Course Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Media

The complete subject sequence below moves from foundations to specialist application. Stages show learning progression. Practical work and the final project draw together the subjects studied.

32 subjects are listed below, with a short description of each. The Subject descriptions tab contains the learning outcomes, topics, practical tasks and assessments.

Stage 1: Foundations

1. Academic Literacy and Study Practice. Develop the reading, writing and evidence skills needed for study. You will examine reading strategies, argument structure, academic paragraphs. Write an evidence-based essay and document your revision decisions.
2. Digital Business Skills. Use everyday digital tools to organise business information accurately. You will build reliable spreadsheets, manage documents and share work responsibly. Activities address uneven connectivity, accessible communication and the protection of personal information in small organisations and public offices.
3. Business Communication. Prepare purposeful communication for colleagues, customers and decision makers. You will organise evidence, adjust tone for different audiences and check whether a message leads to the intended action. Examples include multilingual workplaces, professional correspondence and short management reports.
4. Philosophical Reasoning and Ethics. Develop careful reasoning about knowledge and values. You will examine arguments, knowledge, moral reasoning. Write and defend a reasoned ethical argument.
5. Sociology of Education. Examine how schools interact with inequality and social institutions. You will examine socialisation, school and family, class and inequality. Analyse a school-community case and propose a feasible response.
6. Microeconomics. Study how households and firms make choices under scarcity. You will examine prices, incentives and market structures, then use diagrams and calculations to explain changes in behaviour. Examples include food markets, informal enterprises and access to essential services.
7. Macroeconomics. Examine output, employment, inflation and external trade at economy level. You will connect household and business conditions to fiscal, monetary and exchange-rate decisions. Work with published indicators while distinguishing nominal values, real changes and differences between national contexts.
8. Business Statistics. Summarise data and judge the strength of numerical evidence. You will distinguish a population from a sample, choose appropriate summaries and interpret uncertainty. Business examples cover demand, customer service, workforce information and variation in operating performance.
9. Business Information Systems. Examine how information systems support transactions, coordination and decisions. You will map information flows, compare system requirements and recognise control weaknesses. Examples connect operational data with management reporting while considering security, user needs and the cost of maintaining dependable information.
10. Language in African Social and Legal Contexts. Examine meaning and access in multilingual institutions. You will examine language and identity, meaning in context, multilingual interaction. Analyse a multilingual encounter using TjiKalanga and English examples where appropriate.

Stage 2: Core subjects

1. Media and Communication Theory. Compare explanations of communication in social life. You will examine communication models, media institutions, audiences. Analyse a media case through two theories.
2. Journalism and News Reporting. Develop accurate reporting around public-interest questions. You will examine news judgement, interviewing, verification. Produce a local news report and source-checking log.
3. Audio, Visual and Digital Media Production. Produce a coherent message through planned media work. You will examine audience, scripts, recording. Produce an accessible media package and production notes.
4. Media Research and Audience Analysis. Investigate media use through a defined research question. You will examine audience questions, sampling, content analysis. Complete an ethical audience or content study.
5. Media Ethics and Law. Evaluate decisions through expression, rights and duties. You will examine expression, privacy, defamation. Prepare a reasoned editorial decision on a supplied scenario.
6. Consumer Behaviour. Examine how people choose, use and evaluate products and services. You will connect individual processes with household, cultural and social influences, then apply the analysis to marketing decisions. Cases require evidence-based interpretation and avoid stereotypes about regional or demographic groups.
7. Public Relations and Organisational Communication. Plan communication between an organisation and its publics. You will analyse stakeholder concerns, prepare media and internal communication materials and evaluate a response to a reputational issue. Activities emphasise accuracy, appropriate spokesperson roles and consistency between communication and organisational conduct.
8. Multilingual Language Support. Develop home-language resources, additional-language development and inclusive dialogue. Use the foundation principles in more demanding teaching cases and evaluate the resulting learner evidence.
9. Political and Development Communication. Plan public communication around participation and evidence. You will examine public audiences, campaigns, development communication. Produce a civic communication plan.
10. Integrated Marketing Communication. Coordinate communication activities around a clear audience and objective. You will develop messages, select channels and assess how advertising, promotion and public relations work together. The module connects creative choices with budget, accessibility, responsible claims and measurable communication results.

Stage 3: Specialist subjects and application

1. Digital Marketing. Plan marketing activity across digital channels using clear objectives and reliable evidence. You will examine search, content, social platforms and email, then build measures for a customer journey. The module includes privacy, accessibility and the careful interpretation of platform-reported results.
2. Brand Management. Develop and evaluate the identity and meaning of a brand for its audiences. You will examine positioning, brand architecture and consistency across touchpoints. Cases connect brand decisions with evidence about customers, organisational delivery and the responsible use of cultural associations.
3. Community Development Practice. Work with communities to plan collective action. You will examine community entry, participation, needs and assets. Develop a participatory action plan using a realistic case.
4. Public Policy Analysis. Analyse policy problems through evidence and alternatives. You will examine problem framing, policy actors, options. Prepare a policy brief comparing practical alternatives.
5. Gender, Diversity and Social Inclusion. Examine unequal participation in institutions and communities. You will examine gender relations, intersectionality, discrimination. Review a programme for barriers to equitable participation.
6. Monitoring and Evaluation. Build evidence systems for programme decisions. You will examine theory of change, indicators, baselines. Prepare a monitoring plan and evaluation questions.
7. Research Methods and Evidence Analysis. Plan an enquiry suited to a specific social or organisational question. You will compare qualitative and quantitative approaches, prepare ethical data collection and assess evidence quality. The module connects research questions to sampling, analysis and clear reporting of uncertainty and limitations.
8. Workplace Learning and Professional Portfolio. Connect taught subjects with supervised or carefully designed simulated professional work. You will agree learning objectives, record tasks and evaluate your decisions against evidence. The portfolio makes your individual contribution visible and identifies areas requiring further practice or specialist supervision.
9. Integrated Business Research Project. Investigate a defined business problem by combining knowledge from several management subjects. You will frame a useful question, gather appropriate evidence and compare feasible responses. The final report explains the recommendation, implementation implications and limitations of the enquiry rather than claiming certainty.

African History and Pan Africanism

1. African History and Pan Africanism 101 (Level 1, compulsory core module): Study African history through oral, written and archaeological evidence. Examine the diversity of African societies, knowledge and exchange, then trace the emergence of Pan African ideas about identity, solidarity and self-determination.
2. African History and Pan Africanism 201 (Level 2, compulsory core module): Examine colonial change, resistance and liberation across Africa, with attention to Zimbabwe and South Africa. Compare Pan African movements, organisations and debates, including contributions from women, workers and diaspora communities.
3. African History and Pan Africanism 301 (Level 3, compulsory core module): Evaluate the legacy of Pan Africanism in continental and regional cooperation, culture and public life. Apply historical inquiry to a heritage, community or professional issue, recognising both achievements and contested interpretations.