Media and Communications - The Verdict? (2 Viewers)

[Acid]

I'm looking at taking up print journalism as a career, and thus once I finish my HSC i'll be looking at some sort of Media and Communications course. Therefore, I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me which University (out of UNSW, UTS and USYD) would best suit my needs?

I've heard that UTS is better for Media, but i've also heard that USYD has the best Arts department. Opinions?

Also, as an aside I was thinking of combining the degree with Law if I get a high enough UAI, but that shouldn't factor into your decision as to which Uni is best for Media and Comms..

Thanks!

 

[Tenax Propositi]

Read:

1. http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34691

2. http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34697

Done.

 

[braindrainedAsh]

UTS= best at journalism.

People in my journalism class have actually transferred from USyd and say how much better UTS is. At USyd, they don't even get to write any journalism stories until end of 2nd year/3rd year!!! We had produced our first news story within 4 weeks of starting uni. USyd is all theory... UTS is a great balance of theory and practice which makes it so much easier to understand the theory. My tutor was a working journalist (all of them are) and gave us great advice.

The fact is, you will never get a job as a journalist unless you build up a portfolio of published work. I have been at UTS one semester and have already had stuff published. I should have a bulky portfolio at the end of the course, plus a lot of media connections that will make it a lot easier to get a job in the industry.

The second best journalism course is at CSU Bathurst. Then the next best courses are probably courses at RMIT in Melbourne or some of the Qld ones.

If you are serious about a career in journalism, go UTS. If you can't make it in, my next recommendation would be CSU Bathurst. And I think you will find that these are the two preferred universities for journalism graduates because they both offer a lot of practical work along with the theory, and graduates from these unis actually know how to produce stories and find information, rather than just being able to recite you a textbook about it.

Also, UNSW's media comm course is very computer based and not very much about journalism or anything like that, so I would steer clear of it if you are after a career in journalism because that isn't the career outcome that it leads to.

Out of the big Sydney unis, it would be UTS, USyd and UNSW in order from best to not so good. UTS kicks ass though. Also, something to keep in mind as to why USyd's media comm course cutoff is so high... they only let a very small number of people in so the cutoff looks high so people think the course is better/more popular than at UTS. Don't be decieved by the cutoffs. I nearly was but I am happy I ended up at UTS because it is the best.

Just my opinion.... and of course I am not biased lol.

 

[Acid]

Thanks for the length reply Ash - it's good to hear from someone that's had first-hand experience. However, I think i'll be tackling the course from a far different position than most other people would coming out of high school, due to the fact that I already have a lot of practical experience under my belt (well, for a 18 year old anyway).

I started freelance writing when I was about fourteen (not superfluous crap like the school newspaper, but for professional computer-oriented publications such as Atomic, PCPowerPlay, Hyper, APC, etc), and i've been contributing to these magazines each month since high school (not all at the same time, of course). I even scored some work for the Icon section in SMH a few days ago. However, my purpose is not to brag, but rather to point out that i'm primarily looking to learn the theory now, as i've been told by a few of the people i've been working for that it will be difficult to score a high full-time position without tertiary qualifications.

As you can see... the decision is difficult..

Thanks for the assistance anyhow - I may be seeing you at UTS next year.

 

[braindrainedAsh]

Wow, that's good, you already have a nice portfolio building up there. At UTS you get the theory as well, it isn't all practical, I think it is a good balance between the two. Many people in my course currently work in the industry or have worked in the industry part time and are coming back to study to have that advantage in snaring a full time job, as you have said above.

You sound like you are a feature writer, and in second and third year there are journalism subjects you can take specifically on feature writing, as well as radio, online and television journalism. Another little tidbit is that UTS is the only journalism course to offer specific subjects on online journalism.

Hmm, I sound like I am over promoting UTS now lol..... I'll just shut up for a while, but it really is good

 

[Lundy]

UNSW's media/comm is more oriented towards digital media and multimedia production. If you're looking to journalism, this probably isn't the course for you.
It's not about which uni's course is the best, rather it's about which course is more suited to what you're after. UNSW'S cutoff is the lowest out of the main unis, but it was actually my first preference because I was after something with an emphasis on multimedia.

And btw, Usyd's cutoff is very deceiving. They only accept about 15 people each year, or so I heard. That's something to keep in mind, like Ash said.

 

[Acid]

Thanks for that! In that case, UNSW is definitely out of the question.

To tell you the truth, the only thing holding me back from putting the UTS course as first preference is the issue of perception. Everyone I ask tells me that UTS is only for people who drop out in yr 10 or those that don't get high enough UAI's for the other two unis (albeit, these are mainly ignorant students). However, what i'm worried about is that a degree at UTS, regardless of how good the course actually is, won't be as flash to an employer as one from USYD or UNSW.

Hmm.. don't worry about me - i'll shutup now.

 

[Tenax Propositi]

Originally posted by Acid
Thanks for that! In that case, UNSW is definitely out of the question.

To tell you the truth, the only thing holding me back from putting the UTS course as first preference is the issue of perception. Everyone I ask tells me that UTS is only for people who drop out in yr 10 or those that don't get high enough UAI's for the other two unis (albeit, these are mainly ignorant students). However, what i'm worried about is that a degree at UTS, regardless of how good the course actually is, won't be as flash to an employer as one from USYD or UNSW.

Hmm.. don't worry about me - i'll shutup now.

Wow, is it just me or is the next group of yr 12 students (if this perception business is true) very prejudiced about universities? I mean, I know our group was initially influenced by perceptions but not to this extent.

To think... quite a lot of them won't even get into a uni course of their choice...or into uni per se.

UAI day will change some people's tune very fast.

 

[Acid]

I think it's more a matter of people not wanting to rush into anything. The decision is a tough one and in my opinion this sort of querying is more than justified.

 

[Tenax Propositi]

Originally posted by Acid
I think it's more a matter of people not wanting to rush into anything. The decision is a tough one and in my opinion this sort of querying is more than justified.

Of course the decision is important. However, there is a fine line between querying and making unqualified statements.

NB: This is not solely targeted at you but is based on the way in which many students have expressed their 'queries' about universities across several threads recently.

 

[Mumma]

Hello Acid from the PCPP forums .... Goto UTS... Ill be there in 2007

 

[neo o]

Originally posted by Acid
Thanks for that! In that case, UNSW is definitely out of the question.

To tell you the truth, the only thing holding me back from putting the UTS course as first preference is the issue of perception. Everyone I ask tells me that UTS is only for people who drop out in yr 10 or those that don't get high enough UAI's for the other two unis (albeit, these are mainly ignorant students). However, what i'm worried about is that a degree at UTS, regardless of how good the course actually is, won't be as flash to an employer as one from USYD or UNSW.

Hmm.. don't worry about me - i'll shutup now.

I dont think people who drop out in year 10 will have a good enough UAI to make Media Comm./Law at UTS, the cutoff is 99, nearly as high as NSW's 99.4 for Com/Law heh.

 

[theone123]

Can i ask, wats ur name?

 

[Acid]

Originally posted by theone123
Can i ask, wats ur name?

Not sure if you're referring to me, but if so i'm Asher Moses.

 

[Trigger189]

Wow, this has been an interesting thread, and just what I was after. USYD is insanely high UAI.. good to hear that UTS is better.. I'm hoping to get in next year. I want to end up in broadcast journalism. Oh, and Acid.. woah, nice profile.

 

[Lundy]

Yay, a media and communications degree is teh cool.

 

[braindrainedAsh]

lol at Year 10 dropouts going to UTS.... hmm I don't think so!!!!! Some people are wacky with the whole "uni prestige" thing. You should go to the uni that offers the best course structure, content and has the best industry reputation. You can't listen to the "reputation" a uni has based on comments from people off the street who are ignorant about the field you are going in to!!! UTS Communication degrees are one of the most recognized in the media industry. In fact, a lot of people working in media are UTS graduates...

Also, about UNSW Media Comm being digital media type stuff, that is true. It's really got nothing for journalism at all. It's computery type stuff...

 

[Acid]

What are you exams like for the journalism degree? As in, what do you have to do in a typical exam? Harder than HSC?

 

[spin spin sugar]

i dont think they get any exams, just lotsof written assignments

also, from what ive heard usyd's degree is really like a glorified arts degree... so if youre going for the artsy slant on media and comm... do that.

uts is more specialised

 

[braindrainedAsh]

No exams for journalism. Just lots of practical work. You have to produce news stories from day 1.... we have assessments such as the writing under pressure task where we have a press conference and we then have approx 1.5 hours to produce a news story... mostly the assessment in journalism is just journalistic work like producing news stories or various descriptions (e.g. features, print news, radio, tv, online etc).

Plus we have assignments for all our other broader humanities subjects.