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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 Management
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Postgraduate Diploma PgDip. Social Media and ManagementPlease 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 PgCert. Social Media and Management
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:2022/23
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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: The York Management School
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Route code
(existing programmes only)		PSMEMAN
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Admissions criteria
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2:1 degree in a social science or management/business-studies related discipline. Highly qualified students from a non-social science discipline such as computer science or humanities disciplines 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 Management1Full-timeOctoberPlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NNoN/A
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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. Operating on a global scale, they are rapidly reshaping organisations, brands and consumption. Social Media and Management combines two vital areas of knowledge for contemporary media workers, researchers, and managers. Now that social media are so deeply embedded, we need to understand how social media are changing organisations and commerce so that we might then be able to reflect on how we might respond and utilise their potential. This course will help to prepare you by developing your skills in management in the context of the transformations in social media. This course will prepare you for your future career by combining an understanding of cutting edge ideas in management and helping you to place these ideas within the transformative power of social media and the social media environment. As a Social Media and Management student, you will examine how organizations, technologies and information systems are managed, and learn how to identify and analyse key innovations in information technologies and their impacts on society. In particular, this course will provide you with the knowledge, theories and ideas to be able to react to social media and also to the circulations of data that underpin them. You will critically investigate the opportunities and challenges presented by the availability of these new data forms. In broader terms, this interdisciplinary programme will help you to combine a critical understanding of social, economic, cultural and political factors, with organizational theory, business information systems development, and technology innovation. The skills embedded in this course are designed to ensure that you will be well positioned for a future career and that you will have highly sought after knowledge of the most pressing changes that employers may be facing, especially with regard to social media. You will develop the knowledge and skills to be able to react to an emerging and vibrant social media landscape. You will leave with cutting edge knowledge of social media and will have the skills to apply this knowledge in the management of people, communications and organisations.
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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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1Apply knowledge, concepts and theories from the social sciences and management to identify, understand and respond to key issues at the frontier of transformation in social media.
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2Explain, following critical evaluation, the impact upon social and commercial relations and identities of mass collaboration, interactivity, information sharing and social networking
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3Develop strategies, based upon a critical analysis of social media, for improving social and commercial relations in business and management, the voluntary sector, and the wider social setting.
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4Produce accurate and in-depth answers to complex management situations by identifying relevant and reliable sources of information and then deploying this information to develop their arguments.
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5Critically analyse social media as tools for surveillance, governance and control as well as artefacts for innovation, entrepreneurship and collective action.
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6Support organizational development and create competitive advantages and innovative working practices by applying in depth-knowledge of how social media might be used.
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7Design and conduct focused research projects that are rigorous and organised and which combine appropriate principles, theories or methodologies to produce clear insights into the aspects of social media being researched.
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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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Social media bring some complex changes. The learning outcomes for this programme require students to really develop their understanding of these complex media forms and the consequences they bring. This is ambitious because it will require students to understand global transformations as well as the way that social media change our everyday organisational and social life. This requires a wide range of knowledge that can be combined to create insights into social media and management. Not least, the programme pushes students to think critically about the role of social media in their lives as well as in commercial organisations. Social media represents some of the most profound changes we have seen to consumption, knowledge, power and the way that we organise and communicate. This programme is orientated to such a set of challenges. 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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Students of this unique programme will learn to apply theoretical and empirical methods from both disciplines to comprehensively understand and apply social media knowledge by choosing and combining insights from both sociology and management. Studying mass collaboration, interactivity, information sharing and social networking from the viewpoint of two disciplines is an important distinctive feature of this programme. One of the advantages of this combination of disciplines is that students will be able to analyse current use of social media, and develop strategies for improving client and customer relations in business and management but also the voluntary sector and in a wider social setting overall. This programme will allow student to develop their knowledge of social media and to think then about how this broader context might impact of questions of management. Based on this analysis students will be enabled to produce accurate and in-depth answers to complex management situations by identifying relevant and reliable sources of information to support their arguments. Another advantage of this programme is that students will learn to critically analyse social media as both tools for surveillance and control as well as objects for innovation and emancipation. The programme is furthermore distinctive because students will identify and develop social media applications that support organizational development to create competitive advantages and innovative working practices. Students leaving the programme will have knowledge of social media and of management, meaning that they will be well placed to understand the relations between organisations and social media - thus giving them real strength in a changing working environment and giving them an edge in understanding how changes in social media are changing the social world more broadly.
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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 programme is designed to be interdisciplinary and to import knowledge from different disciplines. The analysis of social media itself will draw upon different types of knowledge and will be supplemented by modules from within the field of management. Students entering the programmes are likely to have different backgrounds. The overall structure of the programme provides an equal amount of credits during each term from both host departments. The students will have induction sessions that will introduce some core ideas and readings. These 2 inductions sessions will take place in week one. These will be followed up with extra sessions outside of the students modules that will introduce other key ideas and developments in social media in the Autumn term. Also, 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 ‘Social Research Methods and Management’ provides a foundation that allow students to apply the theoretical and empirical methods in social research. They will be enabled to conduct focused research projects through rigorous planning and the application of methodologies and approaches in social research as well as important ethical considerations.
The modules ‘Business Information Systems’ and ‘Managing People’ provide an introduction to information systems and their role in modern business as well as a set of conceptual approaches, which can be used to place organization studies in a social and critical context. These modules thus provide a foundation for disciplinary knowledge in the study of management.
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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. The modules themselves build in specificity across the programme, starting with general issue in management and social media and working towards more directed modules and finishing with the focused and specialised dissertation project.
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 topic 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 collaboration interactivity and information sharing (PLO2), the analysis of current use of social media (PLO3), the critical analysis of social media as tools of surveillance, control, innovation and emancipation (PLO5), as well as the use of data analysis techniques within the dissertation project (PLO7).
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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 to develop strategies for improving client and customer relations in business and management, the voluntary sector, and the wider social setting. One of the PLOs likewise focus on the ability to produce accurate and in-depth answers to complex real world management situations. Another example is that the students will be able to identify and develop social media applications that support organizational development to create competitive advantages and innovative working practices. The combination of management and social media knowledge places the students in a unique position for being able to understand how organisations are being reshaped by social media and to use this knowledge to actively engage with these large scale changes. 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 the world-leading research management that feeds directly into the modules of the Management School. The York Management School place significant emphasis on the real-world application of their research. The programme combines these research backgrounds into this innovative programme and ensures the the content is constantly refreshed and that it adapts to changes in these two fields.
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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 and 6 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, 4, and 5, and will have made some progress towards achieving PLO 6. 
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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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not applicable
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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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20RSS00002MResearch DesignSEA
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10MAN00005MBusiness Information SystemsSEA
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10MAN00025MManaging PeopleSEA
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20SOC00022MSocial Media, Data & SocietySEA
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20MAN00007MContinuity and Change in OrganisationsSEA
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20MAN00016MInnovation and Technology ManagementSEA
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60SOC00009MResearch 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 includes task based work, such as mini-group projects and presentations that will develop the students' vocal skills and confidence in communicating subject specific knowledge. Presentations also allow for extended group-work, 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. On the modules students also work on guided tasks that build confidence and knowledge, digital literacy and analytic skills in preparation for the summative work (particularly with regard to the use of theory and how to analyse specific cases). 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 task 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.  The head of programme (David Beer) invites all students to visit in his office hours if they wish to discuss their progress or have any questions about particular topics or modules. In addition, the students all have personal supervisees.
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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, 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