Major scholarships offered by DMU and C4 on Investigative Journalism MA

Up to £20,000 scholarships are now available to support students wishing to study Investigative Journalism MA at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).

Developed in collaboration with Channel 4 last year, the innovative MA is looking to find, educate and train the best of the next generation of audio-visual investigative journalists.

For 2017/18 there are four scholarships available worth £6,000 to cover the course fees of four students, as well as two major bursaries of up to £20,000 to support two students with living costs. 

Professor Jason Lee, Head of DMU’s Leicester Media School, said: “This is an exciting course and we want to encourage the brightest and best students to apply. We understand the sacrifices students make to embark on postgraduate study and this is our way of giving outstanding candidates a helping hand.”

The unique MA programme is delivered by industry experts including DMU’s Dr Richard Danbury and Visiting Professor Dorothy Byrne, Head of Channel 4 News and Current Affairs, teaching students how to identify, pitch, research and film investigative stories.

Dorothy Byrne said: “Channel 4 is committed to training the next generation of investigative journalists. Our current Investigative Journalism Training Scheme provides training in investigative skills to working television journalists with more experience.

“This collaboration with DMU takes our commitment a stage further providing a very high quality MA with teaching provided by professionals who are themselves television journalists of the highest calibre. It’s vital for the future of investigative television journalism that we train up a new generation and widen the pool of talent to include people from diverse backgrounds.

“Quite a number of people have general television making skills, but lack the sort of specialist knowledge required.”

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The course covers practical filming and editing skills, alongside theoretical areas such as techniques of in-depth research, including handling complex data, understanding financial information, working undercover, using freedom of information, the law, and compliance and safety. 

Students graduate equipped with the technical skills, resourcefulness and newsgathering expertise necessary to produce quality, hard-hitting investigative documentaries and reports.

Dr Danbury said: “DMU’s Leicester Centre for Journalism, which is accredited by National Council for the Training of Journalists, has a strong track record in launching graduates into the highly competitive world of journalism over the past 20 years.

“Our graduates work for a range of broadcasters including the BBC, Sky and ITV, as well as national news agencies, newspapers, magazines and top PR agencies.

“We’re very happy to be building on our strong offer by working with Channel 4, which is renowned for its news and current affairs broadcasting and its dedication to producing content which digs deeper into the stories affecting people around the world.”