Undergraduate study 2013 prospectus

General information

This course is administered by the Department of Information Science in conjunction with the Department of English and Drama and meets the demand for graduates with interdisciplinary skills for application across the whole range of publishing and information based industries.

Publishers work with authors and designers to create and disseminate the knowledge base from which people can retrieve information. Publishing is changing dramatically, and increasingly the industry delivers its products electronically.

The philosophy of this course is to provide specialised education in publishing together with core information modules and the essential grounding in English, to provide the basis on which a career in the publishing industry of the twenty-first century can be built.

Pre-Course Experience

Although not essential, any experience of some type of information work or publishing is likely to be valuable in realising the benefits of the course.

Career Prospects

Students have found employment with organisations such as Cambridge University Press, Palgrave Macmillan and British Telecom.

Course structure

Year 1

Compulsory core modules:

• An Introduction to Language
• Critical Studies 1
• Critical Studies 2
• Graphic Design and Desktop Publishing
• Introduction to Poetry 1
• Introduction to Publishing 1
• Introduction to Publishing 2
• Publishing Law
• Studying Publishing
• Web Design

Plus optional modules from English and Drama, selected list below:

• Introduction to Film Studies
• Introduction to Poetry 2
• Introduction to the Short Narrative
• Introduction to the Short Story
• Women’s Voices
• Writing Women

Year 2

Compulsory core modules:

• British Drama 1576-1737 or Victorian Literature
• Publishing Design and Production
• Editing and marketing 1
• Editing and marketing 2
• People Centred Information Services
• Research Methods

Plus optional modules from English and Drama, selected list below:

• American Adaptations
• Charles Dickens
• Clarissa
• Philosophy, Literature and the Arts 
• The Novel in France 1830-1890
• Writing of the 1790s
• The Weird Tale
• Women’s Writing in the 17th Century

Optional Year Out in Industry

A year out paid placement provides students with an opportunity to gain work experience and professional training.

Final Year

Compulsory core modules:

• Project or Dissertation (English & Drama) ? The Book Trade ? Culture and Change Management ? Human Information Processing ? The Magazine Business

Plus optional modules from 2 departments below:

Information Science

• Advanced Web Design and Web Analytics
• The Child and the Book
• Gender and Information

English and Drama, selected list below:

• America at War
• Cruel and Unusual 
• Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics
• Maps and Motors
• Modernisms
• Postmodern America
• Unexpected Light: Writing Afghanistan 
• Women and Narrative
• Writings of Intimacy

Study options and entry requirements

Here you will find information about the various study options available for this course and the entry requirements for each option.

SQA = Scottish Qualifications Authority IB = International Baccalaureate