Entry requirementsENTRY REQUIREMENTS * Applicants must normally have a degree or equivalent qualification, or have gained equivalent experience in business or industry. This course is not suited to graduates of multimedia, media technology or related disciplines.
Academic titleMSc Multimedia and Web Authoring
Course descriptionThe programme has been specifically designed to equip non-computing/IT graduates with the necessary skills required for successful careers in the creative industries, an area of significant growth in the UK and globally.
Society increasingly generates and utilises vast amounts of data and information. Irrespective of whether this is being used in a commercial, industrial or domestic environment, there is always the need to ensure that it is up-to-date and accurate, and is presented in the most convenient and appropriate manner.
In recent years, advances in computers, interactive technologies and the internet have enabled video, audio and text information to be processed and presented collectively as a single multimedia vehicle. This can then be communicated, with or without user interactivity, to a wide or targeted audience. Examples of this can be seen in marketing, education, training and direct sales applications. These areas are central to the Multimedia and Web Authoring programme as it focuses on how information is processed, edited, manipulated and finally communicated via modern technologies.
Within the course, theory and practical sessions are used to explore the advances made in today’s multimedia technology and how these can be exploited in the rapidly advancing market of multimedia and internet communication. The programme incorporates a variety of teaching and learning techniques including guest lectures, case studies and group projects to develop students’ professional as well as practical skills.
Graduates from this programme will have acquired skills that will be of value to companies, large and small, who are exploiting the benefits of this growth area. They will be able to design, develop, analyse, evaluate and advise on the applicability and use of multimedia applications in a variety of domains. Many graduates also apply the skills they have gained from this programme to enhance their previous areas of knowledge or experience.
Course Contents
All students initially enrol on the Postgraduate Diploma whichcomprises 6 taught modules. Students who perform sufficiently well on this programme then have the opportunity to progress to MSc level and undertake a major, individual project based upon their chosen specialism.
The core modules on the programme are:
* Integrated Multimedia – examines the development and production areas of multimedia where emphasis is placed on authoring, the use of text, colours, and image manipulation
* Website Programming and Production – provides an introduction to how documents with text and image content can be constructed for the World Wide Web using a range of software tools
* Fundamentals of Databases – covers the design and data modelling for a Database Management System (DBMS); normalisation and query languages are also discussed
* Interactive Multimedia – develops the expertise to plan and implement interactive and dynamic multimedia content using appropriate authoring and scripting tools
* Networked Multimedia – examines the difficulties inherent in distributing multimedia material over the internet and how, with modern technology and software strategies, these difficulties can be overcome and the full communication potential of the internet exploited
* Project (MSc students only) – equivalent to 4 modules
Career Prospects
This practical programme provides a solid foundation in multimedia systems development before enabling you to specialise in web authoring or multimedia. The programme has been specifically designed to allow you to make an immediate contribution in the area of multimedia development and graduates of this course have acquired skills that are of great value to companies, of varying sizes, who are seeking to build on their multimedia activities. Graduates from this programme also have the potential to apply their newly acquired multimedia skills and knowledge in order to enhance their previous areas of employment and expertise.
Positions occupied by recent graduates from the programme include:
* eLearning Developer
* Web Development Adviser
* IT Recruitment Consultant
* Website Manager
* IT Trainer
* Web Applications Developer
* College Lecturer