Bachelor of Digital Media and Communications

Content is king – and digital media specialists are in strong demand in communication and marketing roles across Australia.

If you want to tell stories that matter, change behaviors and attitudes through your profession or uncover news through investigative work, the Bachelor of Digital Media and Communications will be a critically important foundation for your future career.

The internet, smartphones and social media have transformed media and communication industries – creating a range of new communication channels and work opportunities for digital-savvy graduates.

This course will equip you with writing, production, visual and research skills as well as work experience and networks of industry professionals – providing opportunities to build a career in a range of communication, public relations and marketing roles.

Career Opportunities

Graduates will typically find careers in a range of digital media industries – from the film, music videos, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, blogging and graphic design, to marketing, advertising, and public relations.

Professional Placement

This degree has strong links to the vibrant creative industries of the North Coast of NSW and beyond. The degree includes a compulsory professional placement unit (70-100 hours) at the closing stages of the course. This unit enables students to gain practical work experience within relevant organizations. Students have worked at radio and television stations, in newspapers and on film shoots, for film festivals and publishing houses, for graphic design and post-production companies, and for local and state government.

Major Areas of Study

Students in this degree will learn the core skills required for a future in the digital media industries of today:

• visual communication and design

• digital video production and storytelling

• journalism and news writing

• media theory and analysis

In addition, students have the opportunity to study in a range of areas to focus and refine their expertise and can choose four-unit minors from:

• digital design

• journalism

• screen media

• digital marketing

• music and technology

• creative writing

• visual culture

Assessment methods

Assessment tasks include creative projects such as websites and graphic design, TV commercials and music videos, news and magazine articles, animations, podcasts, as well as essays, articles, journals and tutorial presentations.

Teaching methods

Teaching methods include lectures, tutorials, seminars, field trips and online forums, plus individual access to facilities for special projects and one-on-one research supervision. All units in the Bachelor of Digital Media and Communication have online learning materials and utilize audiovisual technologies such as streaming audio and video, podcasts and online lectures, and social media technologies. Students gain access to a variety of industry-standard equipment including computers, cameras, microphones, sound mixers, and lighting equipment.

Please note: Online students are required to attend compulsory weekend residential workshops for some units.

Facts, figures, rankings and awards

Southern Cross University is a progressive, young and connected regional research university, with vibrant campuses in northern New South Wales and the southern Gold Coast. We offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and many are available in a dynamic online form. Whether studying on-campus, online, or both, we deliver exciting, contemporary and high-quality learning experiences.

Why SCU?

Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 20Bold, progressive and just 23 years of age – Southern Cross University is one of the Asia-Pacific’s Top 100 Universities and one of the world’s Top 50 Generation Y Universities .

Our contemporary campuses, with purpose-built state-of-the-art facilities, are located on the east coast of Australia, at the Gold Coast in Queensland, and in Lismore and Coffs Harbour in New South Wales. All are unique regions renowned for their natural beauty and ecological diversity, providing living laboratories for learning and creative hubs for artistic endeavour.

Branch campuses in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are operated in collaboration with EduCo on behalf of Southern Cross University. The University also operates The Hotel School Sydney and Melbourne in partnership with Mulpha Australia. We also deliver degrees with collaborators in China, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

We have a large and diverse range of courses available online, offering interactive and immersive learning experiences wherever our students are.

Whether studying on-campus, online, or both, we deliver exciting, contemporary and high-quality learning experiences.

We aim to produce graduates who are career ready, world ready and digitally literate, and who experience an academic environment distinctive for its personal approach.

The University has a strong focus on industry and community collaboration to produce engaged teaching and research outcomes.

This connectivity is seeing Southern Cross University lead the $13.8m national Farming Together Pilot Program, partnering with the Northern Rivers Co-operatives Alliance and the Australian Government. The University has also introduced an important new Centre for Organics Research with the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

In the latest Excellence in Research for Australia report, Southern Cross achieved outstanding ratings of 'at world standard' or above in 24 research fields. In nine research fields, the University was evaluated at the highest possible classification of 'well above world standard'. This was achieved in the fields of Geochemistry, Oceanography, Environmental Science and Management, Zoology, Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Crop and Pasture Production, Forestry Sciences, Nursing, Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Campuses

Southern Cross University is a vibrant, contemporary Australian university with beautiful campuses on the Gold Coast, Lismore and Coffs Harbour.

Sydney, Melbourne and Perth branch campuses (International students)

Southern Cross University's branch campuses at Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth are conveniently located in the central business districts.

Studying at SCU Sydney, Melbourne or Perth gives international students the opportunity to complete undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in three of the world's most liveable cities. Southern Cross University collaborates with EduCo Sydney Branch Pty Ltd for the operation of the SCU Sydney, Melbourne and Perth branch campuses.