After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• understand the socio-cultural and media reality and apply the acquired knowledge in practice
• understand theoretical concepts of media communication and mass culture and apply them in media creation, research, and professional communication and activities
• conduct independent research in media communication by applying basic concepts of methods of media research and designing research projects
• analyse and compare media products and interpret their mediated content
• assess individual stages of mass and web communication and understand media treatment of individual topics, communication strategies, and the effect media have on their audiences
• create advanced journalistic genres and independently design media projects and products

The study plan consists of required and selective courses. Required courses constitute the basis for the studies and students need to pass all of them to be able to graduate. Individual required courses are offered according to a fixed schedule and must be completed in the required order. Selective courses are part of a compulsory group of courses defined by the department. From this group, students choose courses according to their interest and future career plans. They need to earn a required number of selective ECTS credits, therefore they have to choose appropriate number of selective courses. As opposed to required courses, selective courses listed in the study plan are offered selectively, based on the priorities of the department or the current interest of the students. Besides the required and selective courses on offer, students can choose to replace a total of 12 selective ECTS credits by 12 ECTS credits obtained for elective courses. Elective courses are courses offered by other departments, faculties, and university centres which are not included in the study plan of the student's primary study programme.

To be allowed to sit the final state exam, students must fulfil the following requirements:

A/ Gain a total of 120 ECTS credits (74 required and 46 selective ECTS credits).

The overall number of 120 ECTS credits includes 4 ECTS credits gained for demonstrating the minimum required level of language competence.

B/ Write and submit a Master's thesis by a given submission date. While writing the thesis, students must enrol in two compulsory thesis seminars: ZUR441 Master's Thesis Seminar I and ZUR442 Master's Thesis Seminar II. Students must enrol in the former no later than two semesters prior to the planned submission and defence of the thesis (ideally in the 3rd semester) and they must enrol in the latter in the semester in which they plan to submit and defend the thesis (ideally in the 4th semester). Students cannot enrol in both seminars in one semester. Detailed rules for passing individual thesis seminars and for writing and formatting the Master's thesis can be found at: http://medzur.fss.muni.cz/informace-pro-studenty/szz.

C/ Demonstrate the minimum required level of language competence set by the university for a Master's programme graduate. This requirement is governed by the respective university/faculty regulation.

D/ Complete, at any time during the studies, at least one course taught in English and offered among the courses of the student's study programme. This requirement is governed by Faculty of Social Studies Directive No. 4/2014 O předmětech v anglickém jazyce (Directive Regulating Courses Taught in English).

The final state exam is structured so that the content covered by the individual parts corresponds primarily with the content of the required courses.

Media History and the Theory of Culture focuses mainly on content covered by the following required courses: ZUR435 Dějiny médií v éře modernity (History of Media in the Modern Era), ZUR401 Základy studia kultury (Introduction to the Study of Culture), and ZUR427 Mediální projekt, mediální produkt a jeho webová prezentace (Media Project and Product). This is a written exam.

Media Theory focuses mainly on content covered by the following required courses: ZUR402 Kritické teorie masových médií: masová kultura, média a společnost (Mass Culture, Mass Media and Society: Critical Theory of the Mass Media), ZUR432 Sociální teorie nových médií (Social Theories of New Media), and ZUR433 Teorie žurnalistiky (Journalism Theory). This is a written exam.

Methods and Techniques of Media Research focuses mainly on content covered by the following required courses: ZUR434 Metodologie mediálního výzkumu (Methodology of Media Research), ZUR401 Základy studia kultury (Introduction to the Study of Culture), and ZUR427 Mediální projekt, mediální produkt a jeho webová prezentace (Media Project and Product). This is a written exam.

Master's thesis defended in Master's Thesis Defence is based on all required courses of the study programme, but primarily – based on the chosen topic and method – on relevant selective courses. The thesis should prove that the student is familiar with the topic of the thesis and that he or she is able to do scholarly work under supervision. The thesis defence is oral and the assessment is based on the level of mastery and understanding of the topic as well as the level of presentation. For more information, go to: http://medzur.fss.muni.cz/informace-pro-studenty/szz.