MSc in "Journalism and New Media"
The MSc "Journalism and New Media" aims to examine the rapid changes taking place in the field of media and the political, social, and economic on the field of journalism.
This programme focuses on understanding how journalism evolves within changing working conditions, shifting content production, and the redefined role of media in contemporary society.
The MSc aims to provide its students with a strategic and systematic understanding of the theory and practice of journalism, aiming to equip them with the knowledge, skills and abilities required to function effectively as professional journalists in a completely different – in relation to with the past – and at the same time a highly competitive environment.
Designed for individuals aspiring to pursue careers in media and journalism, the programme offers comprehensive training that enables students to respond to the challenges and opportunities emerging from digital convergence, communication technologies, and economic developments.
The MSc aims to apply knowledge about the operation of the media nowadays, as well as to offer education and training in the investigation of new information in the field of journalism. It also emphasizes how developments in the field of technology affect the structure and operation of the media field and aims to analyze new tools and develop new skills that are required in the digital world, as well as exploiting the knowledge in the field of integrated communication.
Additionally, the MSc programme invites distinguished media professionals, journalists, and researchers as guest speakers, ensuring that students remain engaged with current industry practices and cutting-edge academic research.
Students will attend lectures on the structure, function, and practices of journalism, as the modern cognitive arsenal of a journalist requires being able to discern and analyze the rapid changes in social structures and social institutions that have occurred in Greek and global society.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must hold a university degree from an accredited institution in Greece or abroad. Degrees in Communication, Cultural Studies, Journalism and Media, Philosophy, Social Sciences, Law, Economics, Humanities, or Education are particularly relevant.
Programme Structure
The MSc is taught in Greek and has a standard duration of three (3) academic semesters.
To complete the degree, students must earn 90 ECTS credits:
- Each course carries 10 ECTS credits
- The Master’s thesis carries 30 ECTS credits
Each course includes 3 hours of weekly instruction, excluding any laboratory or practical components.
Curriculum 2025-26
First Winter Semester
Compulsory modules
We are in a period of constant and major changes in the field of communication and media. Undoubtedly, the structure and operation of media systems in all countries has changed significantly, and the changes have coincided with or been more closely related to new understandings of the economy and society and communication. The course consists of two parts: the first part discusses the developments in the whole range of communications, the development and globalization of markets, the increase and intensity of competition, as well as the effects on the field of media. The second part aims to analyze the new tools and new skills required in the new modern digital environment. Based on the basic principles of audio-visual production and the circulation of information in the new online environments, technological changes and how they affect each journalist will be examined. New digital tools and the secrets of their use, as well as new technologies in research and publishing on the internet (metadata, search engines, cloud storage, etc.) are examined too.
- Quantitative Research and Analysis Methods
This module is offered as a common course in four directions of the graduate program. It is a sequence continuation of two compulsory undergraduate courses, namely “Research Methodology” and “Quantitative Research Methods”, including a theoretical and an applied part:
- The first/theoretical part is a brief and condensed review in research methodology with respect to theoretical approaches to methodology, characteristics of quantitative and qualitative methods, structural research elements and tools, means of data collection, research stages, research methods (subject, design, advantages and disadvantages), applications in communication and media research.
- The second/applied part is an introduction to data processing and analysis using the statistical package SPSS: SPSS environment, data entry, data check and correction, data processing, analysis using descriptive statistics and inferential techniques of parameter estimation and hypothesis testing with applications in real data.
Elective modules
- Design of Information Websites and Applications of Data Science in Journalism
This module presents the procedure of user-oriented design applied to the design of information websites on the Internet. These websites are intended with rules that ensure usability, reduce complexity, support increased levels of interaction, adapt to the specificities and preferences of each user, ensure user-friendliness and ergonomics, as well as human-centered design, to avoid disorientation and difficulty in navigating users within the interaction environment. The concept of intelligent interaction and the automatic generation of recommendations to the readers of an information website is analyzed. Techniques for capturing user navigation, profiling, understanding user behavior and automatically generating informative content according to the specificities and interests of the readers are presented. Finally, an introduction to the Python programming language and its applications in Data Journalism is given. Unstructured datasets are presented, which are cleaned, analyzed, and processed, highlighting modern journalism projects. Participants become familiar with a variety of data formats and methods of storing, accessing, and processing information, for example, comma-separated documents, interacting with website APIs and JSON, document libraries, regular expressions, text mining, databases, and more.
- The Legal Aspects of Media
New media is one of the most interesting challenges for law in the modern era. Their regulation is based on the one hand, on the freedoms that guarantee their operation, and on the other hand, on the need to deal with the risks that this entails. In this context, however, it must mainly respond to the specificities of the new media and to the specificities of the journalistic activity that is part of them. The module aims to offer an analytical approach to the legal problematic of the new media and the journalistic activity that develops in them not only by analyzing the regulatory sources, but also by studying cases that have been judged by decisions of the Greek and European courts, as well as foreign courts or independent authorities.
Second Spring Semester
Compulsory modules
- Advertising, Social Media and Marketing
From advertising to journalism, and from the newspaper to the corporate press release and social media, communication has numerous practical facets. The module aims to map the new and rapidly changing digital environment of "integrated" communicative action (integrated communication) in which modern communication professionals are called upon to act and make decisions.
In particular, this module aims to understand communication management, branding, i.e. the communicative transformation of the product into a brand, the role, value and main tools of advertising and public relations, highlighting both at a theoretical and practical level their basic principles and operating rules. Special emphasis is placed on approaching the integrated communication of a product, a service, a company, an organization, a person or an idea, to the audience it is addressed to. In addition, the types of social media are presented and the uses and benefits of new media are analyzed, as well as their effective utilization to promote commercial purposes.
This module is consisted of two parts. In the first part, selected current topics are analyzed based on the methods of social sciences and the practices of investigative journalism. It is obvious that the journalist in the era of digital media is called upon to distinguish and analyze the rapid changes in social structures and social institutions that have occurred in Greek society. In the second part of the course, after getting to know the new methods and tools for presenting their topics, the students are asked to present the topics assigned to them not only in the form of a presentation, but also in the form of journalistic production (e.g., text, visualization content, blog, etc.).
Elective modules
- Journalism and Social Media
In the era of digital communication, social media is gradually gaining a pivotal role in journalism and news reporting. They have increased their role and reach as a source of information on any aspect of social life. At the same time, an increasing number of people are informed about the news through social media. Although the social media terms of use for major press groups are constantly changing, the platforms are still a source of information. This course examines the relationship between journalism and social media, as it is shaped in the new digital environment. The new media ecosystem is mapped, and the changes brought about by new media and especially social networking platforms in the production and consumption of news content are analyzed. The ways of using social media and the consequences of this use in the field of journalism and publicity are approached.
- Qualitative Research Methods
The module centers on the understanding and practice of qualitative research design methods and mixed methodological designs. The differences in research strategies and the epistemological and ontological considerations that emerge in the quest for an appropriate strategy will be discussed. Also, the criteria for selecting a research and data collection method will be presented. The five traditions of qualitative research (narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography and case studies) will then be outlined. The course will emphasize the formulation of research questions, sampling strategies, research ethics, and research validity and reliability criteria as they apply to qualitative research. In terms of qualitative data collection techniques, students will become familiar with in-depth interviews and focus groups, content analysis, and observation. They will be guided on how to compile a data collection plan according to each qualitative method and how to process the collected data. As to the aspects of mixed research design, the requirements for implementing mixed designs and the different types depending on the research objectives will be discussed. Finally, students will be trained in writing research papers and research publications and the use of the latest APA citation system.
Third Winter Semester
Unlike undergraduate thesis projects, which are typically shorter in length and scope, a master’s thesis is a comprehensive scholarly work that allows students to investigate a topic in depth, expand on existing research, and demonstrate their ability to develop and defend a coherent argument.
In the MSc in Journalism and New Media program, students are expected to produce original research as part of their thesis. The master’s thesis is undertaken during the third semester of the program and carries 30 ECTS credits.
Each thesis is evaluated by a three-member examination committee, which includes the thesis supervisor. Students are required to propose a potential supervisor by the end of their second semester. At the beginning of the third semester, they must submit a research area proposal and a summary of their intended thesis to the program secretary for approval by the Program Board.