The criteria for the MA by Research are:

• high marks at the Honours level (70% or above);
• demonstrated ability to work independently on research (through a recommendation from your Honours supervisor or completed research);
• at least five years’ journalism, media production or related experience.

Admission is dependant also on whether the department has a supervisor in 
your area, so you should submit a short (about five pages) proposal for your research.

The criteria for the MA by coursework and research report are:

• a minimum of 65% average for your Honours or fourth year;
• at least five years’ journalism, media production or related experience.

Applications are highly competitive and places are limited, so the department reserves the right to limit admission to the top 25 applicants. No late applications are considered.

The Master’s can be taken full-time (one year) or part-time (two years). Students must take three courses and produce a research report of about 25 000 words. Students are required to take the core course, Media and Society, as well as two optional courses. The optional courses and the research need to reflect whichever stream or specialisation students have chosen.

There is also an option to do a Master’s in Financial Journalism research only, a much larger project, under the guidance of a supervisor. Candidates would need to apply with a pre-existing topic, and have exceptional research skills.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIALISATIONS AND TOPIC AREAS

Students are advised to choose an area of specialisation in order to structure the MA programme and research. Specialisations include the core course, plus one or more courses in the focus area. The following specialisations are offered:

Feature Writing

Financial Journalism 

Media Law and Ethics

Communication for Social Change

Media and Society

SA Narrative Non-Fiction

Fees for the Masters’s degree (three courses and the research report) are about R40 000. Please check the university website for the latest information. International students pay a special fee. Please click here for information on the special circumstances of being a foreign student at Wits.

For additional information on the financial aid for students studying at the Wits Centre for Journalism, go to this page.

For more information about the application process, see Wits’ postgraduate website for more information on the application process. 

You can also send an email to admissions@journalism.co.za or (011) 717-4028 for more information on the journalism programme. 

Deadline: 30 September 2025.

For information about the Masters’ degree, and whether you are eligible or not, please contact us. However, once you have decided you would like to apply for the programme, you need to do that through the university’s official structures. You can apply online here, or you can go to the Enrolment Centre, Solomon Mahlangu House (formerly Senate House), to fill in a hard copy application form.

Along with the form, you should provide a work history or short CV and a copy of your Honours research project or long essay. A letter of reference is not required – just enter the names and contact details of your referees on the form. Please provide your supporting documents before the deadline for applications closes, as we cannot make a decision without them.

Applicants may be required to write entrance tests or language tests. Places in the programme are limited and late applications will not be considered.

NB: You must choose one of the specialisations outlined in Course Content above.

Please do this by emailing the MA convener lesley.cowling@wits.ac.za AND admissions@journalism.co.za. If you are interested in more than one of the areas, please indicate that in your email.

All applications should reach us by 30 September. International students are required to submit a SAQA evaluation of their qualifications. This can take some time to reach us, so please prioritise this process.

For students completing an Honours degree, the applications should also be submitted by 30 September, but decisions will only be provisional until your final results become available.

If you have not received a response from us letting you know whether you have been accepted by early December, please check your status by sending an email to: admissions@journalism.co.za

There is no mid-year admission for the Master’s programme.

Registration usually happens in January or early February. Wits now offers online registration. You will be sent the information by the university once accepted. At the beginning of each year, we schedule curriculum counselling in the department to help you make your choices. The faculty also schedules a day for those who need to come to campus to register.

Please see the maps of Wits if you are unfamiliar with the campus. More information can be found on the Wits website.