Core Modules

Year 1

Students take modules adding up to 180 credits.

In this module you will examine a major shift in research in the field of media and cultural studies towards the ethnographic study of technology and its uses in particular contexts. You will study how consumption and use of technologies – and especially the domestic context – contribute important determinations on how technologies are perceived, taken up and used in different ways by people.
The aim of this module is to create a comprehensive understanding of the industrial process required to create long-form TV Drama. Beginning with Ideas, and where they come from, you will examine through examples the stages that transform an internal vision into written Treatments, then Scripts, and finally into Moving Pictures via the contracting of Crews, Artists, Studios, and Equipment. Assessments include the writing of a Script Report on a professional TV script, and the assembly of a Production Report describing the whole process using prose, graphics, and diagrams. A context-making visit is undertaken to a working TV Production Centre where a long-running TV Drama is recorded, and whose experienced staff answer questions from students.
In this module you will examine the main issues in the operation and (de)regulation of global television industry, providing an overview of the differing markets for television programmes and differing commission and production regimes around the world. You will look at the commonalities and differences between different television business models (Free with Ads, Subscription, Other); network organisation; independent production etc). You will also discuss the nature of global flows in programming and the market system that enables them.
In this module you will develop an understanding of how complex projects in the creative industries are managed and financed. You will look at real feature films and television shows, following a drama project from the birth of the story idea through to the cinema or television release. You will consider the ways to manage such projects successfully and explore how tortuous and full of pitfalls the creative path can be.
In this module you will learn how individuals and organizations become ‘market ready’ in the Digital Music Industries (DMI). Most creators and workers in the DMI start off as freelancers or in small and medium size organizations. They must therefore possess competencies and digital skills that can be adapted to an evolving market. Through weekly lectures and workshops, students will develop the knowledge and skills needed to be flexible, entrepreneurial, and successful in the competitive and fast changing digital music industries.
This module offers the opportunity to test your learning, share your subject knowledge, and explore in detail a topic that interests you by conducting research and/or by developing concepts and projects in the context of the creative industries. As the culmination of your masters degree, you will work under the guidance of a supervisor to produce and submit either a dissertation of between 13000-15000 words, or else an equivalent practice-as-research or professional project.
This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.

All modules are core

Teaching & assessment

This innovative new course combines two previous successful Masters courses (International Television Industries and Media Management) into a single degree with increased optionality taught by established media professionals as well as experienced project management professionals from the MSc Project Management team.

This course utilises a mixture of teaching methods from lectures, seminars, industry visits to individual tutorials. You will be allocated two Personal Tutors (one from Media Arts and the other from MSc Project Management). Assessment of knowledge and understanding is undertaken through seminar presentations, group projects, writing exercises, and coursework essays. The culmination of your degree will be a dissertation project, Media Industries Report or Production Practice Dissertation.

Entry requirements

2:2

UK Honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject.

Relevant subjects include: Media, Advertising and Public Relations, Economics, Marketing and Management, Digital Media, Film, Photography, Computer Science, or Politics.

Applicants may be asked to provide an 800 word essay entitled 'An analysis of the changes over the last five years in Media Management in one company or sector in your country' as part of the application process.

Applicants will be interviewed before an outcome of the application is received.

Candidates with professional qualifications or relevant professional experience in an associated area will be considered. In these cases, applicants will be required to provide a CV.

International & EU requirements

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.5 overall. No subscore lower than 6.0.
Pearson Test of English: 67 overall. No other subscore lower than 64.
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
TOEFL iBT: 88 overall with Reading 22 Listening 20 Speaking 22 Writing 24.
Duolingo: 120 overall and no sub-score below 115.

Your future career

Previous graduates have gone on to work in independent television and film production, for broadcasters like Channel Four in the UK as well as international media agencies such as Comcast Universal International, Fox International Channels, CGTN, Hunan and for distributors, exhibitors and talent agencies.

Fees, funding & scholarships

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £12,000

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £24,500

Other essential costs***: -

How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, grants, scholarships and bursaries.

* and ** These tuition fees apply to students starting their course on a full-time basis in the academic year 2026/27. Students studying on the standard part-time course structure over two years are charged 50% of the full-time applicable fee for each study year.

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually. For further information, see fees and funding.

** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2026/27 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.