The Higher Diploma in Mass Communication provides students with the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the interdisciplinary fields of mass communications  i.e. journalism, film, and multimedia as well as the practical aspects of these areas.  It equips students with transferable skills which are of relevance to a wide range of careers in the field of mass communications.

The Higher Diploma is designed to develop critical skill and knowledge in the areas of:

• Media
• Journalism
• Film
• Media Technology
• New Media

The course adopts both a theoretical and practical approach requiring students to undertake hands on coursework in areas such as film, documentary, journalism, website design and new media.

The course aims to achieve an international standard of high quality training which will lead to a universally recognised qualification, enabling graduates to pursue undergraduate programmes in top universities.

Cambridge International Examinations validate the programme, providing quality assurance for the course structure, content, assesment and moderate the setting and marking of all the coursework.

The Higher Diploma has a total of 16 modules, assessed by means of coursework:

• Introduction to Media
  Introduction to Media will introduce students to different ways of conceptualising and thinking about the mass media and associated forms of analysis. It will explore the field of media studies by way of various media models and associated themes and issues - institutions, effects, power. These will be used to problematise the object of study and methodological tools utilised. The module will then go on to introduce students to the main methods of study they are likely to encounter throughout the programme: semiological analysis, interviews, ethnographic, contextual approaches, ideological readings.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Media Technology
  This module aims to provide students with an introduction to a range of contemporary issues in media, culture and technology. Students will develop critical awareness of current political and ethical issues relating to science and technology within media studies. The content is taught in three sections: Media, Culture & Technology, Gender & Technology and New Media & Technology. The first section will explore issues on media, culture and its impact on technology. The second section will deal with gender, paying close attention to cyber feminism. The last section will focus on the Internet and New Imaging Technologies.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Web Production
  Students will be introduced formally to the web and the use of graphics/images to convey an idea. They will learn about the development of the web and issues regarding its content and direction. Furthermore, they will learn to design and create their own website. This module will teach students how to use a Graphics software and web design software that are needed to design a website.
  
  Web Production will enable students to develop competence in the use of computer software, graphics packages and ancillary hardware such as scanners and digital cameras. Students will also be guided to market their products and services on the web. This will give the students exposure to new ways of branding and marketing.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Animation for Digital Production
  This module introduces the importance of digital publication as the web is so widely used in the modern society. The students will learn the concepts and techniques in the creation of animation. The students will develop technical skills for the creation and manipulation of animation using animation software. They will be required to distribute a prototype on the web platform. This module aims to provide students with knowledge and skills in the use of digital animation and the technology used. Students will develop a range of technical skills.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Introduction to Screen Theories
  This module centres on screen representations, both fictional and documentary, where students will learn about composition and style. This module is not about film/screen alone, but about the ways in which we experience cinema, concepts of modernity and technology. It is also about the way we view stories on the screen. Students will also be exposed to various visual representations in our global society and the place that film and other media have in communicating ideas, attitudes and cultural beliefs, both now and in the past.
  
  This module will enable students to ‘read’ film, visual images and the cinematic experience. Students are taught on how to analyse and present arguments with a critical awareness of the varied forms that texts and visual images can take. The module will explore the important connections between different identities and their representations in film, literature and visual culture and will stress the important roles played by economic, social and political institutions in framing the way films are made, distributed and viewed.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Film Studies
  Film Studies looks at the cultural and critical role played by cinema as an agent of societal desires, conflicts and values. This module examines film theory and looks at the reading of film as a media text. It explores textual meanings within film and how these fit into the framework of cinematic analysis theories. This module will provide a foundation for the contextual study of the film as a media text and at the same time give a comprehensive introduction to film theory concepts and ideas. Students will be familiarized with film traditions in various parts of the world, including Bollywood.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Foundations of News Writing
  This module introduces the techniques of basic news writing and develops the ability to work within the appropriate ethical framework and to recognise and communicate what is significant. The module introduces students to writing stories; to interviewing and the restrictions on reporting. It examines leads, organising stories, story development; quotes and attributions. Students will be provided with a comprehensive and carefully graded foundation to the skills and disciplines of writing for print. Workshop sessions will also be created to develop expertise in various news writing styles.
  
  The module gives practical and theoretical experience in producing basic news stories of various styles. The importance of accuracy is stressed in gathering and reporting facts. An introduction will also be given to various news sources such as government, the economy and industrial relations.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Legal and Ethical Issues for Journalists
  This module provides journalism students with an overview of legal and ethical issues. An integral part of the module will be discussions of stories written by students on difficult court subjects such as rape and contempt to see how to avoid pitfalls. Current issues in the press will also be discussed as they arise.
  
  The module looks at the issues from the angle of the journalist’s, not the lawyer’s. It looks at the law and the journalist, how to avoid libel, slander and contempt in stories, freedom of expression, privacy, official secrets, obscenity, copyright, plagiarism, the reporter of interest, personal involvement/ participation; bribery; threats and favours. Current ethical dilemmas for journalists are also covered, e.g. reporting wars, the right to anonymity (victims and defendants).
  
  Assessment: 40%/60% (Coursework/Examinations)
  
• Media Representations
  This module deals with major concepts in media, communication and cultural studies – the analysis of: the connections between the production of media texts, circulation and reading practices, and the formation of audiences and their capacities. Students will be trained to develop an understanding of the contexts of circulation and the techniques of composition of the realist and materialist accounts of representation; and how specific media genres ‘work’ to form capacities in audiences by producing particular ways of seeing people and things through address, narrative, and spectacle. Specific texts will be considered as examples of genres, and as ‘occasions’ for an audience’s formation. Furthermore, this module will help students appreciate discourses and selected regimes of representations through selected media genres like websites, films, and novels.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Global Culture
  Global Culture introduces students to the cultural implications of globalisation, relating these to specific case studies. The module opens by reviewing theories of globalisation, with specific reference to cultural, social, economic and political processes and outcomes.

  The role of the media is analysed in depth, and then case studies drawn from cinema, music, food and drink, and tourism are investigated. The module ends by considering the consequences of all this for the global subject.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework

• Film Production
  This module aims to develop a conceptual knowledge of different film styles, and enhance students’ understanding and competence in the issues related to content and storytelling. Students will be familiarised with the theoretical and technical skills necessary to make a short film on a given topic. This module also examines the basic issues that comprise the study of film including film production, film form, types of films, and film style. Screenings, lectures and practical exercises are designed to help achieve an understanding of what makes a film look and sound the way it does. Apart from demystifying film as an art, students are also encouraged to analyse films as made objects, to prepare them for more advanced modules in film.
  
  This module will enable students to understand the theory and developmental process of communicating through visual time-based media, develop an understanding of technical terminology used in film production, and engage with the technical aspects of video production and editing.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• European Cinema Studies
  This module aims to expose students to films beyond Singapore and the Asian region. It provides an outlet for research into any aspect of European cinema and is unique in its interdisciplinary nature, celebrating the rich and diverse cultural heritage across the continent. European Cinema Studies will also provide a good stepping stone for students, giving them a headstart prior to pursuing higher education in film studies. It will also introduce the historical concepts behind German Expressionism, Italian Neorealism, French New Wave, Polish Film School, Dogme 95, Czechoslovak New Wave and many more.
  
  European Cinema Studies will introduce cinematic concepts which are different from the “traditional” Hollywood. Highlighting the outstanding European filmmakers whose work had created an international impact. It aims to interest students in the aspects of European filmmaking which are more political in nature.
  
  Assessment: 40%/60% (Coursework/Examinations)
  
• Documentary - Theory and Practice
  This module introduces practical, technical, and theoretical issues in non-fiction filmmaking. Students will be exposed to different modes of documentary representation and the appropriate usage for each style. They will work individually and in groups in making creative choices to apply the research, planning and technical skills of video production and digital video editing to shoot and edit their own video documentaries. Documentaries of all styles will be screened and discussed.
  
  The role of documentary in media and as a form of film will be examined in this module. Students will get the opportunity to study the roles and responsibilities of a documentary filmmaker and the importance of the subjects and audiences played in a documentary film. They will also be exposed to current issues and methods of documentary. This module will allow them to develop an awareness of the role visual narrative in the development and production of a short video.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Print Media Design
  This module introduces the theoretical and practical knowledge of designing and publishing print-based media such as posters, newsletters, magazines. The students will be exposed to the publishing process as well as analyzing the design of the print media. The students should be able to design suitable print media for a target readership.
  
  The module also aims to broaden students understanding of publishing terminology and information design. It allows students to develop hands on experience and develop their abilities in designing visually appealing media material.
  
  A desktop publishing and graphic software will be included in this module. The students will be required to acquire the necessary technical skills to produce a well-designed print-based media.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Theories and Techniques of News and Feature Writing
  This module emphasises practical application and uses contemporary mainstream journalism as best and worst models. Students are also encouraged to gain critical and analytical perspectives, introducing them to modern means of journalism presentation. Students will also write stories as part of coursework, as well as develop story ideas into publishable stories. They will also learn how to function effectively as reporters and news writers at an advanced level.
  
  The module integrates the processes of reporting: gathering news through interviews, news conferences, and writing. The module examines further the qualities of writing, advanced interviewing, releases, speeches, accidents and also introduces students to basic practical law reporting. Creative requirements and specialist techniques required for feature writing will also be analysed.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework
  
• Editing and Production
  Editing and Production will provide students with specialist knowledge and experience in the processing of news stories. The module gives students an insight to improve reporting and writing skills by giving experience into production constraints and needs. It includes editing processes, typography and layout, the role of headlines, etc, computer editing and design, words and pictures. Those taking this module will act as editors on the newspaper project. News values will be analysed as they relate to page layout, headlines, use pf pictures and story juxtaposition. The roles of the editor and reporter in different kinds of journalism (e.g. newspaper, magazine) are also analysed and evaluated.
  
  Assessment: 100% coursework