First year study programme in Aarhus

Nowhere are current cultural, technological, and political changes as visible as in the field of journalism. In many places around the globe, journalists are suffering intimidation, repression, and limitations on press freedom. At the same time, with the rise of social media, journalists have lost their privileged role in our public spheres and now compete with a wide range of other producers of information who may have very different professional backgrounds and intentions. These include influencers, AI chatbots, think tanks, activists, hybrid-warfare specialists, and others.

The journalistic business model is also undergoing profound changes, with news and information now available for free and in unprecedented abundance, and with journalism as a paid profession under pressure from AI technologies capable of performing journalistic roles with increasing sophistication. It is easy to be deterred by all this, to think that journalism is not a profession for the future. At the Mundus Journalism programme, we want to counter such scepticism and emphasise that precisely because of these challenges, journalism has never been more important than it is now.
The aim of the programme is to give students the analytical skills needed to identify, analyse, and navigate these complex cultural, political, and technological transformations. We believe that a scientifically grounded understanding of these conditions is absolutely crucial to productively developing and rethinking the role of journalism in our societies. We educate our students to be able to take an active part in, and not least shape, this exciting conversation.

The courses you take in your first year in Aarhus are designed to provide you with a framework for analysing the social, political, and cultural role of journalism and to prepare you for your specialisation and thesis work in the second year.

Below, you will find an overview of the first-year courses to give you a sense of what to expect (keep in mind that some adjustments to course emphasis and content may be necessary due to the fast-paced evolution of journalism and media studies).

Introduction to Journalism Studies: Theories and Approaches.
Taught by the Department of Media and Journalism Studies, Aarhus University

The overall aim of this course is to introduce students to different theoretical and epistemological approaches to understand modern-day news media institutions and journalism practices across the world. Through multidisciplinary perspectives, the course looks at the interrelationship between the news media, journalism, and broader societal processes such as politics, culture, the economy, and technology. In so doing, it introduces students to some of the foundational and emerging theoretical perspectives to understand and interpret contemporary sets of practices, production and reception contexts within which journalism occurs today.

Overall, the training throughout this course orients students towards a cross-cultural, critical examination of the legacies and current debates in journalism studies. Throughout the course, students will be trained to apply the different theoretical perspectives in analyses of real-life cases across the world.

Methods of Researching Journalism
Taught by the Department of Media and Journalism Studies, Aarhus University

This course introduces students to the basics of research in the social sciences and humanities with a focus on a range of methodological approaches used in empirical research in journalism studies. Throughout the course, students will be trained to use different methods in analyses of original or secondary data on relevant themes of interest in journalism studies. Of particular importance will be introducing students to basic digital tools for empirical data collection, processing, and analysis.

In addition to critically discussing methodologies and methods in class, students will be expected to formulate, develop, and carry out small-scale research projects addressing developments in the media landscape, in journalism and within processes of globalization. Given that it builds on and further develops the theoretical perspectives introduced in the first course, the expectation is that students leave the methods course with the ability to usefully and critically combine theories, methodologies and methods in the empirical study of journalism.

Journallistic Storytelling: Creating Stories with Engagement
Taught by the Danish School of Media and Journalism

This course focuses on enhancing the students’ practical knowledge, skills and competences. Building on the students’ journalistic experience (which may vary from 3 months to several years), the purpose of the course is to introduce journalistic approaches centering on engagement.

The course introduces the theories, methods and ethical considerations relevant in the production of engagement journalism, enabling students to work independently with in-depth journalism in longer and research-intensive formats..

Applied Quantitative Research and Journalistic Practice
Co-taught by the Department of Political Science, Aarhus University and the Danish School of Media and Journalism

The purpose of this course is to enable students to (A) develop and implement quantitative research designs to test theoretical questions of interest, and (B) report these results truthfully and ethically in relevant journalistic formats.

Hence, students will learn how to conduct theoretically-driven quantitative research, including developing a theoretical framework, identifying, collecting, and operationalizing data, analysing and presenting data using statistical software(s), and responsibly interpreting results. Furthermore, students will learn how to tell relevant stories rooted in data by utilising a range of narrative techniques and modalities. Taken together, students will walk away with a deeper understanding of quantitative data analysis, an enhanced ability to carry out small-scale quantitative research and new skills to visualize such data in relevant academic and journalistic formats.

Elective Module

The elective module towards the end of the second semester (running in April, May and June) offers two tracks: A Research Track and a Practice Track. The number of electives within the Research Track, and the available number of places in each elective, will vary annually in accordance with the number of students admitted to the programme. The final assessment for both tracks is an oral exam based on a synopsis. The exams take place in the last weeks of June. By default, these exams are conducted onsite in Aarhus.

Research track: Key Issues Facing Contemporary Journalism: Challenges and Opportunities
Key Issues-electives are designed to enable students to focus on a topic, relevant for the overall aim of the programme. The topic(s) will fall within three areas, each constituting a focal point for the challenges and opportunities facing journalism today: Society, Technology, and the Market. The topic(s) can have a theoretical or a practical focus or seek to combine the two. The specific topics offered will be introduced to the students within the first semester. 

In the spring semester of 2026, three seminars will be offered:

a) Globalisation & World Order. Lecturers: Tonny Brems Knudsen & Jakob Tolstrup
Taught by the Department of Political Science, Aarhus University

b) Digital Political Communication. Lecturer: Tobias Widmann
Taught by the Department of Political Science, Aarhus University

c) Journalism, Conflict and Climate Change. Lecturer: Henrik Bødker. Taught by the Department of Media and Journalism Studies.

Practice Track: Mundus Journalism Internship (Project Placement)
Coordiinated by the Danish School of Media and Journalism
Instead of enrolling in a Key Issues-course, students can also apply for a short-term (10 ECTS) internship running from April to June. The purpose of the Internship is to offer students a chance to apply the knowledge, skills and competences acquired in the compulsory modules in a real-world setting within a company, institution, or organisation. By arranging this hands-on experience, students can bridge theory with practice to enhance their professional competences and expanding their labor-market network. The internship is not mandatory and only offered to a limited number of students (20 in spring 2025).

As the Mundus Journalism Internship is credited as part of a Master’s level programme, a number of conditions are attached to it. Hence, students wishing to increase their working experience in more flexible ways, have often pursued a different route, and arranged non-credited internships during the break between the first and the second year. Although these cannot replace courses or be added to the Master Degree Certificate, arranging such a Summer break internship may give more freedom in terms of work content, paid bonuses and choice of host institution. And while they are not endorsed by the University, the Mundus Journalism Service Center shares information we receive about such openings and we are happy to write a letter of recommendation to support relevant such summer internships.

Second semester alternative 

Selected students have the unique opportunity to replace their second-semester courses (30 ECTS) in Aarhus with courses at one of our prestigious credit awarding partner universities around the world. After starting the programme in Aarhus, students interested in an exchange semester abroad can apply to immerse themselves in a new academic environment while still fulfilling the academic requirements of the Mundus Journalism programme. For the 2025-2027 intake, we anticipate having educational exchange agreements with nine partner universities globally. However, the available destinations for spring 2027 will only be confirmed by mid-September 2026. Please note that there is typically only one spot available per university.

The selection will be based on a motivated application of a maximum of 1 page. In this, you should outline your interest in the specific Study Abroad university and explain why you would be a strong candidate and a good ambassador for the Mundus Journalism programme. For this reason, you may only apply to one university. The content of the motivation is open, so you may present your argument in whichever way you believe is most effective. In cases where two or more applicants for the same Study Abroad university are assessed as equally strong, we will take your initial application for the Mundus Journalism programme into consideration.