Programme Specification for the 2024/5 academic year

MA Social Media Management

1. Programme Details

Programme name	MA Social Media Management	Programme code	PTA1CMMCMM01
Study mode(s)	Level 1	Academic year	2024/5
Campus(es)	Streatham (Exeter)	NQF Level of the Final Award	7 (Masters)

2. Description of the Programme

The MA in Social Media Management will focus on your ability to build campaigns, maximise visibility, strategically engage with various SM platforms, and build capabilities that will allow you to create flexible, adaptable content that can be realigned to the demands of various platforms while remaining consistent with broader campaign visons and agendas. This MA will provide you with specialist knowledge of social media in business contexts, encompassing areas such as brand and reputation management on social media, crisis communication on social media, and user behaviour. You will learn about brand strategy and how this plays out through social media channels: how businesses use social media to create a brand affinity, esteem, and loyalty, and how they target audiences depending on the maturity of brand as well as social media platform. Through this degree you will also gain technical proficiency - how to measure and create engagement and how to budget to create impact through engine optimisation and understanding of Al. Lastly, you will gain in-depth knowledge of the properties of different social media platforms: how different platforms are used, for which purposes, by whom, and in which countries and regions, while also considering ethical implications and social consequences.

This MA degree has been designed with optionality in mind, providing you with flexibility to customise the degree depending on your career goals and interests. In addition, it also offers a range of exciting optional modules across Terms 1 and 2 that will be run by the Communications team along with modules from the Business School. The mixture of critical Communications modules alongside specialist management and design modules based in the Business School makes the degree one of a kind in the context of UK Higher Education.

Advice and guidance on your programme can be sought from your personal tutor and programme director. All staff offer regular office hours that you can drop into without a prior appointment for this purpose.

3. Educational Aims of the Programme

The programme will offer you a structured framework of study in which you follow a balanced and complementary range of modules, with sufficient choice to customise the learning experience and make the degree your own. The programme aims:

to provide you with a holistic and advanced understanding of social media platforms, interactions, engagements, and the processes of content creation and management in online spaces.
to equip you with the ability to critically evaluate and to synthesize a range of theoretical approaches and practices related to the study of Social Media across forms, styles, and contexts.
to critically analyse digital/social media technologies and understand them in relation to their production, consumption, dissemination, and engagement practices.
to develop both a working understanding and an appreciation of a range of methodological approaches that are used in ongoing research in Social Media.
to develop the skills necessary for a variety of careers across sectors, including but not limited to social media industries and domains like social media management and business, content creation, digital media literacy, and social media policy.
to provide opportunities for you to reflect critically upon post graduate career planning and strategies.
to foster critical and analytical skills, including post graduate research skills.
to provide you with a unique set of skills and knowledge required for a variety of employment in social media and management positions across a range of industries, including user experience research, creative design, brand and reputation management.
to enable you to conceive, build, and sustain social media campaigns and also equip you with the requisite capabilities to design campaign strategies for social media as well as lead their processes of implementation.
to create opportunities for you to excel as future researchers in the domain of social media by providing you with advanced and cutting-edge expertise in the theory, global history and cultural contexts of media and furnishing you with essential skills in research methods and methodologies.

4. Programme Structure

The MA Social Media Management is a one-year full-time programme of study at Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) level 7 (as confirmed against the FHEQ). The programme can also be studied part-time in up to two years.

5. Programme Modules

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.

Students are required to take one compulsory 30 credit module in Term 1 and they can choose from a range of additional 30 credit optional modules depending on availability each year. In Term 2 and they can choose from a range of 60 credits of optional modules depending on availability each year. And in the final term students take the 60-credit dissertation.

Stage 1

90 credits Core, 90 credits Optional

Compulsory Modules

Code	Module	Credits	Non-condonable?
CMMM002	Social Media: Management and Strategy	30	Yes
CMMM007	Dissertation	60	Yes

Optional Modules

You must take a minimum of 30 credits of Business School optional modules (module with BEMM / BEEM prefix). To take BEMM782 you must first take BEMM778.

Code	Module	Credits	Non-condonable?
BEMM068	Managing Competitive Strategy	15	No
BEMM115	Marketing Analysis and Research	15	No
BEEM125	Experimental and Behavioural Economics	15	No
BEMM128	Brand Design	15	No
BEMM129	Digital Business Models	15	No
BEMM786	Service Design and Innovation	15	No
CMMM003	Gaming in Everyday Life: A Global Perspective	30	No
CMMM004	Investigating Media Infrastructure	30	No
CMMM005	Social Media and Migration	30	No
CMMM006	Soft Power and International Communications	30	No
CMMM010	Promotional Cultures in Consumer Society	30	No
CMMM012	Selling the Self: Influencer Culture and Digital Capitalism	30	No
DRAM141	Ideas Generation and the Creative Process	30	No
EAFM009	Transmedia Adaptations	30	No
EAFM089	Archival Encounters: Material Film Histories	30	No
EAFM910	Stars, Stardom and Celebrity From the Classical Era to the Contemporary	30	No

6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods

Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:	Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):	...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:
1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge and critical understanding of the field of social media management and strategy and develop mastery over the relevant scholarly literature in the domain. 2. Develop advanced knowledge of how to conceptualise, build, and sustain successful social media strategies through identifying the nuance and underlying mechanics that govern social media platforms. 3. Identify, evaluate, and appreciate a variety of methodological approaches and critical traditions within social media studies. 4. Apply a range of critical theories to the study of social media technologies, platforms, content, and practices. 5. Interrogate and analyse social media content, interactions, and engagements within their specific contexts of production, dissemination, consumption, and ecosystems of co-creation. 6. Position debates about social media and its use/engagement within a wider context of social, cultural, political, intellectual, and communication history. 7. Apply critical terminology and, where appropriate, methodological, linguistic, stylistic, and/or formal terminology to the understanding of research in the domain of social/digital media and management; utilise appropriate referencing and bibliographical style.	ILOs 1-7 are acquired through lectures, seminars, workshops, study groups, tutorials and other learning activities throughout the programme. The degree of specialisation of subject knowledge increases during the programme, culminating in the dissertation. Modules throughout the degree are most closely related to the research specialisms of the staff teaching the module. The precise method of teaching varies according to each module. On team-taught modules you will normally engage in both lectures and seminar groups. In smaller options you will normally spend most of your contact time in seminar groups and workshops. Your learning is further developed through engagement with assessments, following guidance from tutors and lecturers and through feedback on work submitted	The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, annotated bibliographies, reviews of media/web/social/historical artifacts and practices, web-based assessments, audio-visual and written essays, exams, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation. Essays, exams, and presentations are especially significant within the programme because they assess each of the skills in ILOs 1-7.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...

...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):

...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge and critical understanding of the field of social media management and strategy and develop mastery over the relevant scholarly literature in the domain.
2. Develop advanced knowledge of how to conceptualise, build, and sustain successful social media strategies through identifying the nuance and underlying mechanics that govern social media platforms.
3. Identify, evaluate, and appreciate a variety of methodological approaches and critical traditions within social media studies.
4. Apply a range of critical theories to the study of social media technologies, platforms, content, and practices.
5. Interrogate and analyse social media content, interactions, and engagements within their specific contexts of production, dissemination, consumption, and ecosystems of co-creation.
6. Position debates about social media and its use/engagement within a wider context of social, cultural, political, intellectual, and communication history.
7. Apply critical terminology and, where appropriate, methodological, linguistic, stylistic, and/or formal terminology to the understanding of research in the domain of social/digital media and management; utilise appropriate referencing and bibliographical style.

ILOs 1-7 are acquired through lectures, seminars, workshops, study groups, tutorials and other learning activities throughout the programme. The degree of specialisation of subject knowledge increases during the programme, culminating in the dissertation.

Modules throughout the degree are most closely related to the research specialisms of the staff teaching the module. The precise method of teaching varies according to each module. On team-taught modules you will normally engage in both lectures and seminar groups. In smaller options you will normally spend most of your contact time in seminar groups and workshops.

Your learning is further developed through engagement with assessments, following guidance from tutors and lecturers and through feedback on work submitted

The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, annotated bibliographies, reviews of media/web/social/historical artifacts and practices, web-based assessments, audio-visual and written essays, exams, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation. Essays, exams, and presentations are especially significant within the programme because they assess each of the skills in ILOs 1-7.

Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:	Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):	...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:
8. Apply critical skills in the analysis of practices, interactions, and engagements through communication 9. Articulate knowledge and understanding of relevant concepts and theories relating to communications, social media, management of digital resources, and the crafting, creation and adaptation of messages on social media platforms. 10. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts, and data in order to frame questions and answer questions relevant to academic study and the postgraduate workplace. 11. Demonstrate the ability to sustain fluent arguments and analysis in writing and in presenting ideas to others. 12. Apply bibliographic skills appropriate to the discipline, including accurate citation of sources and consistent use of conventions in the presentation of scholarly work.	ILOs 8-12 are developed throughout the programme in all modules, with the emphasis becoming more complex as students move from stage to stage. They are developed through lectures and seminars, written work, and oral work (both in presentation and seminar discussion). They will culminate in the substantial and independent research skills demonstrated within the dissertation or large-scale practical project.	The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, annotated bibliographies, web-based assessments, written and/or audio-visual essays, exams, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...

...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):

...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

8. Apply critical skills in the analysis of practices, interactions, and engagements through communication
9. Articulate knowledge and understanding of relevant concepts and theories relating to communications, social media, management of digital resources, and the crafting, creation and adaptation of messages on social media platforms.
10. Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts, and data in order to frame questions and answer questions relevant to academic study and the postgraduate workplace.
11. Demonstrate the ability to sustain fluent arguments and analysis in writing and in presenting ideas to others.
12. Apply bibliographic skills appropriate to the discipline, including accurate citation of sources and consistent use of conventions in the presentation of scholarly work.

ILOs 8-12 are developed throughout the programme in all modules, with the emphasis becoming more complex as students move from stage to stage. They are developed through lectures and seminars, written work, and oral work (both in presentation and seminar discussion).

They will culminate in the substantial and independent research skills demonstrated within the dissertation or large-scale practical project.

The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, annotated bibliographies, web-based assessments, written and/or audio-visual essays, exams, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation.

Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:	Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):	...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:
13. Apply advanced communication, social media, and management skills in appropriate contexts including the ability to present sustained and persuasive multimodal, written, and oral arguments. 14. Analyse and critically examine diverse forms of material, both textual and visual. 15. Acquire and interrelate substantial quantities of complex information of diverse kinds, in a structured and systematic way, and use distinctive methodological and interpretative skills. 16. Apply research skills for the retrieval of archival material, and develop the ability to gather, sift and organise this material independently and critically by evaluating its significance. 17. Interrogate and apply a variety of theoretical positions and weigh the importance of alternative perspectives in a critical and self-reflective manner. 18. Exercise independent thought and judgment. 19. Engage with others through the presentation of ideas and information in groups, and work towards the collective negotiation of solutions. 20. Plan and execute written and other forms of project-work over both short and long timescales. 21. Complete tasks in limited time scenarios and effectively manage deadlines and targets.	Personal and key communication skills are delivered through all modules, and developed in lectures, workshops, study groups, tutorials, work experience and other learning activities throughout the programme.	The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, annotated bibliographies, web-based assessments, essays, exams, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation or large-scale practical project. ILOs 13-18 are also strongly developed over the course of the portfolio of assessed essays and other audio-visual and/or written work produced through the programme. These assessments work on the principle of offering formative feedback to support the development of your work within as well as between modules. Feedback on one assignment is intended to inform the next piece of work you undertake on the module: the next piece of work on the programme, or your future learning. ILO 19 is associated especially with the range of group presentations taking place in modules during the programme. Group presentation assessment brings into focus an important range of skills for students, including sharing workloads, responsibility for tasks, team working, collaborative and communicative skills. Individual contributions to group work are also assessed individually, most often in the form of a reflective presentation report. ILOs 20-21 are also accomplished during the course of ‘real-time’ formal assessments such as the end degree dissertation, presentations and end of module exams, which occur through the programme.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...

...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):

...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

13. Apply advanced communication, social media, and management skills in appropriate contexts including the ability to present sustained and persuasive multimodal, written, and oral arguments.
14. Analyse and critically examine diverse forms of material, both textual and visual.
15. Acquire and interrelate substantial quantities of complex information of diverse kinds, in a structured and systematic way, and use distinctive methodological and interpretative skills.
16. Apply research skills for the retrieval of archival material, and develop the ability to gather, sift and organise this material independently and critically by evaluating its significance.
17. Interrogate and apply a variety of theoretical positions and weigh the importance of alternative perspectives in a critical and self-reflective manner.
18. Exercise independent thought and judgment.
19. Engage with others through the presentation of ideas and information in groups, and work towards the collective negotiation of solutions.
20. Plan and execute written and other forms of project-work over both short and long timescales.
21. Complete tasks in limited time scenarios and effectively manage deadlines and targets.

Personal and key communication skills are delivered through all modules, and developed in lectures, workshops, study groups, tutorials, work experience and other learning activities throughout the programme.

The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, annotated bibliographies, web-based assessments, essays, exams, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation or large-scale practical project.

ILOs 13-18 are also strongly developed over the course of the portfolio of assessed essays and other audio-visual and/or written work produced through the programme. These assessments work on the principle of offering formative feedback to support the development of your work within as well as between modules. Feedback on one assignment is intended to inform the next piece of work you undertake on the module: the next piece of work on the programme, or your future learning.

ILO 19 is associated especially with the range of group presentations taking place in modules during the programme. Group presentation assessment brings into focus an important range of skills for students, including sharing workloads, responsibility for tasks, team working, collaborative and communicative skills. Individual contributions to group work are also assessed individually, most often in the form of a reflective presentation report.

ILOs 20-21 are also accomplished during the course of ‘real-time’ formal assessments such as the end degree dissertation, presentations and end of module exams, which occur through the programme.

7. Programme Regulations

Classification

Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.

8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning

All students within Communications have a personal tutor for their entire programme of study and they are available for at least three hours a week at advertised ‘office hours’. There are induction sessions to orientate students at the start of their programme. A personal tutoring system will operate with regular communication throughout the programme. Academic support will also be provided by module leaders. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff. Teaching materials for the degree and its various modules will be made available via the Exeter Learning Environment at the start of term. Additional materials for supplementary reading will be made available by the Forum library. We have access to most journals and books that engage with the field of communication, media studies, social sciences, and humanities.

Students of MA Social Media Management will also enjoy access to new studio spaces for editing, rendering, and creating content and access to production studios for performance and content capture. Alongside these, students of this degree will also enjoy our all new gaming lab.

9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning

Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.

10. Admissions Criteria

Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.

Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.

Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.

11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards

Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.

The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.

(Quality Review Framework.

14. Awarding Institution

University of Exeter

15. Lead College / Teaching Institution

Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)

16. Partner College / Institution

Partner College(s)

Not applicable to this programme

Partner Institution

Not applicable to this programme.

17. Programme Accredited / Validated by

Not applicable to this programme.

18. Final Award

MA Social Media Management

19. UCAS Code

Not applicable to this programme.

20. NQF Level of Final Award

7 (Masters)

21. Credit

CATS credits	180	ECTS credits	90

22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group

Level 1

23. Dates

Origin Date		Date of last revision

Programme Specification for the 2024/5 academic year

MA Social Media Management

1. Programme Details

2. Description of the Programme

3. Educational Aims of the Programme

4. Programme Structure

5. Programme Modules

Stage 1

Compulsory Modules

Optional Modules

6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods

Intended Learning Outcomes A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge

7. Programme Regulations

8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning

9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning

10. Admissions Criteria

11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards

14. Awarding Institution

15. Lead College / Teaching Institution

16. Partner College / Institution

Partner College(s)

Partner Institution

17. Programme Accredited / Validated by

18. Final Award

19. UCAS Code

20. NQF Level of Final Award

21. Credit

22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group

23. Dates

Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge