Degrees often disregarded as ‘low-value’ or “Micky Mouse’ courses are recognized as crucial to the UK’s £108 billion creative industries.
According to a report, media and communications studies, which are frequently dismissed as “soft,” “low-value,” or “Mickey Mouse” courses, are popular, dynamic, and have a “profound impact.”
According to the British Academy report, such courses are not “low value,” but rather play an essential part in the UK’s £108 billion creative industries and have become increasingly relevant in a world coping with new technologies, artificial intelligence, and the dangers of disinformation.
The media studies degree has been criticized as “little more than a state-funded, three-year equivalent of pub chat,” “puffed-up nonsense masquerading as an academic discipline,” and “an instant turn-off to employers” over the years.
However, a report released on Tuesday highlights “groundbreaking” research that has emerged from these study areas, such as research into the impact of music on maternal mental health and the collaboration with UNICEF to develop an evidence-based framework on children’s rights and digital technologies.
According to the report, despite the criticism of the courses, interest in media and communication at the degree level has remained strong. The number of undergraduates enrolled in media, screen, communication, and journalism courses fell by two percent overall between 2019 and 2021 after a seven percent increment in the past six years.
Undergraduate enrollment in media students increased by 5 percent from 2019 to 2021, while postgraduate level students across media, screen, journalism, and communication increased by 72% during the same period, with many international students.
The analysis revealed that students were increasingly persuaded to attend research-intensive Russell Group universities and London-based institutions rather than being in the domain of low-tariff higher education schools.
Graduates in media, screen, journalism, and communication studies are “highly literate in media and digital skills that are transferable to a broad range of industries, not least the creative industries sector, which has grown 1.5 times the rate of the wider UK economy over the past decade,” far from being “an instant turn-off to employers.”
Robin Mansell, professor emeritus at the London School of Economics and Political Science’s media communications department and a member of the report’s advisory group, stated that courses related to communication, media, journalism, and screening are sometimes disregarded as “low-value” or “Mickey Mouse” courses.
The report offers extremely strong data that counters these sections. These subjects are highly popular among young people. They play a vital role in the creative industries, which contribute £108 billion a year to the economy, and education in these subjects supports a globally leading cultural sector.
From fostering media and information literacy and thwarting misinformation to directing the future adoption and use of AI tools, they are crucial in addressing global issues.
Recognizing and supporting these subjects is vital for the continued prosperity of the UK’s political economy at this crucial juncture, when we face challenges like course closures and shifts in international student dynamics.
The report is a part of the British Academy’s “state of discipline” series, which tracks and reports on many fields of study. The British Academy is the national humanities and social sciences academy in the United Kingdom.
