Media and journalism studies

The aim of the new doctoral study program Media and Journalism Studies is to acquire key professional knowledge and skills in the field of media and journalism studies. Graduates will get a deep theoretical insight into the subject matter of their dissertation. They will also acquire expertise and deepen their skills in media-science research methods. During the course of study, they will partake in compulsory foreign academic internships and optional internships (i.e. in media organizations, analytical agencies, etc.). The graduate will be prepared not only for further academic careers in the field (for example, as a university lecturer, researcher, member of international research teams), but also for media-science research careers in practice (for example, as an analyst focused on the research of online media users, and on the monitoring of mediated topics, such as being the head of research teams and analytical departments of media houses, or as analyst-managers) and in the management of media organizations.

The program also takes into account the results of internal research conducted in 2016 by the Department of Media Studies and Journalism among Master’s degree graduates. This research has shown that graduates, due to their experience in media practices, recommend an increased program emphasis on internationalization, greater theoretical depth and breadth of knowledge and related research/analytical skills, and stronger skillsets regarding their ability to engage in public debates on the Czech media landscape, as well as pursue domestic and foreign grant projects.

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

• in research practices, to independently apply the knowledge of research methods used in media research, i.e., research of media audiences and users of media technologies, analyses of media content and research of media organizations
• in research practices, to systematically apply the knowledge of the media-sciences and more generally, socio-scientific theories and concepts constituting the frame of knowledge defined by the theme of the graduate's dissertation thesis
• to write and publish academic papers in accredited academic journals
• to independently communicate the topics and conclusions of their own research within their professional realm and to the general public more broadly (e.g. in English, at international conferences)
• to conduct individual and team research/analytical work in both domestic and international environments
• to independently teach courses on the level of the Bachelor program in Media Studies and Journalism or in a related program

The primary sphere of graduate employment is the academic sphere, both domestic (where the graduates of doctoral programs are a major source of personal reproduction of the domestic field community) and foreign. In the domestic context, there is a lack of high-quality graduate students in doctoral studies, the result of which is an scholarly community somewhat (and atypically) saturated by graduates within adjacent academic disciplines (sociology, political science, psychology).

In relation to non-academic career paths and to the employability of graduate students in the field of Media and Journalism studies in the private sphere and public and state institutions, the following options are offered for PhD students:

The media and communications services markets in the Czech Republic and public and political figures need doctoral graduates of media and journalism programs focused on the research of media, media audiences and online and mobile technology users; graduates with such expertise and analytical/methodological capabilities can enable agents involved in the production of media content and services to respond strategically to social and technological changes that rapidly and dramatically transform this realm.

The emergence of new (digital, network and mobile) media is a major challenge for the media industry and the public and political sphere associated with the growing need for media analysts in the field of media studies. The entry of new media into the audio-visual sector and reporting on one hand, and into the sphere of public, political and commercial communication on the other, is linked to a distinct and ever-increasing transformation of media audiences' behavior and the fragmentation and individualization of the production and economic strategies of broadcasters and content producers. Therefore, a systematic understanding of this transformation, and, hence, the ability to adequately respond to it, cannot be done without the analysis of both media audiences and their actions and the content they consume. The need for experienced analysts is growing at the same time not only for the media industry, but also for data and communication service providers who, while having vital data packages mapping their users' behavior, are actually unable to interpret this data in a more sophisticated and plausible manner without collaboration with media experts.

Existing data sets from previous and current research, including online accessible content, photographic or video materials, or examples from their own research practices are utilized in the program. In addition, direct engagement between elite foreign researchers as well as domestic and foreign experts from professional analytical and media practice is also employed. However, the primary emphasis is placed on experiential education and the development of theoretical, methodological, professional and other key skills under the direct guidance of supervisors and other internal and external educators and on intensive work with specialized literature. In particular, in courses focused on extending students’ research and publishing skills, there is a deepening (or re-introducing) of methods based on the use of hardware and software research, analytics and publishing tools (tools for online data collection and management, online tools for experimental methods, eye trackers, collaboration tools, etc.).

The offered course Analytical Practice is a professional internship in the non-academic sphere, typically in research and marketing agencies (CVVM, Focus, Median, etc.) and analytical departments of media organizations. The internship ranges from 2 to 12 weeks. The aim of the course is to provide doctoral students with intensive contact with non-academic research and analytical practices, which is necessary both for the creation of functional relations between academic and non-academic research and for providing knowledge and competencies that will facilitate the student's possible employment in the non-academic sphere.

The student must successfully pass the state doctoral exam and defend the dissertation thesis. The State Doctoral Exam (SDE) consists of two topics linked to the courses with a common base in Media and Journalism Theory and the Methodology of Media and Journalism Studies. In the SDE, the student's task is to demonstrate relevant field knowledge of theories and methodologies that are related to the topic of their dissertation work. The student will be given a thematic topic with each of the exams in advance by the head of the committee, for which s/he must prepare by reading literature relevant to each topic. The student will provide a list of the literature that s/he proposes for the given topic in advance (the list must contain at least 20 sources per topic); the head of the committee approves the proposed list in advance and supplements it, if so requested by the members of the SDE committee and the supervisors and consultants. In the exam itself, the student's task is to persuade the committee of having sufficient knowledge of the theories and methodologies in both of the given topics and of their ability to apply them beyond the subject of the dissertation thesis, as well as to place it in the wider context of the field discussion. The doctoral dissertation thesis is defended in front of a committee, which has at least five members, of which two are external. The work is evaluated by two opponents, one of them being external. On the basis of the evaluations and defence of the student, the committee assesses the quality of the dissertation thesis.