UCC Postgraduate courses

Digital Cultures (Online)

Course Fact File
CodeMADC
Duration1 Year
Teaching ModeFull-time. See Additional Teaching Mode Information for more info.
QualificationsMA
NFQ LevelLevel 9
Closing DateRolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.
Non-EU Closing DateOpen until all places have been filled or no later than 30 June. Early application is advised.
Course Delivery MethodOnline
Start Date9 September 2024

Course Outline

Our online MA in Digital Cultures at University College Cork is delivered entirely through distance learning and explores and operates within the digital moment, developing knowledge, skills and critical awareness through theoretical engagement and critical practice.

Participants in the course develop the practical skills needed to flourish in the digital age, while also examining the impact of the digital on culture, power, and identity in society. Our MA in Digital Cultures fosters those new literacies of consumption, production, and creativity essential in the contemporary world. It invites you to consider the moral, ethical, social, cultural, political, and economic implications of digital technology on humanity.

The MA in Digital Cultures prepares you to understand such transformations in society, identity, and culture, and to develop digital skills necessary to provide innovative and creative leadership in the digital age. It truly encourages transdisciplinary engagement that is creatively enriching for students within a scholarly atmosphere.

The course offers an introduction to how digital tools and methods can be used in research and it combines innovative elements of theory and practice in digital cultures. You will receive instruction on how digital tools can be used to capture social and cultural data sources in digital form, using standards-based tools to frame research questions, collaborate on research using social networking tools, and present results both in print and on the web using current standards-based presentation technologies. Our MA students will be encouraged and facilitated in the creation of digital artefacts individually, and in teams. International engagement and participation is expected and encouraged.

The MA in Digital Cultures is geared towards introducing graduates to the use of appropriate digital tools to address research questions in their undergraduate disciplines or areas of expertise. It lays the foundations for work on capturing, reading, and writing sources in digital form, and using them for analytic and creative work.

General

The MA in Digital Cultures is a full-time course running for 12 months. In total students take modules to the value of 90 credits in two parts:

  • Part I Students take taught modules to the value of 60 credits incorporating 3 two-day on-campus workshops and 8-10 hours a week of structured online activity during the term, supplemented by reading and other study.
  • Part II Students complete a Digital Cultures Dissertation worth 30 credits.

Modules

Part I (60 credits)

  • DH6013 Getting Started with Graduate Research and Generic Skills (5 credits)
  • DH6016 Digital Humanities Institute (5 credits)
  • DH6022 Communities of Practice in Digital Scholarship (10 credits)
  • DH6023 Conceptual Introduction to Digital Arts and Humanities (10 credits)
  • DH6024 Humanities and New Technologies: Tools and Methodologies (10 credits)

Elective Modules (choose 20 credits)

  • DH6006 Teaching and Learning in Digital Humanities (5 credits)
  • DH6007 Models, Simulations, and Games (5 credits)
  • DH6012 Contemporary Practices in Publishing and Editing (5 credits)
  • DH6018 History and Theory of Digital Arts (5 credits)
  • DH6026 Principles of Game Design (5 credits)

Part II

  • DH6029 Digital Cultures Dissertation (30 credits)

Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Cultures (NFQ Level 9, Minor Award): Students who pass at least 30 credits of taught modules (to include DH6023) may opt to exit the programme and be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Cultures.

Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Cultures (NFQ Level 9, Major Award): Students who successfully complete Part I may opt to exit the programme and be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Cultures.

Additional Teaching Mode Information

This MA in Digital Cultures is delivered online using University College Cork’s learning management system, as well as a range of other digital tools that will reinforce and provide experience in online collaboration and team building. Online delivery of the course also offers online, synchronous, face-to-face tutorials to support the other online material accessed by students.

Academic Programme Catalogue

See the Academic Programme Catalogue where you can search for the complete and up-to-date content for this course. Note that the modules for all courses are subject to change from year to year. For complete descriptions of individual modules, see the Book of Modules.

Course Practicalities

Modules in the course require students to work hands-on with current and emerging tools and interact with standards-based ICT. This will include assessments requiring engagement with both theory and practice of inquiry in the digital age. It is expected that students will create digital research artefacts in the course of their research. Assessment may include practice and/or performance-based elements where appropriate.

Our teaching team includes faculty from the Department of Digital Arts & Humanities:

Why Choose This Course

This unique multidisciplinary programme has introduced me to a new dimension of innovation and taught me how to deploy ICT in humanities research and projects from idea to execution...

Mirhan Abouelfadl, MA Digital Cultures (Online)

Find Out More

If your career and interests drive you to engage with cutting-edge concepts and tools to forge new knowledge and practices in the digital age, then this course will be of interest. It will provide a structured perspective on contemporary digital culture, and appeal to those interested in the arts, communications, information technology, philosophy, law, language, literature, and education, as well as all graduates who wish to improve their digital skills. Participants will engage with a group of like-minded students in a framework designed to foster the skills of self-directed, life-long transformation and development for the 21st Century.

This course is provided by a diverse and internationally recognised team experienced in teaching, development and research in the digital arts and humanities at every level from undergraduate to PhD. This experience has been demonstrated and delivered using blended and online learning tools to foster student-centred, research-based learning.

Skills and Careers Information

The UCC MA in Digital Cultures will equip you with a range of tools and methods to provide the digital element now essential for careers in education, heritage, and the ‘cultural economy’, in digital content creation and management, in web content creation, editing and management, and storytelling in a variety of domains.

Digital Cultures is a field that equips practitioners with the conceptual awareness to apply digital tools to research problems in the Arts, Humanities and related fields. It produces digitally literate interdisciplinary graduates ready to fill a variety of roles in the knowledge economy.

Requirements

The entry requirement is a Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or equivalent in any discipline.

Applicants who hold a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) will also be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) subject to the approval of the programme selection committee.

Some applicants who do not fulfil the usual entry requirements may be invited for interview to satisfy the selection committee of their suitability for the programme.

All applicants are required to comment on the following statement:

  • Please explain your interest in the MA in Digital Cultures. Briefly outline the narrative extent and analytic issues which you may be interested in as research topics for the MA Thesis.  As this programme, requires engagement with digital tools for research, you should indicate your experience and aptitude for working with digital tools (750 words approximately).

For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland

Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.

International/Non-EU Applicants

For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.

  • In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.
  • Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.
English Language Requirements

Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Vsit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

Fees and Costs

Postgraduate EU and International Fees 2024/2025

See our Postgraduate EU and Non-EU (International) Fee Schedule for the latest information.

Deposits 

If your course requires a deposit, that figure will be deducted from your second-semester fee payment in January.

Fee payment 

Fees are payable in two equal instalments. First payment is at registration and the balance usually by the end of January.

How can I pay? 

See different options on our How Do I Pay My Fees? page.

Any questions? See the 'Contact Us' section on the Fees Office page.

How To Apply

1. Check dates

Check the opening and closing dates for the application process in the fact file boxes at the top of the page.

2. Gather documents

Scanned copies of supporting documents have to be uploaded to the UCC online application portal and include:

  • Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC.
  • Any supplementary items requested for your course if required.

3. Apply online

Apply online via the UCC online application portal. Note the majority of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee.

Any questions? Use our web enquiry form to contact us.

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)

Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this course. This will include the following:

  • You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.
  • In addition to your previously declared qualifications, please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning and professional training relevant to this course.
  • Please describe your motivation and readiness for this course.
  • Please detail your research interest(s).
  • Please detail your computing/technical/IT skills.

The closing date for non-EU applications is Open until all places have been filled or no later than 30 June. Early application is advised.

For queries regarding course content or timetables please contact

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