Master in Discourse Studies: Communication, Society and Learning (UPF)

"En el máster adquirí conocimientos para ser más crítica y ver un mismo tema desde diferentes perspectivas"

María Toscano Hernández

Opinió dels estudiants

"Treballo on treballo, i ensenyo com ensenyo, gràcies també a tot l'aprenentatge adquirit al llarg d'aquell any acadèmic"

Martí Freixas Cardona

Opinió dels estudiants

"Me quedo con la calidad de las y los profesores que supieron transmitir su pasión por el conocimiento"

Mariana Díaz Meave

Opinió dels estudiants

"Del Máster en Estudios del Discurso me quedo con tener una comprensión amplia sobre muchos problemas de comunicación y sobre cómo resolverlos o mitigarlos"

Ignacio Concha

Opinió dels estudiants

Why choose this program?

The master's programme in Discourse: Communication, Society and Learning is an interuniversity master's programme offered by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).

The programme's main objective is, first, to promote research and train experts in the development and application of theories, methods and practices related to the study of language in social, communicative and learning contexts; and, second, to contribute to academic specialization in the various areas of application of discourse studies. The programme's optional module offers subjects whose objectives and applied content are intended to strengthen specializations or prepare students for subsequent doctoral studies.

Who is it for?

The ideal candidate for the master's programme in Discourse: Communication, Society and Learning will hold a university degree or diploma in the area of language, social communication or social sciences. For candidates with degrees in other areas, consideration will be given to experience in the media industry, journalism or language teaching.

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Knowledge, skills and competences acquired

Upon completing the master's programme, students will be able to:

Apply the main theories and approaches of discourse studies to the various disciplines of the humanities and social sciences.
Analyse the units, categories, levels and other grammatical (phonological, syntactic, semantic), pragmatic, rhetorical, semiotic and stylistic structures and superstructures of the main oral, written and multimodal genres of discourse as forms of language use, communication and interaction.
Build corpora of qualitative data extracted from the oral and written practices of a sociocultural community and obtain criteria for analysis and interpretation.
Interpret the main forms and functions of communication in society and their effects on knowledge, attitudes, ideologies, standards and public values.
Think critically about the role of discourse and communication in the (re)production of different forms of inequality and domination in contemporary society.

Duration

1 academic year full time, 2 academic years part time (60 ECTS credits)

Calendar

From September to June

Timetable

Mainly afternoon

Fee

Students UE: 1,302 € | Non EU Students: 5,749.8 €

Places

30

Course type

On Campus

Language

Spanish, Catalan and English

Grants access to

Phd in Translation and Language Sciences

Center

Inter-university master: Universitat Pompeu Fabra (coordinator) and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Quality assurance

Structure and Syllabus

The syllabus consists of 5 modules and the master's degree is obtained by passing a minimum of 60 ECTS distributed as follows:

15 ECTS of compulsory subjects, corresponding to the 3 subjects of the common module of the master's degree
10 ECTS corresponding to the subject Training in research action of the methodological module, mandatory to complete the research line in the scientific study of discourse
10 ECTS of subjects of the selected specialization module (intensification): Communication, Society or Learning
15 ECTS of elective subjects corresponding to a minimum of 5 ECTS of the electives of the methodological module, and a minimum of 10 ECTS to be chosen between the subjects of the specialization and elective modules
10 ECTS of the Master's Theses

A. Common module (compulsory)

The subjects of this module are compulsory for all students and are particularly relevant for people coming from undergraduate studies in the social sciences, where they have not studied subjects in the area of Linguistics.

Study topic 0: Discourse and Language

This topic provides the linguistic basis for the study of discourse and facilitates the acquisition of the basic terms, concepts and theories (grammatical, semantic and pragmatic) for the analysis of language and discourse in their psychosocial contexts.

Subjects

1st Term

Textual Linguistics (5 ECTS) | UPF
Enunciation Theories and Oral Genres (5 ECTS) | UPF

2nd Term

Discourse and Social Cognition (5 ECTS) | UPF

B. Specialisation module (intensification)

You can choose from among the topics that define the interdisciplinary nature of the master's programme. A minimum of 10 ECTS of subjects must be chosen from one of the 3 specialisations: 1. Discourse and Communication; 2. Discourse and Society; 3. Discourse and Education.

Study topic 1: Discourse and Communication

This topic provides theories and methods of multimodal analysis of communicative events. Oral genres are studied from ethnographic, conversational and pragmatic perspectives. The discursive structures, verbal and non-verbal, are analyzed in relation to the persuasive function on public opinion (construction of social representations), the sociopolitical and sociocommercial function (effects of propaganda and advertising), and the expression and construction of the social identities they convey. Therefore, the different forms that discourses take are critically studied in relation to the ideologies they express and reproduce.

Subjects

1st Term

Ethnographic Perspectives for Psychosocial Research and Intervention (6 ECTS) | UAB

2nd Term

Power and Gender Diversity in the Media (7,5 ECTS) | UPF
Critical Animal and Media Studies (7,5 ECTS) | UPF
Communication and Interculturality (5 ECTS) | UPF
Networks, Media and New Theoretical Challenges (5 ECTS) | UPF
Interpersonal Communication [biennial] (5 ECTS) | UPF
Cognition and Language Acquisition (5 ECTS) | UPF

Study topic 2: Discourse and Society

This topic is primarily concerned with the description and analysis of the functions and social contexts of language and discourse in specific interactions. The perspectives adopted are mainly sociocognitive and critical. From different theoretical approaches, we study communicative competence, discursive (re)production of identities and social power, registers, linguistic and discursive variation according to gender, social class, ethnicity and age. We also work on central notions of sociolinguistics: code switching, diglossia, bilingualism, pidgin and criollos. In particular, political discourse and its effects on public opinion are analysed. The methodology of these subjects is usually qualitative: for example, pragmatic, ethnomethodological or conversational analysis.

Subjects

1st Term

Identities, Diversity and Intercultural Coexistence (6 ECTS) | UAB

2nd Term

Variation and Linguistic Change [biennial] (5 ECTS) | UPF
Terminology, Neology and Society (5 ECTS) | UPF
Digital Media, Democracy and Society (5 ECTS) | UPF
Gender, Communication and Social Change (6 ECTS) | UAB
Intersectionality and Discrimination in Politics and Society (5 ECTS) | UPF

Study topic 3: Discourse and Education

This topic focuses on reading and writing as 'literate' practices situated in communities, and on the analysis of orality in educational contexts. It addresses language and discourse, spoken and written, as objects of teaching and learning in specific social and cultural contexts, and, within the critical perspective of the master's degree, the functions of discourse in the reproduction of ideologies. Aspects such as language learning processes, school multilingualism, linguistic socialisation and plurilingual competence are addressed. Classroom interactions and the structures and functions of curriculum design are also analysed.

Subjects

1st Term

Research Perspectives in Literary Education (6 ECTS) | UAB

2nd and 3rd Term

Language Instruction [biennial] (5 ECTS) | UPF
Language Learning Processes [biennial] (5 ECTS) | UPF
Plurilingual Education: Trends and Research Perspectives (6 ECTS) | UAB
Cartographies of Gender: Transitions and Identities in Research (6 ECTS) | UAB

C. Methodological module

A minimum of 5 ECTS must be chosen from a methodological subject, and the subject Formation in Research Action must be taken in order to complete the line of research in the scientific study of discourse.

Study topic 4: Research Methods and Tools

This topic ensures that discourse and communication studies are based on a methodology that is explicit, contemporary and appropriate to the purpose of the study. Beyond traditional methods, such as content analysis and statistical analysis, discourse studies employ hermeneutic, argumentative and sociocognitive methodologies that allow to describe and observe the data with the rigour that academic research requires. Computational tools and resources that facilitate the processing of large corpora are also used.

Subjects

1st Term

Corpus and Computational Tools (5 ECTS) - UPF
Discourse and Communication (5 ECTS) - UPF
Design, Planning and Research Methodology (5 ECTS) - UPF
Discursive Perspectives in Social Research (6 ECTS) - UAB
Epistemology and Methodology of Communication Research (6 ECTS) - UAB

2nd Term

Argumentation in Linguistic Analysis (5 ECTS) - UPF

2nd i 3rd Term

Formation in Research Action (compulsory subject in the research line) (10 ECTS) - UPF

D. Module of optional extension subjects

It consists of objectives and contents that can reinforce a specialisation (intensification) or prepare for a doctorate or a subsequent profession. Subjects from the different specialisation topics can also be chosen as optional extension (see Module B).

Study topic 5: Complementary Extension

The linguistic dimension is reinforced by a subject on semantics and pragmatics. The learning dimension is reinforced by a subject on the teaching of modern languages as first, second or additional languages, although the main focus is on the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language, so that a very high level of competence in this language is required. The study of social gender can also be extended, which is approached transversally in the master's degree from the perspective of communication, society or education (with a specific subject on gender and its relation to discourse in each specialisation).

Subjects

1st Term

Procedures and Skills in the Classroom (5 ECTS) - UPF

2nd Term

Semantics and Pragmatics (5 ECTS) - UPF
Contemporary Perspectives on Communication, Gender and Sexuality (5 ECTS) | UPF

E. Individual work module (Master's Theses- compulsory)

Faculty staff

Carmen López Ferrero

Tenure lecturer in Spanish language and discourse studies
/Master coordinator/

Faculty and secretary

Career prospects

General and specialized consulting for discursive services
General and specialized journalism
Advertising
Interaction and communication within and between companies
Communication and political marketing
Medical and health communication
Multicultural communication
Social mediation (intercultural, educational, health, therapeutic, corporate)
Education (cultural diversity and multilingualism management)
Communicative and pragmatic aspects of language teaching (production and interpretation of texts and oral communication activities).