Aims

Introduction

The MSc Social Media & Management is designed to provide a rigorous analysis of the emerging properties of the Information Society and their relevance for organisational management in the commercial, public and voluntary sectors. It investigates contemporary Social Media and Information Systems and the socio-cultural and economic factors shaping their development and diffusion and their implications for managing organisational change.

The key elements of the programme are:

• Management theory and organisational practice
• Social and Cultural understandings of Social Media
• Social Media in commercial, public and third sector organisations

Please note that this is degree is NOT suitable for students wishing to study journalism.

Who will benefit from this MSc?

This MSc should appeal to overseas students, UK management professionals graduates in sociology and other social sciences, media studies, communication studies, and also to computer science graduates with an interest in further exploring the human behaviour and socio-cultural dynamics of computer system design, implementation, management and diffusion.

The effective implementation and management of digital information and communications technologies (ICTs) has become an essential requirement for organisations in the commercial, public and voluntary sectors. Its achievement can be influenced through the kind of interdisciplinary skills and knowledge, which form the principal components of social media and management programme. This joint course run by the Departments of Sociology and The York Management School is designed to expose participants to the latest research and practice in management theory and the sociological study of social media.

The programme of study will introduce students to a range of relevant competencies and understanding focused around the design, implementation and use of ICTs within a number of social and organisational contexts.

Participants in the course develops skills of understanding the role that social media and information systems, such as Facebook, might play in future business and public organizations.

Expertise

Both Departments will contribute expertise based upon their research interests. In the Department of Sociology this is primarily focussed around the work of the Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) which is home to the international journal Information, Communication & Society and is the administrative centre for the ESRC's e-SocietyProgramme. SATSU's analytical approach is framed through a range of socio-political and cultural interests in the emerging properties of digital media. These include, but are not exhausted by, focus upon spatial informatics, community informatics, cultural informatics, health informatics and political informatics.

The York Management School interests include Accounting and Finance; Management of Human Resource Management; Management Systems; Organisational Theory; Strategy and Services Management, Strategy and International Business. There are also two interdisciplinary research programmes, Critical Management and Corporate Governance.

Structure

Course structure

The Programme structure consists of Modules (120 credits in total) taught in both the Department of Sociology and York Management School. The programme includes the following modules:

Taught modules (120 Credits)

1. Organisational Analysis (pdf) (10 credits - 8x2 hours)
   This module provides a comprehensive review of contemporary approaches to the study of organisations.
2. Business Information Systems (pdf) (10 credits - 8x2 hours)
   This module describes the organizational and managerial foundations of information systems. It describes the critical role played by various types of information systems in organizations, sweeping changes created by the Internet and digital integration of the enterprise, and the need to demonstrate the business value of information systems investments.
3. Innovation and Technology Management (pdf) (20 credits - 8x2 hours)
   The aim of this module is to develop critical awareness of alternative strategies for managing information and technology in modern organisations. This includes (i) the strategic case for IT, (ii) the role of information management, (iii) IT and strategic advantage, (iv) formulating IT, IS and IM strategy, (v) organising and controlling IT activities, and (vi) managing strategic change.
4. Continuity and Change in Organisations (pdf) (20 credits - 8x2 hours)
   Within the module, you will be asked to consider why history is important to understanding organizations, environments, and the ways in which both change. You will explore a number of key perspectives which aim to address the conceptual deficit outlined above. Such perspectives include, for example, notions of path dependency, embeddedness, institutional change, and diffusion.
5. Understanding Social Media (PDF , 327kb)   (20 credits - 8x2 hours)
   To identify and critically analyse the key characteristics of contemporary new media such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Second Life, often collectively described as social media, social web or Web 2.0, within the context of debates about broader sets of socio-cultural transformations
6. Digital by-product data and the social sciences (PDF , 292kb) (20 credits - 8x2 hours)
   This module explores some of the conceptual and methodological issues that are at stake and attempts to involve students in cutting edge debates about how these data might be used. The module will be based around key readings in the area and will also require students to creatively use the data that they locate and harvest.
7. Social Research Methods & Management (PDF , 350kb) (20 credits - 8x2 hours)
   The module aims to introduce social science students to the different steps in the development of a research project from its conceptualization to the dissemination of its findings through its concrete management. It aims to give a general overview of the decisions social researchers have to make when they develop a sociological project.
   
   

Dissertation (60 Credits)

Examples of student dissertations include:

• Analysing the use of social network sites.
• Its all about identifications: Organisational control as enacted in discourse around working time arrangements
• What is online curation and how is it different from other Web 2.0 sharing practices
• It's All About Identifications: Oroganisational Control as Enacted in Discourse around Working Time Arrangements
• Social Media within organisations
• How do different cultural expectations of different user groups affect business email communications?
• What is the social and behavioural impact of the Apple ipod?
• Have social networking websites altered the way that organisations recruit and select university graduates?
• A culture and change study of Unilever
• Communication on wires: From a cross-cultural perspective
• The study of the SINA weibo’s business model and strategy
• The influence of gender differences on online shopping behaviours
• The Organisation 2.0: Exploring consumer attitudes towards an organization’s presence in Web 2.0
• Research on the gap between the rich and poor in China
• E-government: A comparative analysis

Entry

Entry requirements

Applicants must have the minimum of a 2:1 degree or equivalent. This should be within a social science or a management/ business studies related discipline. However, it is also recognised that this course is likely to attract highly capable students from a computer science background who wish to undertake rigorous social science training. In this case, high calibre applicants from non-social science disciplines will be considered for admission.

Graduate Students with English as a second language

If English is not your first language, we do expect you to be able to demonstrate a high level of proficiency. Our required IELTS language qualification score is 7.0 with at least 6.0 in writing:

• TOEFL score 260 (computer based test)
• TOEFL score 105 (Internet-based test iBT)

Students who have successfully completed a recent undergraduate degree at a UK University are exempt from the English Language requirement.

The Department’s admissions criterion is in accordance with the University of York’s policies on equal opportunities.

Applying

Application procedures

If you wish to apply for an MSc in Social Media and Management you can apply online and send all your documentation electronically. It is possible to save your application half way through the process and come back to it at a later stage.

• MSc Social Media and Management online application

Guidance and application forms

• Registry Services Guidance and Policy

Fees

Fees, funding and bursaries

Postgraduate tuition fees 2012/13

The fees are the standard rate tuition fees. Fees quoted are for one year of study only and are subject to increase in subsequent years. The University reserves the right to alter the level of fee. The latest information on annual tuition fees for postgraduate students is available at the Registry Services fees website.

Funding

Other University funding can be applied for on this course. Further information on these opportunities is available on the Registry Services webpages.

Teaching

Teaching and assessment

Teaching methods

• Taught lectures
• Guest Speakers
• Group work
• Seminars
• Plenary Sessions
• Workshops

Assessment

Different methods of assessment are used throughout the course. They include:

• Assessment essays of between 3,000 and 5,500 words
• Group Presentation project
• Outline Research Proposal
• Examinations
• Dissertation

The dissertation

Throughout the entire dissertation process the student will work under close supervision of an expert in the chosen area. It gives students the opportunity to apply the methodological, conceptual and analytical components of the taught components of the degree. They are expected to design, implement and manage a research project, analyse the data and produce a report written in the style of, and to the standard of, an article for journal submission. They are expected to show their understanding of the broader intellectual and disciplinary context of their research and its relation to existing research literature. They are required to relate their research to conceptual, theoretical and epistemological issues and debates within sociology or, if relevant, to the wider social sciences.

The dissertation is no less than 15 000 words in length.

Statement of Assessment

MSc SMM Assessment Statement (PDF , 622kb)

Careers

Career Opportunites include:

• Social media management
• Social media consultancy
• Social Media marketing
• Information analysts
• Information management
• Information specialists in public or private sector organisations
• Applying social media applications in journalism

The degree is useful as preparation for PhD study in this expanding field.

The careers service at York offers extensive services and advice to all post graduate students. Their range of services for PG students  include:

• Work, volunteering and career planning
• Exploring your options
• Looking for work
• Further study
• Developing your skills and experience
• York Award