Course description
EM (European Master)
The European Master in Publishing is an integrated international curriculum for the future publishers of Europe which places Oxford Brookes at the heart of the development of European publishing education. Modules have been developed and adapted to provide skills appropriate to the individual needs of students who are developing a career that requires an awareness and knowledge of publishing in a European context. Normally two years, the course has been developed through joint delivery of course elements by Oxford Brookes and partners in France, Germany and Slovenia. All of the partner universities are leaders in the field of publishing education, with close links to industry in their respective regions.
The worldwide reputation of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing attracts a highly motivated group of UK and international students to study at Oxford Brookes. On our Master’s degrees in Publishing, you will enjoy excellent teaching and learning in one of the largest departments of publishing education in the world. It is a lively and exciting department, which hosts a range of special events and welcomes many visitors, including speakers from the industry. Our faculty all have considerable experience of the publishing and media industries, and we maintain an extensive network of international contacts, including our alumni, who are working in management positions throughout the world.
As a graduate from the European Master, you will benefit from:
* Knowledge and experience of publishing in a European context
* Period of study at a partner institution in another country
* Extended work placement in another European country
* Enhanced employment prospects
* A network of contacts in European publishing
* Ability to operate in different linguistic and cultural contexts.
Course content
The European Master in Publishing consists of five compulsory modules, elective modules, a European work placement, and a dissertation. The structure of the programme is shown below.
* Semester 1: Core modules studied at Oxford Brookes
* Semester 2: Specialist modules studied at Oxford Brookes or partner in Paris, Leipzig or Ljubljana
* Semester 3: International work placement
* Semester 4: Dissertation
Core modules
* Design and Production for Publishing explores the role of the design and production department in the publishing process. It looks closely at current working practices in areas such as design and typography, project management, the evaluation and selection of appropriate media platforms, the buying of raw materials and manufacturing processes, and the use of external resources.
* Editorial Management explores the strategic role of the editor within the publishing process and the knowledge and skills required for the development of new projects, whether in print or digital form.
* Marketing Management for Publishing provides a systematic examination of the key concepts and disciplines of marketing and their relationship and relevance to the products of publishing. It includes coverage of the marketing mix, consumer behaviour, segmentation, targeting and positioning, and elements of market research.
Specialist modules
* New Product Development addresses the fundamental issue of how publishers survive and prosper by the development of new publishing ideas. Working in groups, students simulate the new product development process, taking marketing, editorial, production and financial elements to an advanced stage and presenting the new product proposals (books, journals, international publishing projects, e-publishing projects, translated or co-published projects) to senior management.
* e-Publishing enables you to engage with the dynamic nature of a rapidly evolving part of the publishing industry. Through lectures, workshops, and talks from industry speakers, you are introduced to both the strategic and practical sides of e-publishing.
* International Publishing Management covers the management of publishing organisations in an international context. Focusing on the need to remain competitive and survive in the rapidly changing media communications environment, you access and use a range of analytical tools; explore international management issues through case studies; and develop an understanding of the financial tools available to management to assess performance.
* Publishing and Language Issues examines how language issues are affecting the development of publishing in an international context. It looks at these issues from the perspective of publishing in world languages (eg English, French), in major national and international languages (eg Chinese, Arabic), and in more local languages (eg Finnish, Kiswahili, Bengali).
* Rights Management introduces the management of rights in the fast-moving world of global publishing. As well as looking at the acquisition of rights from the author, and the different rights contracted, the module covers the rights function within the publishing house and its responsibility for licensing a range of products.
* History and Culture of Publishing examines the culture and ideology of publishing in terms of its development throughout the 20th century, and its contemporary practice. Different theories of print culture and critiques of the role of the publisher in society are reviewed, and there is an examination of ideological challenges to the culture of publishing.
* Journals Publishing introduces a rapidly changing publishing sector, covering both electronic and paper based serial publications across science, technology, medicine, the humanities and social sciences, and the arts. Journals publishing is characterised by technological change in everything from workflow and production to online submissions systems. Where journals publishing leads, much of the rest of publishing follows.
* Children's Publishing explores the development of the market sector and the current shape and business practices of publishing for children and young adults. Topics include picture books, co-editions and translatability; the sector's links to other leisure industries, merchandising and content reuse; editing and censorship; age ranging and gatekeeping; literacy and reading campaigns; and promotion.
* Magazine Publishing provides a comprehensive insight into and understanding of the international magazine industry and its place as both a print and electronic product. It covers a range of contemporary issues and business models, exploring the job roles involved in the production of magazines, and addressing the issues of editorial content, marketing, branding, technology, law and design.
*
Digital Media Publishing offers an examination of forms of web publishing with particular reference to standards of mark-up and accessibility. It provides an opportunity for the practical investigation of the strategies to publish digital media. Emphasis is placed on keeping content separate from presentation through semantic markup and the use of XML, AJAX and various web server technologies.
All students spend Semesters 3 and 4 at one of the European partner universities. The professional placement takes place in Semester 3 when a language learning module is also offered. Semester 4 is spent working on the dissertation.
There are field trips, which include the Frankfurt and London Book Fairs, specialist careers advice, and an annual Working in Publishing day. The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies also runs a regular Publishing Seminar Series.
Oxford Brookes' partners in the European Master in Publishing are:
Université de Paris X-Nanterre, Pôle Métiers du Livre, UFR SITEC, 11 Avenue Pozzo-di-Borgo, 92210 Saint Cloud, FRANCE
Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Kultur Leipzig, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 132, D-04277 Leipzig, GERMANY
University of Ljubljana (Univerza v Ljubljani), Department of Library and Information Science and Publishing Studies, Askerceva 2, Ljubljana, SLOVENIA.
The European Master in Publishing was developed under the ECMAP programme funded by the European Community Socrates/Erasmus programme, under contract 28643-IC-1-2003-UK-ERASMUS-PROGUC-1.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Some of the key teaching methods we use are:
* lectures that provide students with foundation knowledge and a framework for study that will enable them to achieve the module's learning outcomes
* seminars and workshops that encourage students to engage in discussion with tutors and peers to test their understanding and ability to apply ideas, to develop their transferable skills, and to encourage deeper learning
* computer workshops to give students the opportunity to test, clarify, and apply their IT skills
* field trips to book fairs and to the industry, for example, printers, publishers, retailers, so that students can observe at first hand aspects of the industry taught in lectures and workshops
* group work role play simulating new product development in a real-life publishing context
* work placements in a European publishing organisation
* individual supervision in support of self-directed outcomes for the dissertation or major project
* use of resource-based learning materials and WebCT to support student learning through computer-aided assessment and computer-aided learning.
Assessment is 100% coursework.
Quality
The postgraduate publishing courses at Oxford Brookes University are among the most highly regarded in the world, and our graduates are now working in publishing jobs in over 50 countries. Students undertake innovative learning through work on real-life publishing projects.
In addition to a teaching staff who have extensive industry experience and who have played a leading role in developing innovative teaching and learning within the University, numerous visiting lecturers from publishing companies and related organisations regularly contribute to modules. Some of the teaching staff are particularly active in research on cultural issues in publishing, and publishing lecturers provide consultancy and training to organisations in the UK and worldwide.
