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1. Admissions/ Management Information
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Title of the programme – including any lower awards
Please provide the titles used for all awards relating to this programme. Note: all programmes are required to have at least a Postgraduate Certificate exit award.

See guidance on programme titles in:
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Masters MSc. Social Media and Interactive Technologies
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Postgraduate Diploma PgDip. Social Media and Interactive Technologies Please indicate if the Postgraduate Diploma is available as an entry point, ie. is a programme on which a student can register, is an exit award, ie. is only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Postgraduate Certificate Pg.Cert Social Media and Interactive Technologies Please indicate if the Postgraduate Certificate is available as an entry points, ie. is a programme on which a student can register, is an exit award, ie. is only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Level of qualificationLevel 7
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This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:2020
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Awarding institutionTeaching institution
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University of York University of York
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Department(s):
Where more than one department is involved, indicate the lead department		Board of Studies
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Lead Department Department of SociologySociology
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Other contributing Departments: Department of Computer Science
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Route code
(existing programmes only)		PSMETEC
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Admissions criteria
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Applicants must have at least a 2:1 degree or equivalent suitable experience in one of the following disciplines: Social sciences with experience of social aspects of computing, Business and Management Studies or Computer Science with experience of social aspects of computing. Highly qualified students from non-social science disciplines such as computer science are also encouraged to apply.
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Length and status of the programme(s) and mode(s) of study
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ProgrammeLength (years/ months) Status (full-time/ part-time)
Please select		Start dates/months
(if applicable – for programmes that have multiple intakes or start dates that differ from the usual academic year)		Mode
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Face-to-face, campus-basedDistance learningOther
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MSc. Social Media and Interactive Technologies 1Full-timePlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NNo
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Language(s) of study
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English
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Language(s) of assessment
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English
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2. Programme accreditation by Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Bodies (PSRB)
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2.a. Is the programme recognised or accredited by a PSRB
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Please Select Y/N: Noif No move to section 3
if Yes complete the following questions
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3. Additional Professional or Vocational Standards
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Are there any additional requirements of accrediting bodies or PSRB or pre-requisite professional experience needed to study this programme?
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Please Select Y/N: Noif Yes, provide details
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4. Programme leadership and programme team
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4.a. Please name the programme leader for the year to which the programme design applies and any key members of staff responsible for designing, maintaining and overseeing the programme.
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Prof David Beer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
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5. Purpose and learning outcomes of the programme
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5.a. Statement of purpose for applicants to the Masters programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective masters student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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Social media are radically transforming the world we live in. Nowhere is this more profound than in the relations between humans and emergent media and technologies. How we relate to new media, technologies and devices is at the heart of how they are coming to change our lives. Understanding how technologies and social media implicate human activities, practices and behaviours is crucial to formulating responses, articulating ideas of the future and being active within the reshaping of the way we live today. It is this reshaping of our everyday lives at the level of our interactions with these media and interactive technologies that this programme seeks to help you understand. The combination of modules on social media and those on interactive technologies, will tell you not only about the transformative power of media, it will also match this with a detailed understanding of the interactive technologies that facilitate the spread and integration of those media forms. Operating on a global scale, social media are central to the functioning of new types of capitalism and are rapidly reshaping organisations, brands and consumption. Understanding social media is key to understanding the changes that we continue to experience. Social Media and Interactive Technologies combines two vital area of knowledge for contemporary professionals in the fields of media, research and technology design. As a Social Media and interactive Technologies student, you will learn to combine a critical social science understanding of relevant social, economic, cultural and political factors, by applying social theory, concepts and evidence. You will develop a deep appreciation of user-centered practices and processes as you progress as a student within the fields of both sociology and computer science. As a graduate of the programme you will be prepared for a range of careers in the commercial, voluntary, and policy sectors, including technology design, policy research, and social inclusion advocacy. You will be in a position to contribute distinctive interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, such as socially sensitive application design, to an emerging and vibrant social media landscape and shape the future of that area through evidence based decisions that benefit members of society. 
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5.b.i. Programme Learning Outcomes - Masters
Please provide six to eight statements of what a graduate of the Masters programme will be able to do.
If the document only covers a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma please specify four to six PLO statements in the sections 5.b.ii and 5.b.iii as appropriate.
Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme. They should also be outcomes for which progressive achievement through the course of the programme can be articulated, and which will therefore be reflected in the design of the whole programme.
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PLOOn successful completion of the programme, graduates will be able to:
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1Combine appropriate theoretical and empirical methods from both sociology and computer science to respond to questions at the frontier of international and cross cultural social media knowledge to develop insights into both technical and social transformations.
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2Deploy a comprehensive appreciation of contemporary research in understanding and responding to the complex relationships between social media and socio-cultural change.
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3Utilise research in the areas of Human Computer Interaction and design practices, and to use this to design new technologies in a research, third sector or commercial career.
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4Critically assess dynamic and specific contexts/tasks in the design, implementation and management of social media and interactive technologies by combining knowledge of social science theory, methodology and technology design techniques.
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5Identify and explore emerging research and commercial ideas and assess their value for improving social media and interactive technology from a social and user-centered perspective.
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6Develop prototypes that would be suitable to evaluate user-centered designs for interactive system in a user-centered way and appropriate to the stage of the design process.
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7Lead and collaborate within groups to realise effective teamwork, a thriving workplace, and successful project management.
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8Analyse empirically gathered data and communicate findings from those data to non-technical, professional or academic partners.
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5.c. Explanation of the choice of Programme Learning Outcomes
Please explain your rationale for choosing these PLOs in a statement that can be used for students (such as in a student handbook). Please include brief reference to:
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i) ... in what way will these PLOs result in an ambitious, challenging programme which stretches the students?
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This programme will be ambitious and challenging to you because it deals with some significant changes in the nature of media and technologies.  The programme is designed this way to be both ambitious and challenging for the students and to secure MA level learning. To ensure rigorous academic training, the programme is designed with a strong compulsory core. This is reflected in the PLOs by stressing that students will be enabled to; apply the theoretical and empirical methods of both sociology and computer science to questions at the frontier of international and cross cultural social media knowledge, examining the relationships between social media and socio-cultural change, develop a deep appreciation and knowledge of research in the areas of Human Computer Interaction and design practices, and to develop prototypes that would be suitable to evaluate designs for interactive system in a user-centered way. Students’ knowledge is stretched across a number of modules in which they are enabled to develop a systematic understanding of the key issues relating to social media and interactive technologies. Combined with the dissertation module, students are significantly stretched when they are required to apply the knowledge they have gained from the taught modules in order to execute and produce a comprehensive research project. Students on these programmes will arrive on the course with a variety of academic backgrounds - it is also a highly international student cohort. This makes transition onto the course and successful completion of the PLOs a particular challenge. In addition to dedicated sessions on the basics skills that are required - such as library and VLE awareness - the students also require focused transition to ensure that they will all achieve the desired levels. The head of programme has now implemented additional transition sessions on this programme, these deal directly with contemporary issues in social media - this takes the form of a welcome session in week 1 which is then followed by four additional sessions throughout the Autumn term. This serves three purposes: 1. it creates a cohort feeling and enables interaction with the course leader. 2. It ensures the students have a shared knowledge of up-to-date issues in social media that they can call upon in their studies. 3. These sessions help students to begin to make the connections between the combination of modules on their programme as well as with the knowledge gained on their previous qualifications.
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ii) ... in what way will these PLOs produce a programme which is distinctive and advantageous to the student?
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This programme is unique in its combination of forms of social and computer science. As emphasized in the programme outcomes students of this unique programme will learn to apply theoretical and empirical methods from both disciplines to comprehensively understand and apply knowledge of social media and interactive technologies by choosing and combining insights from both sociology and computer science. Studying mass Human Computer interaction, user-centered technologies, information sharing and social networking from the viewpoint of two disciplines is an important distinctive feature of this programme. This distinctive nature of the programme makes it advantageous for the students. These features and advantages are captured in the learning outcomes and will allow students to analyse empirically gathered data, both quantitative and qualitative, and to communicate the data to a non-technical, professional or academic partners, as described in PLO 8. The PLOs are thus interrelated and support each other to produce a unique and exciting programme.
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iii) ... how the design of the programme enables students from diverse entry routes to transition successfully into the programme? For example, how does the organisation of the programme ensure solid foundations in disciplinary knowledge and understanding of conventions, language skills, mathematics and statistics skills, writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity
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 The overall structure of the programme provides an equal amount of credits during each term from both departments. The modules in the autumn term are introductory to secure a successful transition into the programme for all students. The module ‘Understanding Social Media’ provides students with solid, introductory and general knowledge of social media practices and their advantages and limitations. This ensures that students from various academic backgrounds get a comprehensive introduction to the study of social media. The module ‘User Centered Design for Interactive Technologies’ provide students with a foundation of knowledge to create usable and accessible interactive systems that promote positive experiences for their users. The module also provides students with the methodological knowledge to capture and represent requirements for interactive systems. The module Research Methods for Interactive Technologies provides the students with a grounding in the principles and practice of the various research methods commonly used in human-computer interaction research both in the academic and commercial context. Students will be introduced to both qualitative methods, quantitative methods and research governance. Many studentson the programme will arrive with little knwoeldge of one or other of the fields being covered, as a result two inducation sessions will be included to help students begin to think abotu the core ideas ont he programme. Thsi will be followed by an additional 3 session in the Autumn term that helps students to develop their knowledghe of these core issues and explore how the parts of their degree fit together.
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iv) ... how the programme is designed to enable students to progress successfully - in a limited time frame - through to the end of the award? For example, the development of higher level research skills; enabling students to complete an independent study module; developing competence and confidence in practical skills/ professional skills. See QAA masters characteristics doument http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Masters-Degree-Characteristics-15.pdf
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This programme is designed to enable students to develop knowledge of a new field of study in combination with their prior relevant knowledge or experience. Likewise, to enable students to undertake interdisciplinary study in the fields if Sociology and Management. The programme will through the taught modules in research methods and field specific topics from both disciplines prepare students to independently conduct a research dissertation. This programme equips successful graduates with the potential to enrol for a PhD , but entry is not guaranteed. Graduates of this programme are also equipped to enter a variety of types of employment both subject-specific and generalist.
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v) ... how this programme (as outlined in these PLOs) will develop students’ digital literacy skills and how technology-enhanced learning will be used to support active student learning through peer/tutor interaction, collaboration and formative (self) assessment opportunities (reference could be made to such as blogging, flipped classrooms, response 'clickers' in lectures, simulations, etc).
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Digital literacy is a key and embedded component in understanding both social media and management. The students will be evaluating and analysing web based sources, exploring their form and consequences and thinking about them as part of global transformations. The assessments develop these skills as part of the module aims, but students will also be reflecting on digital transformations and how these relate to their lives. Students will give discuss issue around digital media and give presentations and perform tasks that require reflection on digital content, such as brands, profiles and networks.Given the focus of the degree, the issue of digital literacy is central to learning outcomes in relation to theory and empirical methods oriented to social media (PLO1), the understanding of Human Computer Interaction and design practices (PLO3), the analysis of the design, implementation and management of social media and interactive technologies (PLO4), by developing prototypes and evaluating user-centered interactive systems (PLO7), as well as the analysis of empirically gathered data (PLO8).
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vi) ... how this programme (as outlined in these PLOs) will support and enhance the students’ employability (for example, opportunities for students to apply their learning in a real world setting)?
The programme's employability objectives should be informed by the University's Employability Strategy:
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http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/careers/staff/
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The PLOs support students’ employability by identifying real work settings where they can use the outcomes of this programme, for example by applying their knowledge of Human Computer Interaction to the design of new technologies in a research, third sector or commercial career. One of the PLOs likewise focus on the ability to develop prototypes that are suitable to evaluate designs for interactive system in a user-centered way. Another example is that the students will be able to lead and collaborate within groups to realise effective teamwork, a thriving workplace, and successful project management. These are all learning outcomes that can be situated into a real workplace setting. The PLOs are supported by the statement of purpose where it is further suggested which fields graduates of this programme can pursue a career in.
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viii) ... how learning and teaching on the programme are informed and led by research in the department/ Centre/ University?
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York has been at the cutting edge of research on social media since the early stages of their development. This programme is associated with the long-standing Science and Technology Studies unit, which is based in the department of Sociology. The academic staff have a long track-record of being at the forefront of sociological exploration, this includes work on social media. Around 2006-7 the department was involved in a major programme of work into transformations in web cultures, this was the foundation from which the programme was established and reflects the ongoing research into social media in the sociology department. This is combined with established research strengths in the Computer Science department concerning Human Computer Interaction. The Department of Sociology was ranked 1st in the UK for research quality and research impact by the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014). The academic staff have a long track-record of being at the forefront of sociological exploration of culture, gender, language and science. All of the academic staff within the department are engaged in both teaching and conducting research. The Department of Computer Science at York carries out fundamental research which is setting the agenda in the discipline; it also works extensively with industry, translating research results into usable solutions. Increasingly the Department's work is interdisciplinary.
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5.d. Progression
For masters programmes where students do not incrementally 'progress' on the completion of a discrete Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma, please summarise students’ progressive development towards the achievement of the PLOs, in terms of the characteristics that you expect students to demonstrate at the end of the set of modules or part thereof. This summary may be particularly helpful to students and the programme team where there is a high proportion of option modules and in circumstances where students registered on a higher award will exit early with a lower one.

Note: it is not expected that a position statement is written for each masters PLO, but this can be done if preferred.
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On completion of modules sufficient to obtain a Postgraduate Certificate students will be able to:
If the PG Cert is an exit award only please provide information about how students will have progressed towards the diploma/masters PLOs. Please include detail of the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain this qualification as an exit award.
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Students exiting the programme with a PG Cert will have accumulated 60 credits from taught modules. Students will have made progress towards fulfilling PLOs 1, 2, 3 and 4, and may have made progress towards PLOs 5, 6 and 7 depending on which modules are completed. 
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On completion of modules sufficient to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma students will be able to:
If the PG Diploma is an exit award only please provide information about how students will have progressed towards the masters PLOs. Please include detail of the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain this qualification as an exit award.
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Students exiting the programme with a PG Dip will have achieved 120 credits from taught modules. Students will have made significant progress towards completing PLOs 1,2, 3, and 4, and will have made some progress towards achieving PLO 5, 6 and 7. 
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6. Reference points and programme regulations
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6.a. Relevant Quality Assurance Agency benchmark statement(s) and other relevant external reference points
Please state relevant reference points consulted (e.g. Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, National Occupational Standards, Subject Benchmark Statements or the requirements of PSRBs): See also Taught Postgraduate Modular Scheme: Framework for Programme Design:
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[from UTC new programme proforma, 2008)(a) We are familiar with the QAA’s FHEQ and can confirm that the proposed MSc’s learning outcomes are fully in line with these.

(b) There is currently no QAA Masters benchmark statement relating to Sociology. However, the programme is informed by The University Teaching and Learning Strategy (http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/aso/teach/strategy2003.pdf) and The University of York Teaching and Quality Assurance (http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/aso/teach/)

In relation to Human computer interaction the programme has been informed by the QAA Computer Science benchmark (http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/honours/computing.pdf and http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/statements/Computing07.asp) and the international benchmark for Human Computer Interaction curricula from the ACM (see www.acm.org/education/curricula.html).

Members of the HCI group in Computer Science have taken part in the ACM Taskforce to revise this international curricula document. This revision process is far from complete but its current state has been used to inform our curriculum design.

The proposed MSc has been informed by these documents from HCI and Sociology reference material.
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6.b. University award regulations
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The University’s award and assessment regulations apply to all programmes: any exceptions that relate to this programme are approved by University Teaching Committee and are recorded at the end of this document.
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7. Programme Structure
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7.a. Module Structure and Summative Assessment Map
Please complete the summary table below which shows the module structure and the pattern of summative assessment through the programme.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If the structure of your programme does not fit the usual academic year (for instance students start at the beginning of September or in January) please contact your Academic Quality Team contact in the Academic Support Office for guidance on how to represent the structure in an alternative format.

To clearly present the overall programme structure, include the name and details of each individual CORE module in the rows below. For OPTION modules, ‘Option module’ or 'Option from list x' should be used in place of specifically including all named options. If the programme requires students to select option modules from specific lists by term of delivery or subject theme these lists should be provided in the next section (7.b).

From the drop-down select 'S' to indicate the start of the module, 'A' to indicate the timing of each distinct summative assessment point (eg. essay submission/ exam), and 'E' to indicate the end of teaching delivery for the module (if the end of the module coincides with the summative assessment select 'EA'). It is not expected that each summative task will be listed where an overall module might be assessed cumulatively (for example weekly problem sheets).

Summative assessment by exams should normally be scheduled in the spring week 1 and summer Common Assessment period (weeks 5-7). Where the summer CAP is used, a single ‘A’ can be used within the shaded cells as it is understood that you will not know in which week of the CAP the examination will take place. (NB: An additional resit assessment week is provided in week 10 of the summer term for postgraduate students. See Guide to Assessment, 5.4.a)
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Full time structure
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CreditsModuleAutumn TermSpring Term Summer Term Summer Vacation
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CodeTitle12345678910123456789101234567891012345678910111213
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20SOC00003MUnderstanding Social MediaSEA
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20COM00125MUser Centred Design of Interactive Technologies (UCDE)SEA
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20COM00126MResearch Methods for Interactive Technologies (RESM)SEA
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20SOC00022MSocial Media, Data & SocietySEA
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20SOC00001MThemes and Issues in Contemporary SociologySEA
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20COM00127MDesign and Research Practice for Interactive Technologies (DARP)SEA
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SOC00009M
Research DissertationSEA
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Please indicate when any Progression Board and Exam board will be held and when any reassessments will be submitted.
NB: You are required to provide at least three weeks notice to students of the need for them to resubmit any required assessments, in accordance with the Guide to Assessment section 4.9
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Progression BoardSummer Term & Week 8
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ReassessmentSummer Term & Week 20
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Exam BoardSummer Term & Week 8
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7.b. Optional module lists

If the programme requires students to select option modules from specific lists these lists should be provided below. If you need more space, use the toggles on the left to reveal ten further hidden rows.
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Option List AOption List BOption List COption List D
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7.c. Explanation of the programme and assessment design
The statements should be in a form that can be used for students (such as in a student handbook). It should make clear to students why they are doing the key activities of the programme, in terms of reaching the PLOs.
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i) Students’ independent study and formative work Please outline how independent study and student work has been designed to support the progressive achievement of the programme learning outcomes (for example, the use of online resources which incorporate formative feedback; opportunities for further learning from work-based placements).
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Formative work include presentations to develop the students' vocal skills and confidence in communicating subject specific knowledge. Presentations also allow for peer-to-peer feedback and interaction as well as feedback from the lecturer. Students engage with writing blog posts to encourage interaction between the students and sharing of ideas and questions related to the content of the module.    More generally, formative work has an ongoing presence in this course - rather than their being individual moments of formative assessment. The modules frequently work with a tasks based approach to the seminars, where the students will often prepare a predefined task in advance for use in group work or will work in groups in advance of the seminar to engage fully in the session. These tasks involve students independently researching issues that compliment readings and classroom resources and which also are directed at building the skills that will be used to successfully achieve PLOs. For example, students may be asked to explore how data mining shapes consumption, how aggregator software might be used to create new insights, to build reports on how brands circulate through social media and the like. These are hands-on tasks that are produced for seminars and which then form the basis of discussion, presentations and evaluation. In terms of the dissertation, it is worth noting that students are able to submit up to 3,000 words of draft material on which they receive feedback - and thus helping them to develop their writing for the project.
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ii) Contact with staff
Please explain how the programme’s design maximises the value of students’ contact time with staff (which may be face-to-face, virtual, synchronous or asynchronous), including through the use of technology-enhanced learning. For example, giving students resources for their independent study which then enables a class to be more interactive with a greater impact on learning.
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 A range of teaching approaches are used on the programme. This includes traditional lectures and seminars, but also incorporates students actively working in groups to develop concepts, ideas and explore illustrative examples. The students are expected to be highly active in these processes and to learn through discussion, practice and participation. The staff also provide contact hours for students to hone ideas or explore uncertainties. The head of programme also provides an office hour in which students are invited to discuss their progress. The staff work with the students in groups but are then available for individual feedback to be discussed and for the students individual learning requirements to be explored. The head of programme is active in this and encourages the students through the additional transition sessions (see section 5c) to discuss issues and questions directly.The modules in the programme consist of both lectures and seminar discussion sessions. Module leaders announce their office hours where students can ask questions related to teaching and assessments. Face-to-face communication between students and staff is preferred and possible due to the relatively small student cohort. Each student have a personal supervisor who they meet with once per term. During the meetings the student can discuss any academic or personal concern they may encounter.
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iii) Summative Assessment
Please outline how summative assessment within and across modules has been designed to support and evidence the progressive achievement of the programme learning outcomes. (For example, the use of different assessment methods at the ‘introduction’ stage compared to those used to evaluate deeper learning through the application of skills and knowledge later in the programme).
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The summative assessments have been designed to support and evidence the progressive achievement of the of programme through a combination of assessment formats, carried out over the first and second terms of the degree, and the dissertation. These comprise of writing essays and reports, an exam and presentations. These provide for the assessment of a deep and flexible understanding of the knowledge gained, and also allow for the an assessment of this knowledge applied to practical instances and contexts, such as through case studies. The Understanding Social Media module is designed to introduce students from a range of backgrounds to the topic of social media as well as the academic practices of masters programmes. This involves groups based presentations, class discussion and sharing of study experience and techniques. Support and encouragement to work together and share good practice is seen as foundational to the course as a whole.
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8. Additional information
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8.a. Continuing Professional Development
Will any of the programme’s modules be available on a free-standing basis?
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Please Select Y/N: No