Join Our On-Going Success Story
Edinburgh Napier’s BA (Hons) and MA Journalism programmes are some of the longest-established and most successful in the UK.
Our modules are hands-on and practical, which is why our graduates have an impressive track record of gaining employment in the news media.
For more than four decades Napier graduates have been making a name for themselves in online, newspaper, magazine, TV and radio journalism as well as in public relations and corporate communications.
These statistics speak for themselves:
- We earned a 93% satisfaction rating in the 2011 National Student survey;
- We were ranked third in the UK for employability (HERA survey);
- We are Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) and Periodicals Training Council (PTC) accredited;
- We are a Skillset Screen and Media Academy – one of only three in the UK.
The programmes teach state-of-the art journalism, focusing on areas such as social media, broadcast journalism, magazine production and digital platforms.
What’s more, our students can take advantage of exchanges to Canada, the US and a whole host of European countries.
Edinburgh is one of Europe’s most exciting capital cities, famous for its remarkable history, stunning architecture, diverse attractions, amazing culture (with one of the world’s great arts festivals each summer) and brilliant nightlife.
Edinburgh Napier University is one of the best new universities in the UK with an emphasis on graduate employability.
Our journalism programmes will provide you with a bedrock of skills and knowledge on which to build the media career you want in a truly inspiring location.
Find out more about:
How our former students are doing
Edinburgh Napier Journalism graduates are putting their skills to great use in a variety of media roles.
Here, we catch up with four recent students to see what they are up to…
Anna Fenton – BA (Hons) 2010
I work for BBC Radio 1 as a Unit Assistant. I work across a range of shows at Radio 1 and 1Xtra, including the Chris Moyles Show, Zane Lowe, Fearne Cotton and Nick Grimshaw. My day includes setting up the studio, editing audio, writing scripts and working on creative ideas to use on the shows.
Colleen Reid – BA (Hons) 2011
Since completing my BA (Hons) in Journalism in May 2011, I’ve worked as Acting Editor for a glossy magazine, the very same one I did my 3rd year work experience with. I’m now freelancing as online editor of a parenting magazine from the comfort of my own home. Great on rainy days!
Martin Couper – BA (Hons) 2008
As a Media Relations Officer for Lothian and Borders Police, a core function of my role is to handle media enquiries, which relate to ongoing criminal investigations or police campaigns, and issue an appropriate response. This can be a police spokesman statement or by arranging an interview with a senior police officer. I am also required to draft press releases that support a police appeal and am responsible for setting up press conferences or interviews along with these releases.
Myles Edwards – BA (Hons) 2010
Following my graduation in 2010 I spent some time travelling around Australia. After that I worked part-time, while also doing some freelance work, to fund a three-month trip to Iten, Kenya for altitude running. During my time in Kenya I got a lot of freelance work and interviewed some of the big names of world athletics. I am soon returning there for a similar period and already have some big name interviews lined up in the build up to the London Olympics. Kenya is the ideal location for me to combine two of my main passions, journalism and athletics. In order to fund this trip I am doing a number of jobs (freelance journalism, marketing, coaching and bar work) while also training once or twice a day. Last week I even gave a lecture to some journalism students – who’d have thought it!
The Buzz of Breaking News
Murder on the doorstep, Japan unravelling by the second, preparations for the Royal Wedding - everything was thrown at this year’s MA Journalism students as they produced live rolling news across several platforms.
On their toes with hardly time to grab a bite, they loved the buzz as they beat the big media to breaking stories, armed with cameras, audio recorders and note pads.
Claudie Qumsieh, Presenter
“I really enjoyed the newsdays. We got to work to industry standard and got a feel for what ‘real life’ newsrooms are like. It’s really rewarding to have something of quality at the end of a hard day’s work.”
Fearghus Roulston, News Editor
“Working as a team towards deadlines is exhilarating. It feels more like journalism than producing a package on your own.”
Adam Smyth, Video Journalist
“The best thing about the news days was not to worry about pushing the boundaries of what was possible story-wise.”
Susannah Radford, Radio Journalist
“Covering the rolling news was very exciting. It was fun, interesting and a very valuable experience.”
Edoardo Zandona, Online Journalist
“Live rolling news production was totally different to anything I’ve ever done in my life. I never thought I could have so much fun while working so hard.”
Neal Wallace, Video Journalist
“There’s a real buzz in the news room on newsdays, with everyone getting excited about breaking stories. It’s also a lot of fun going out and filming and sourcing original stories.”
Catherine Mumford, Radio Journalist
“Rolling news is just so exciting. I enjoyed getting original phone quotes and using them in the radio bulletin updates.”
Simon Black, Television Producer
“Professionalism is pretty much having fun professionally. That’s our simple rule.”
Michael McKeand, Video Journalist
“News days were fairly hectic, but there is a real feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day.”
Orla Ni Sheaghdha, Radio Journalist
“The live rolling news days squashed any doubts I had about wanting to be a journalist. It’s such an adrenaline rush.”
Celeste Carrigan, Social Media Blogger
I enjoyed the tweeting and blogging and engagement with social media. And I loved finding out how many hits my original stories were getting. My Red Nose Day story got over 800 hits in one day!
This year’s round of buzzing live rolling cross-platform news days at Edinburgh Napier University is in the can. The students covered breaking international stories like the Japan tsunami and the Lybia conflict, but also local stories like a murder that happened just up the road. Funny enough, a story about Red Nose Day attracted the most readers!
Check out the students’ live rolling news on www.edinburghnapiernews.com.
Multi-platform journalism: everything you need to know.
An exciting range of short courses are now on offer at Screen Academy Scotland including Introduction to Multiplatform for Journalists –a short evening course for all media professionals who want to learn more about writing for the web, social media and how to monetize content online. Read more…
BJTC & PTC Accredition
Edinburgh Napier students and staff alike are thrilled that BA and MA Journalism courses were reaccredited by the BJTC in March 2010.
The Broadcast Journalism Training Council complimented both degrees for a strong focus on multi-platform delivery of news and were very impressed with the commitment of the Journalism department’s staff and students.
And in a landmark decision the Periodicals Training Council also granted accreditation in March 2010. This is the first time the PTC has accredited a degree in Scotland and demonstrates Napier’s commitment to developing journalists on a number of platforms and specialities.
What do our students say about the course?
MA Journalism student Emma Cameron explains what life is like studying at Edinburgh Napier and talks about the skills she has developed to become a fully converged journalist.
