The linking of research and teaching happens in a number of ways:
1 Staff research practice focuses on contemporary fiction publishing; developments in European and Russian publishing; ICT and publishing; history and culture of publishing. This research is reflected most closely in the following modules: Rights Management, History and Culture of Publishing, Marketing for Publishing (books), Marketing for Publishing (N&M), Economics and Management for Publishing (books), Economics and Management for Publishing (N&M) and e-publishing
2 The publishing curriculum is kept current by communication with the publishing academic community, the involvement of the publishing staff in the publishing industry, through industry training and consultancy work and communication with major industry players. The Publishing Training School works closely with a wide range of national and international publishing organisations. This ensures that our curriculum is in-line with industry developments and needs.
3 Oxford Brookes University has close links to all the UK Publishing academic departments through membership of the Association of Publishing Educators and to a wider academic community through the International Association of Publishing Educators. OBU is also a member of the History of Publishing research community through membership of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing.
4 Students who take the MA will have the opportunity to develop their research skills further as part of the Dissertation/Major Project; Research Methods is taught as part of this module.
Reference points used to inform programme outcomes
The outcomes of the MA in Publishing / Postgraduate Diploma in Publishing conform to the QAA Descriptors for a qualification at Masters degree level as set out in the current UK National Qualifications Framework and to the RF Ministry of Education and Science regulations
Subject benchmarks
Although this benchmark statement is aimed at business schools delivering masters programmes in business and management much of the content is relevant for a masters in publishing as it is the business of publishing which underpins the programme. This benchmark statement identifies Specialist Masters degrees which prepare individuals for entry to particular careers, a category which could be applied to Publishing masters degrees. The statement identifies a number of learning outcomes, which we have addressed in the context of publishing practice.
These are the demonstration of:
· a systematic understanding of relevant knowledge about organisations, their external context and how they are managed;
· application of relevant knowledge to a range of complex situations taking account of its relationship and interaction with other areas of the business or organisation;
· a critical awareness of current issues in business and management which is informed by leading edge research and practice in the field;
· an understanding of appropriate techniques sufficient to allow detailed investigation into relevant business and management issues;
· creativity in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to develop and interpret knowledge in business and management;
· ability to acquire and analyse data and information, to evaluate their relevance and validity, and to synthesise a range of information in the context of new situations;
· conceptual understanding that enables the student to:
o evaluate the rigour and validity of published research and assess its relevance to new situations;
o extrapolate from existing research and scholarship to identify new or revised approaches to practice.
· ability to conduct research into business and management issues that requires familiarity with a range of business data, research sources and appropriate methodologies, and for such to inform the overall learning process;
· ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, using a range of media.
6 Programme structure and requirements:
The MA/ PGDip in Publishing modules are validated within a credit framework. A minimum of 180 credits must be achieved for the award of MA. All the modules are validated as Level M modules.
Current modules offered are as follows, a diagram is appended to this document which shows the progression of the modules on the course
Modules
Compulsory Modules
P004 Publishing Law: Issues in Intellectual Property (10 CAT)
P005 Print Technology and Production for Publishing (10 CAT)
P023 Dissertation/Major Project (60 CAT)
