FAQs - Postgraduate Attendance Courses
We hope you will find the answers to your questions in the list below. If there is something you can't find, have a look at our additional information pages, try one of our standard websites (see below) or email us with your query - and we will do our best to help.
Please click on the relevant FAQs below:
What jobs could I get after the course?
Can I do a part-time job at the same time?
Do non-UK based students pay more?
How much are the fees?
How do I apply?
What qualifications do I need?
Do I have to take exams to graduate?
What is the NUJ?
Is the LSJ accredited by the NUJ ?
How do most students fund this course?
What sort of person will be my tutor?
Are LSJ students successful?
How many hours a week do I have to work?
Which - online or attendance course?
What job can I get after the course?
Our students choose to take this course in order to enter many different areas of the profession - broadcast media (both radio and television), local and national newspapers, magazines, web journalism, freelance and court reporting are all places where recent students started their first jobs. Some students go into PR and advertising - although these are a minority.
Existing journalists also take this course and in each group we normally have two or three students who are experienced journalists from European newspapers, who have come to London to learn about the English-speaking press, and to obtain an international qualification that will help them with their career.
To see information about recent students, click here.
Can I do a part-time job during the course?
We would advise you not to have a part-time job while taking the 3 month course. This course is very intensive and requires at least 15-20 hours' written work to be completed in your own time each week plus reading, attendance at lectures and tutorials as well as outside visits. If you do not keep on top of your coursework and personal assignments you will find you fall further and further behind. Once this happens it is very difficult to catch up.
The 6 month course requires half the time commitment of the 3 month course and we would advise you not to commit yourself to a job which needs you for more than 20 hours' work a week. Five four-hour shifts a week are capable of being fitted around your academic schedule, so long as you realise that you may need to use some of your weekend time to catch up if you fall behind.
These are, however, only guidelines. The actual decision is yours.
What do overseas students pay?
The course fees and requirements are the same regardless of your country of residence. Students from certain countries outside the EU may be required to obtain a visa - if this applies to you, please check with the authorities for up-to-date information.
How much are the postgraduate fees?
Fees are 2955.00 (GBP) for the 3 month courses, 3240.00 (GBP) for the 6 month courses and 3360.00 (GBP) for the 9 month postgraduate evening course. Fees are inclusive of tuition fees, course books, and all tutorial notes.
Fees do not include accommodation and travel expenses.
How do I make an application?
If you wish to be considered for a place on the postgraduate course you will need to complete a registration form, supply a full educational CV, listing any relevant experience, and complete your written piece - 300 to 500 words on 'Why I wish to study journalism'.
These papers can be emailed, faxed or posted to us. If you include your deposit cheque or credit card details with your application, it will only be cashed or charged if we decide to offer you a place.
You may, if you prefer, send your application papers without payment. If we offer you a place, the deposit payment will need to be received within 7 days. If we have not received your deposit within that time we cannot guarantee to hold your place for you.
Registration forms are available for downloading from our websites, go here for attendance postgrad courses or here for online postgraduate courses
What qualifications do I need?
A degree from a recognised university. We do not look for your degree to be in journalism or media studies - but it can be an advantage to have your degree in an 'essay subject', rather than in the pure sciences. Successful candidates will often come from within the disciplines of History, Geography, Philosophy, Law, Natural Sciences, English, Economics, Politics and Modern Languages.
(At our discretion, and subject to circumstances, other qualifications may be acceptable for applicants aged 23 or over with two or more years' experience working within the profession.)
Are there exams at the end?
Yes. Exams form a vital part of the assessment of your study, and account for one-half of the marks used to calculate your final grade.
The subjects examined cover Media Law, Subediting, News Journalism, Central and Local Government and Feature Writing.
What is the NUJ?
The National Union of Journalists is the leading union for those working in the newspaper industry. Although no longer a dominant force as it was in the years before the newspapers moved out of Fleet Street and into the modern world, it still has a place in setting standards of pay and conditions, working rights and professional freedom throughout the industry.
The LSJ postgraduate courses have been developed in conjunction with senior members of the NUJ, and meet the requirements for graduate entry into the profession.
Is the LSJ accredited by the NUJ ?
The NUJ does not accredit courses.The NCTJ, which has close links with the NUJ, accredits a wide range of courses, the majority of which are aimed at non-postgraduate entry into the profession.
This course does not teach the standard pre-entry NCTJ syllabus as we feel it would be too restrictive and not enable us to fully utilise the abilities of our postgraduate level student intake.
How do your students fund this course?
Most of our students fund the course themselves, either from previous earnings or from a combination of overdraft /part-time job/parental assistance.
UK resident students can apply for a Career Develoment Loan to fund their course - and others, already working within the media and related businesses, obtain funding from their existing employer.
What sort of person will be my tutor?
The LSJ only uses experienced professionals who work within the areas that they teach. Postgraduate course tutors are all journalists with experience of tutoring and mentoring new entrants into the profession.
Our lecturers on the postgraduate course are all experienced journalists with specific practical knowledge of the area they teach. Please click here to read about all of our tutors.
Are LSJ students successful?
Yes. Please click here to read our student casestudies and here to read about the jobs our students get once they graduate from the School.
How many hours a week do I have to work?
We would advise you not to have a part-time job while taking the three month course. This course is very intensive and requires at least 15-20 hours of written work to be completed in your own time each week plus reading, attendance at lectures and tutorials as well as outside visits. If you do not keep on top of your coursework and personal assignments you will find you fall further and further behind. Once this happens it is very difficult to catch up.
The six month course requires half the time commitment of the three month course and we would advise you not to commit yourself to a job which needs you for more than 20 hours of work a week. Five four-hour shifts a week are capable of being fitted around your academic schedule, so long as you realise that you may need to use some of your weekend time to catch up if you fall behind.
These are, however, only guidelines. The actual decision is yours.
What is an online postgraduate course?
The basic core material is the same for both courses - the printed course notes and text books are identical. The attendance course allows us to set times for outside visits, and trips to local courts which are timetabled within the groups' schedules. TV and Radio work, using equipment on the School's premises, cannot be included in the online course.
The online course is broken into four separate modules, each with an exam at its conclusion, whereas the attendance courses have all the exams in the last weeks of the term. Online students can take individual modules as and when they choose within a four-year time-frame, which gives more flexibility than is available to attendance students, who must complete the course in its entirety once started.
The qualification is the same, and the same diploma is received by all students, regardless of which type of course they took.
Please click here to visit the Online Postgraduate section of our website.
- "Thank you for your speedy emails all the way through the course."
Yul B - "I've certainly learnt a lot from the course and I'm looking forward to
taking that learning forward into the future."
Dave W - "Since starting the course in February 2008, I've had over 50 articles
published and have a tiny slot on Switzerland's English language public
service radio station."
Marianne B
of our students...
