About this Master
Why choose this program?
Building on over a decade of experience, UPF's M.A. in International Studies on Media, Power and Difference offers an opportunity to study and research the role of social communication in the construction, representation, and negotiation of difference and diversity, with a focus on human and more-than-human social realities marked by heightened vulnerability.
To this end, the programme adopts a critical, cross-cutting approach to the power dynamics that underpin communication practices—both informational and persuasive—and discusses alternative, more relational conceptions of power. This approach emphasises the potential of communication as a space for fostering dialogue, shared understandings, and common ground across diverse social experiences.
Media and broader communication practices play a major role in shaping societies’ moral imaginaries and, therefore, in producing, negotiating, and contesting representations of difference. The study of how alterity is constructed through social communication has become an increasingly relevant and internationally engaged field of research, due to its pioneering and multidisciplinary nature and the richness of its perspectives, including cultural studies, the political economy of communication, and ethical approaches to mediation and social relations.
Who is it for?
The programme welcomes holders of a university bachelor’s degree, preferably in a field related to communication (Journalism, Audiovisual Communication, Advertising and Public Relations, etc.). It is also open to applicants holding a bachelor’s degree in the humanities, social and legal sciences, health sciences, or technology.
For both profiles, we expect students to demonstrate critical thinking, intellectual humility, and open-mindedness, along with a willingness to further develop their capacity for perspective-taking in an international classroom environment. The programme is designed as a space for rigorous and respectful debate—understood not as one that shields students from uncomfortable ideas, but as one that enables the free and critical discussion of complex, contested, and sometimes challenging issues. This involves avoiding simplistic approaches to complex questions and striving to consider, in an informed and reflective manner, the interests and needs of all other sentient beings. It also entails working to diminish egocentric and sociocentric tendencies, with the aim of contributing to a more compassionate, reflective, and socially responsible world.
Phd in Communication (Previous admission)
Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Department of Communication
Quality assurande
Career prospects
- Pursuit of a doctorate and academic/research positions in universities or institutes.
- Professional roles in journalism, public relations, media production, filmmaking, corporate communication, and consultancy (in private, public, or third-sector organisations).
- Policy analysis or advisory positions in governmental bodies, international organisations, and think tanks.
- Research, evaluation, or strategic communication roles in private companies, NGOs, foundations, and non-profit organisations.
