UK · Master's
University of Westminster
MA Multimedia Journalism
University of Westminster
Deadline detail: Rolling from October — apply by June, as places on production-heavy journalism courses are capped by studio capacity
Course Overview
The MA Multimedia Journalism at the University of Westminster is a production degree, taught at the Harrow campus where the Westminster School of Media and Communication runs television studios, radio suites, edit bays and a working newsroom. Students report and publish across text, audio, video and social platforms on a weekly news-day cycle, learn media law and regulation as practised in the UK, and complete a substantial final project — an investigation, a documentary, a podcast series or a data-driven piece. The teaching staff are working and former journalists rather than career academics, which shows in how the newsdays are run.
Westminster's media school is one of the largest and longest-established in the UK, and its alumni network runs through the BBC, Sky News, ITN, Channel 4 News, Reuters, Al Jazeera English and the London bureaux of most international broadcasters. Being in London is the substantive advantage for a journalism student: the story sources, the press events, the newsroom internships and the freelance commissioning editors are all reachable on a Tube fare, and Westminster's central London campuses put you inside that. The fee is also well below what the more famous London journalism master's degrees charge.
We give Sri Lankan applicants one honest caution about this field. Journalism is a competitive, low-starting-salary profession in the UK, and it is one of the harder sectors in which to obtain Skilled Worker visa sponsorship — newsrooms hire freelancers and short-contract staff, and few will sponsor an early-career reporter. The two-year Graduate Route is genuinely valuable here because it lets you work and build clips without needing sponsorship at all, and many international graduates use it to establish a freelance portfolio, stringer relationships or a specialism (data journalism, South Asia coverage, business reporting) that makes them worth sponsoring later. Go in with that plan rather than expecting a staff job offer at graduation, and the degree is a strong investment.
Entry Requirements
Academic
- check_circle A bachelor's degree at second class honours or above (GPA 2.8+ from a Sri Lankan university) in any discipline — journalism admissions value subject knowledge, so economics, law, science and language degrees are all welcome.
- check_circle Sri Lankan applicants from Colombo, Kelaniya, Sri Jayewardenepura, or from media and communication programmes at SLIIT, NSBM or APIIT are the typical profile.
- check_circle A portfolio of published or produced journalism — cuttings, blog work, campus radio, YouTube reporting or student newspaper pieces — carries real weight and often outranks the degree classification.
- check_circle A written statement demonstrating news awareness: what story you would cover, why, and how. Admissions tutors are testing news judgement here, not enthusiasm.
- check_circle Applicants without a degree but with substantial professional journalism experience are considered through Westminster's recognition of prior learning route.
- check_circle Shortlisted applicants may be asked to complete a short news-writing exercise or attend an interview.
English Proficiency
- check_circle IELTS Academic (UKVI where required): 6.5 Overall (min 6.0 in each component, and Westminster expects strong Writing for journalism courses).
- check_circle TOEFL iBT: 92 Overall.
- check_circle PTE Academic: 61 Overall.
- check_circle Cambridge C1 Advanced: 176 Overall.
- check_circle Waived if your bachelor's degree was taught and examined entirely in English — Sri Lankan applicants from English-medium university programmes qualify with a Medium of Instruction letter, which Westminster accepts for postgraduate entry.
Estimated Cost of Study
| Expense Category | Amount (£) | Approx. LKR |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition Fee (1 year, international) | £17,500 | Rs. 7,000,000 |
| Living Expenses (12 months, London) | £15,600 | Rs. 6,240,000 |
| Student Visa & Immigration Health Surcharge | £1,950 | Rs. 780,000 |
| Equipment, Travel for Reporting & Project Costs | £900 | Rs. 360,000 |
| Total Programme Investment | £35,950 | Rs. 14,380,000 |
*LKR conversion based on current bank rates. Subject to change.
Career Outcomes & PR
Graduates work as reporters, producers, video journalists, podcast producers and digital editors across UK and international newsrooms — the BBC, Sky News, ITN, Reuters, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera English, Channel 4 News and the digital outlets, alongside a large freelance and production-company sector. Be realistic: early journalism careers are freelance-heavy and Skilled Worker sponsorship is uncommon at entry level, which makes the two-year UK Graduate Route the practical vehicle for building clips and contacts without sponsorship. Sri Lankan returnees are strong candidates for EconomyNext, Daily FT, the Sunday Times, Daily Mirror, Ada Derana, News First and Sirasa/MTV, for the Colombo bureaux of international wires, and for communication roles at UN agencies, the ADB and INGOs — a UK multimedia journalism MA is a recognised credential across all of them.
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ඔබට සුදුසු විශ්වවිද්යාලයක් තේරීම, අයදුම්පත් යොමු කිරීම, SOP සකස් කිරීම සහ වීසා ලබා ගැනීම ඇතුළු සෑම පියවරකදීම, ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් සියලුම වගකීම් විශ්වාසවන්තව අප භාර ගනිමු.