UKJournalism.org

The Department of Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has long been one of the most recognisable names in UK journalism education. Based in Preston, it built its reputation on a simple proposition: teach journalism the way newsrooms actually work, and have the professional bodies that police entry to the industry sign off on it. This page gathers the department’s news, course information and resources — and below we set that material in context, explaining what accreditation really means, how to choose between undergraduate and postgraduate routes, and what applicants should look for before they commit.

Key Takeaways

• The NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists) is the industry’s principal accreditation body in the UK, and its “double accreditation” for a magazine journalism course was a genuine first — recognising a programme against both newspaper and magazine standards.
• Accreditation matters because many UK employers — regional publishers, national titles and broadcasters — treat NCTJ qualifications as a de facto entry requirement, particularly for trainee reporter roles.
• Postgraduate journalism courses suit career-changers and graduates who already hold a degree; undergraduate courses suit school-leavers who want a three-year grounding with work placements.
• Applicant Days are not a formality. They are the single best opportunity to inspect digital journalism facilities, meet the staff who will actually teach you, and judge whether the newsroom culture fits you.
• The department also teaches Public Relations and Media Communication, reflecting how closely journalism, PR and communications careers now overlap in the UK job market.

What “NCTJ Double Accreditation” Actually Means

The headline item on this page — the NCTJ awarding the Department’s MA in Magazine Journalism both newspaper and magazine accreditation — deserves unpacking, because the phrase is easy to skim past.

The NCTJ is the charity and standards body that has, for decades, set the benchmark qualification for UK journalists. Its flagship credential, the Diploma in Journalism, is built around a set of core skills that employers expect a trainee to arrive with:

• News reporting — finding stories, cultivating contacts, handling court and council copy.
• Media law — contempt, defamation, privacy, reporting restrictions, copyright.
• Public affairs — how local and central government actually functions, and how to cover it.
• Shorthand — typically 100 words per minute, still demanded by most regional publishers.
• Essential journalism and ethics — the professional and regulatory framework, including the Editors’ Code of Practice enforced by IPSO.

Accreditation means an external body has audited a course against those standards: the syllabus, the assessments, the staff and the moderation all have to hold up. A course that is not accredited may still be excellent, but its graduates cannot automatically claim the industry’s recognised qualification, and some employers will not shortlist them for trainee roles without it.

“Double accreditation” is rarer. It means the programme was assessed against the NCTJ’s requirements for both newspaper and magazine journalism — two related but distinct disciplines with different conventions around structure, voice, deadlines and audience.

Magazine journalism leans on longer-form features, specialist audiences, strong visual and layout awareness, and a different relationship with the reader than daily news. Newspaper journalism leans on speed, news judgement and hard-news accuracy. A course validated for both is telling employers its graduates can move between the two.

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For applicants, the practical question is not “is this impressive?” but “does it match the job I want?” If you intend to work on a regional daily, a news agency or a broadcast newsroom, prioritise the newspaper side of the accreditation and check the shorthand provision carefully. If you want to write features, work on a specialist title or move into brand and contract publishing, the magazine side is the more relevant half.

Postgraduate or Undergraduate? A Decision Framework

The page notes that the application deadline for postgraduate journalism courses is approaching, and asks whether applicants can “cut it with some of the best student journalists around.” That framing is fair — postgraduate journalism is competitive and intensive — but the choice between routes is really about your starting point.

Consideration	Undergraduate route	Postgraduate route
Typical entrant	School/college leaver	Graduate, often a career-changer
Duration	Three years, usually with placements	One year (or two part-time)
Prior degree needed	No	Yes, normally
Main advantage	Time to build a portfolio, work experience and contacts	Fast, focused conversion into an employable journalist
Main risk	Cost and time before earning	Very high intensity; little room to coast
Best for	Those certain about journalism early	Those who discovered journalism later, or want a specialist beat

A few practical points that rarely appear in prospectuses:

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• Portfolio beats grades at the margin. Most admissions tutors will weigh published work — student paper bylines, local news website contributions, a blog with genuine reporting — more heavily than a marginal difference in degree classification.
• Shorthand is the great filter. It is the skill most often deferred and most often regretted. Ask directly how shorthand is taught, how many hours are timetabled, and what proportion of students reach 100wpm.
• Work experience is not optional. The NCTJ and employers both expect it. Ask where recent students have been placed — local newspapers, BBC local radio, agencies, magazines — and whether the course helps arrange it.
• Check who teaches. A course is only as strong as its staff’s newsroom credibility. Look for tutors who have worked as reporters, editors or correspondents, not only as academics.

What to Look For on an Applicant Day

The department’s Applicant Days — the page mentions one on Saturday 19 February — exist so that offer-holders can inspect the digital journalism facilities and meet current students and staff. Treat this as a working visit, not a courtesy.

Come with a checklist:

• The newsroom. Is there a genuine production environment — editing software, content management systems, sub-editing and page-design tools — or just a computer room? Ask what software you will be trained on and whether it matches what local employers use.
• Broadcast and multimedia kit. Video cameras, audio recorders, editing suites and podcasting equipment are now standard expectations. Ask how much access you get, and whether kit can be borrowed for outside stories.
• The student publication. Many journalism departments run a live news website or paper. Ask how it is edited, whether students hold real editorial roles, and whether it publishes to a genuine audience.
• Current students, unscripted. The most useful question you can ask a current student is: “What would you change?” The second most useful: “How much of your work has been published outside the course?”
• Staff availability. Ask how much one-to-one feedback you get on your writing, and who provides it.

If you cannot attend in person, ask for a virtual tour and a named contact you can email with follow-up questions. A department that answers promptly and specifically is telling you something about how it treats students.

Beyond the Newsroom: PR, Media Communication and the Wider Job Market

The page notes that the Department also offers courses in Public Relations and Media Communication. This is not a footnote — it reflects the reality of the UK communications labour market, where journalism and PR are two sides of the same trade.

Journalism graduates increasingly move into:

• Press and communications officer roles in local government, the NHS, police forces, universities and charities — often the people journalists deal with daily.
• Corporate and agency PR, where news sense, clean writing and an understanding of deadlines are directly transferable.
• Content and editorial roles in publishing, membership organisations and specialist media.
• Social and audience roles, where the ability to write accurately and quickly for a defined audience is the core skill.

For anyone considering this path, the ethical and practical overlap is worth understanding early. The same media law that protects a reporter also constrains a press officer; the same news judgement that makes a good reporter makes a good communications adviser. Studying both disciplines — or at least understanding both — makes you more employable and, frankly, easier to work with on either side of the fence.

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How Accreditation Bodies and Standards Fit Together

If you are comparing courses across the UK, it helps to know who does what.

• NCTJ — the principal vocational training and accreditation body for UK journalism; sets the Diploma in Journalism and accredits courses.
• Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) — accredits broadcast journalism courses, with input from the BBC, ITN, Sky and commercial radio.
• Professional Publishers Association (PPA) — represents magazine and business media publishers and has historically been involved in magazine journalism training standards.
• IPSO and the Editors’ Code of Practice — the regulatory framework that UK journalists work within; media law teaching is built around it.
• Ofcom — the communications regulator, whose Broadcasting Code shapes how broadcast journalists work.

A course may hold more than one accreditation. When comparing, ask which bodies recognise the programme, and check whether the qualification you will leave with is the one employers in your target sector actually ask for. The National Council for the Training of Journalists publishes its accredited course list directly, and the University of Central Lancashire lists current programme details — always verify against the source rather than a third-party summary, since accreditation is reviewed periodically.

A Note on the “Get It Right” English Course and Study Resources

The page lists a “Get It Right English Course” among its resources. This is worth highlighting because grammar, spelling and punctuation remain the most common reasons journalism students fail NCTJ exams and the most common reason copy gets spiked in a real newsroom.

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If you are preparing for a journalism course or an entry test, focus your revision on:

• Sentence construction — avoiding run-ons, dangling modifiers and comma splices.
• Punctuation — the correct use of the apostrophe, the serial comma question, and how to punctuate quotations.
• Homophones and confusables — their/there/they’re, practice/practise, principal/principle, complement/compliment.
• House style — most UK newsrooms follow a style guide; learn to apply one consistently rather than writing by instinct.
• Accuracy under time pressure — the real skill is getting it right when you are rushed, which is why timed exercises matter.

These are unglamorous skills, but they are the ones that get you hired and keep you employed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is NCTJ accreditation and why does it matter?

NCTJ accreditation means an external industry body has audited a journalism course against the professional standards employers expect — news reporting, media law, public affairs, shorthand and ethics. Many UK publishers and broadcasters treat the NCTJ Diploma as a de facto requirement for trainee reporter roles, so an accredited course gives you a recognised qualification rather than just a degree. It is not the only route into journalism, but it removes a common barrier at the shortlisting stage.

What does “double accreditation” for magazine journalism mean?

It means the course was assessed against the NCTJ’s requirements for both newspaper and magazine journalism, rather than one or the other. The two disciplines have different conventions — news speed and hard accuracy versus longer-form features and specialist audiences — so a programme validated for both signals that graduates can work across print, digital and magazine environments. For applicants, the useful question is which half of that accreditation aligns with the job you actually want.

Should I choose an undergraduate or postgraduate journalism course?

It depends on your starting point. If you already hold a degree, a one-year postgraduate course is a fast, focused conversion into employable journalism. If you are leaving school or college, a three-year undergraduate course gives you more time to build a portfolio, gain work experience and develop contacts. In both cases, look at the portfolio and placement record of recent students, not just the course title.

How important is shorthand for a journalism career?

Very important for most newsroom roles, particularly in regional press and news agencies, where 100 words per minute is commonly expected. Shorthand is also the skill students most often defer and most often regret, because it is hard to learn late and hard to fake in an interview. When comparing courses, ask how many timetabled hours are devoted to it and what proportion of students reach the required speed.

What should I ask on an Applicant Day?

Ask about the facilities you will actually use — newsroom software, broadcast kit, editing suites — and how much access you get to them. Ask current students what they would change and how much of their work has been published outside the course. Ask who teaches you and how much one-to-one feedback on your writing you receive. A department that answers these questions specifically and promptly is usually a department that takes teaching seriously.

Can a journalism degree lead to a career outside journalism?

Yes, and increasingly it does. Journalism graduates move into press and communications officer roles in local government, the NHS, police forces and charities, into agency and corporate PR, and into content and editorial roles in publishing and membership organisations. The transferable skills — accurate writing to deadline, news judgement, media law, audience awareness — are exactly what communications employers are looking for.

P.S. A few readers have asked which certification we actually reach for — it's NCTJ Diploma in Journalism; take a look here if you want the current details.