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Masters Communication Studies

The Masters in Communication Studies is a postgraduate programme that prepares professionals for advanced practice in journalism, public relations, development communication, and media studies. The programme provides specialised training in communication theory, media analysis, journalism practice, and strategic communication.

Core areas include communication theory, journalism, public relations, development communication, media research, digital media, research methods, and thesis. Students engage with both theoretical and practical work through coursework, media projects, and research.

The programme is offered by the University of Nairobi as a public institution through the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. JKUAT offers a related MSc in Mass Communication. Both programmes are available over two years.

Students develop competencies in communication, journalism, public relations, media research, and digital media. The programme includes coursework, examinations, media projects, and a supervised research thesis, preparing graduates for communication and media leadership roles.

UoN charges approximately KES 327,500 per year while JKUAT charges approximately KES 126,000 per year. No private university confirmed offering this exact programme. Entry requires at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree in any discipline from a recognised institution, with relevant communication experience preferred.

Graduates pursue careers as communication managers, journalists, public relations managers, development communication specialists, media consultants, and lecturers across media organisations, PR firms, NGOs, government agencies, and universities.

Skills Required

  • Communication Theory and Analysis
  • Journalism and News Writing
  • Public Relations and Strategic Communication
  • Development Communication
  • Media Research and Audience Analysis
  • Digital Media and Online Journalism
  • Crisis Communication Management
  • Media Ethics and Regulation
  • Research Methods in Communication
  • Academic Writing and Thesis Research

Key Subjects

  • Communication Theory and Analysis
  • Journalism and News Writing
  • Public Relations and Strategic Communication
  • Development Communication
  • Media Research and Audience Analysis
  • Digital Media and Online Journalism
  • Media Ethics and Regulation
  • Crisis Communication Management
  • Research Methods in Communication
  • Thesis Research

Certifications

  • MCK Media Practitioner Accreditation
  • IABC Professional Membership

Specializations

Journalism

Focuses on journalism, covering journalism, news, writing, media, and managing journalism and news writing.

Public Relations

Examines public relations, covering public, relations, strategic, communication, and managing public relations and strategic communication.

Development Communication

Covers development communication, covering development, communication, advocacy, social, and managing development communication and advocacy.

Digital Media

Focuses on digital media, covering digital, media, online, journalism, and managing digital media and online journalism.

Media Research

Examines media research, covering media, research, audience, analysis, and managing media research and audience analysis.

Crisis Communication

Covers crisis communication, covering crisis, communication, management, media, and managing crisis communication management.

Duration
2 years
Public, up to
Ksh 220,500
Job market
High

The programme

What you study, how long it takes, and how it is delivered.

Practicalities

Study mode
Full-time, Part-time
Attachment
0 months
Average class
25 students
Award
Masters

What you study

10 subjects
  • Communication Theory and Analysis
  • Journalism and News Writing
  • Public Relations and Strategic Communication
  • Development Communication
  • Media Research and Audience Analysis
  • Digital Media and Online Journalism
  • Media Ethics and Regulation
  • Crisis Communication Management
  • Research Methods in Communication
  • Thesis Research

Modules

12 in the programme

  • Communication Theory and Analysis

    Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore

    Examines communication theory, covering communication, theory, analysis, media, and managing communication theory and analysis.

  • Journalism and News Writing

    Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore

    Covers journalism, covering journalism, news, writing, media, and managing journalism and news writing.

  • Public Relations and Strategic Communication

    Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore

    Examines public relations, covering public, relations, strategic, communication, and managing public relations and strategic communication.

  • Development Communication

    Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore

    Covers development communication, covering development, communication, advocacy, social, and managing development communication and advocacy.

  • Media Research and Audience Analysis

    Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore

    Examines media research, covering media, research, audience, analysis, and managing media research and audience analysis.

  • Digital Media and Online Journalism

    Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore

    Covers digital media, covering digital, media, online, journalism, and managing digital media and online journalism.

  • Media Ethics and Regulation

    Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore

    Examines media ethics, covering media, ethics, regulation, law, and managing media ethics and regulation.

  • Research Methods in Communication

    Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore

    Covers research, methods, communication, statistics, and conducting research in communication, preparing students for their thesis.

  • Crisis Communication Management

    Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore

    Examines crisis communication, covering crisis, communication, management, media, and managing crisis communication management.

  • International Communication and Global Media

    Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore

    Covers international communication, covering international, communication, global, media, and managing international communication and global media.

  • Media Project

    Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore

    Practical media project demonstrating journalism, PR, or digital media skills, assessed through project output and presentation.

  • Research Thesis

    Year 2Semester 212 creditsCore

    Original supervised research thesis on a communication studies topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and communication knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Specialisations

  • Journalism

    Focuses on journalism, covering journalism, news, writing, media, and managing journalism and news writing.

  • Public Relations

    Examines public relations, covering public, relations, strategic, communication, and managing public relations and strategic communication.

  • Development Communication

    Covers development communication, covering development, communication, advocacy, social, and managing development communication and advocacy.

  • Digital Media

    Focuses on digital media, covering digital, media, online, journalism, and managing digital media and online journalism.

  • Media Research

    Examines media research, covering media, research, audience, analysis, and managing media research and audience analysis.

  • Crisis Communication

    Covers crisis communication, covering crisis, communication, management, media, and managing crisis communication management.

A day as a student

A typical day combines lectures, seminars, media projects, and independent study. Sessions cover communication theory, journalism, public relations, development communication, and digital media. Communication theory sessions examine communication, theory, analysis, media, and managing communication theory and analysis. Journalism sessions cover journalism, news, writing, media, and managing journalism and news writing. PR sessions cover public, relations, strategic, communication, and managing public relations and strategic communication. Development communication sessions cover development, communication, advocacy, social, and managing development communication. Digital media sessions cover digital, media, online, journalism, and managing digital media and online journalism. Seminars provide opportunities for media project presentations and discussing research findings. The programme culminates in a supervised research thesis on a communication studies topic.

The trade offs

In its favour

  • Programme addresses growing demand for communication professionals in media, PR, and corporate sectors.
  • Two public universities confirmed offering related programmes, providing options for students.
  • Programme covers diverse areas from journalism to PR to digital media to development communication.
  • Graduates are eligible for MCK media accreditation and IABC professional membership.

Against it

  • Significant fee difference between JKUAT (KES 126,000/year) and UoN (KES 327,500/year).
  • No private university confirmed offering this programme.
  • UoN fee increase to KES 655,000 total may be prohibitive for some students.
  • Media jobs may require MCK accreditation for practice in Kenya.

What it costs

Tuition at both ends of the market, and how to pay for it.

What it costs, and where

Against 106 media & communication courses
Public126k to 221k
126k at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology221k at University of Nairobi

Annual tuition in Kenyan shillings, rounded. The upright tick is the median for this field, so a bar sitting entirely to its right is an expensive programme by the standards of its own subject.

The fine print

JKUAT 126K/yr (kenyaplex). UoN 220.5K/yr (uonbi.ac.ke). Private unverified.

HELB postgraduate loans are available for Kenyan students. Universities may offer scholarships for eligible students. IABC and ICA may offer fellowships for communication research and education.

Funding options

  • HELB Postgraduate Loan

  • University Scholarship

  • IABC Fellowship

Scholarships

3 recorded

  • HELB Postgraduate Loan

    LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan

    Kenyan students pursuing postgraduate studies at recognised universities.

  • University Scholarship

    ScholarshipKsh 327,500Kenyan

    UoN and JKUAT may offer scholarships for eligible postgraduate communication students.

  • IABC Fellowship

    ScholarshipKsh 300,000

    IABC and ICA may offer fellowships for communication research and education.

Getting in

The grades, the alternatives, and who accredits the award.

What you need

KCSE mean grade
N/A (Postgraduate)
Alternative entry
UoN accepts graduates from any discipline with Upper Second Class Honours. Lower Second Class may be considered with relevant communication work experience. JKUAT requires a relevant degree with Upper Second Class Honours. Contact respective universities for specific admission requirements.

How you are assessed

4 components

  • Coursework and Continuous Assessment

    Coursework30% of the mark

    Continuous assessment through coursework assignments, media reports, seminar presentations, and class participation.

  • Written Examinations

    Examination70% of the mark

    Written examinations covering communication theory, journalism, public relations, and media research.

  • Media Project Assessment

    Project40% of the mark

    Practical assessment through media projects, demonstrating journalism, PR, or digital media skills.

  • Research Thesis

    Research100% of the mark

    Original supervised research thesis on a communication studies topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and communication knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Accreditation

The programme is accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). UoN (public) offers MA in Communication Studies through the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. JKUAT (public) offers MSc in Mass Communication. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in communication studies. Graduates may interact with MCK for media accreditation and IABC for professional membership. The programme aligns with CUE, MCK, and IABC global communication frameworks.

Accredited by

  • Commission for University Education (CUE)

    Academic accreditationRequired

    Programme accredited by CUE. UoN (public) offers MA in Communication Studies through the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. JKUAT (public) offers MSc in Mass Communication. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in communication studies. Graduates may interact with MCK for media accreditation and IABC for professional membership. The programme aligns with CUE, MCK, and IABC global communication frameworks.

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

6 roles

  • Communication Manager

    High demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 400,000

    Manages communication operations, covering communication, manager, operations, strategy, and managing communication management and operations.

  • Journalist

    Moderate demandKsh 80,000 to Ksh 300,000

    Reports and writes news, covering journalist, news, reporting, writing, and managing journalism and news writing.

  • Public Relations Manager

    High demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 400,000

    Manages PR operations, covering public, relations, manager, strategy, and managing public relations management.

  • Development Communication Specialist

    Moderate demandKsh 100,000 to Ksh 350,000

    Manages development communication, covering development, communication, specialist, advocacy, and managing development communication.

  • Media Consultant

    Moderate demandKsh 110,000 to Ksh 380,000

    Provides media consulting, covering media, consultant, advisory, strategy, and managing media consulting.

  • Communication Lecturer

    Moderate demandKsh 100,000 to Ksh 400,000

    Teaches communication studies at university or college level, overseeing instruction, research, and academic supervision.

Graduate outcomes

Graduates pursue careers as communication managers, journalists, public relations managers, development communication specialists, media consultants, and lecturers across media organisations, PR firms, NGOs, government agencies, and universities.

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Tools you will learn

  • SPSS

    SoftwarePrimary

    SPSS for communication research data analysis, covering statistics, data, analysis, communication, and managing communication research data analysis.

  • Adobe Creative Suite

    Software

    Adobe Creative Suite for media production and content creation, covering Adobe, media, production, content, and managing media production.

  • Hootsuite

    Software

    Hootsuite for social media management and analytics, covering social, media, management, analytics, and managing social media management.

  • Google Analytics

    Software

    Google Analytics for digital media audience analysis, covering Google, analytics, audience, digital, and managing digital media audience analysis.

Industry links

Common misconceptions

  • Communication studies is just about journalism.

    Communication studies covers PR, development communication, digital media, crisis communication, and research beyond just journalism.

  • This programme is only for media graduates.

    The programme accepts graduates from any discipline, not just media or journalism graduates.

  • Communication studies has limited career prospects in Kenya.

    Communication professionals are in high demand in media, PR, NGOs, government, and corporate sectors.

  • This programme is the same as mass communication.

    Communication studies is broader, covering theory, research, and strategic communication, while mass communication focuses on media production.

  • Digital media has made communication studies obsolete.

    Digital media has expanded the field, creating new areas like online journalism, social media strategy, and digital communication.

  • You need media experience to study this programme.

    The programme is accessible to graduates from various fields seeking communication specialisation, not just media professionals.

Related courses

Further reading

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