TAR UC Kicks Off First Master of Arts in Communication Programme

With a strong academic team and resources at hand, Ms Dearna Kee is confident now is the right time for TAR UC to begin offering the Master of Arts in Communication programme.

Tunku Abdul Rahman University College's (TAR UC) Faculty of Communication and Creative Industries (FCCI) has begun offering the opportunity to "master the arts" through its first Master of Arts in Communication programme.

Launched in June 2021 with the first batch of postgraduate students already completed their first semester of compulsory courses, the Master of Arts in Communication programme adopts a rolling intake, allowing those who are interested to further their studies to enroll at any time. Ms Dearna Kee June Chen, Dean of FCCI, elaborated that after over 20 years of experience in offering communication programmes, now is the right time for the Faculty to offer a postgraduate programme since FCCI is wellequipped with the necessary qualified academics and resources to embark on this endeavour.

“The establishment of Master of Arts in Communication is imperative for TAR UC to fulfil its aspirations to become the institution of choice with a high quality of research output (by postgraduate students and academic staff). This will further strengthen TAR UC’s reputation, create a pathway for postgraduate studies for our own undergraduate students, and attract talented students from other institutions.

"FCCI is committed to delivering the highest of standards in postgraduate education that will prepare graduates to meet the demands of future media industries and conduct media research that will benefit our society," said Dearna.

The Master of Arts in Communication programme was planned two years ago, when Dr Tang Mui Joo, Deputy Dean of FCCI, identified the importance and relevance of such a programme to TAR UC students. "During the planning stage, we conducted a market survey and we received a lot of positive feedback from both local and international companies from all disciplines of media and communication. We believe this programme will produce highly relevant and qualified graduates who are able to fill the gaps within the evolving media industry.

"Our 37-strong academic team comprises experienced lecturers who graduated from many different universities and have already established themselves in their respective areas of expertise and research interests. With this team, we will be able to guide our postgraduates on a vast range of topics and research," said Dr Tang.

The Master of Arts in Communication programme is a research-based programme, where admitted postgraduate has to produce a Master's thesis in order to be awarded a Master's Degree.

"Enrolled postgraduates, however, must take two compulsory courses, which are "Theories in Communication and Cultural Studies", and "Research Methodology". They will also have to submit their research proposal within the first year of enrolment. After their proposal is approved, they can start writing the Master's thesis,” said Dr Chang Teck Peng, Programme Leader for the Master of Arts in Communication programme.

“The admission committee will assign a lecturer with similar areas of expertise to supervise postgraduates in drafting research proposals and writing the Master's thesis. Postgraduates will be awarded their Master's degree only after they have submitted their Master’s thesis and passed the viva voce examination," he added.

Full-time postgraduates can take between two to four years to complete the Master of Arts in Communication programme while part-time postgraduates can take three to six years.

Those who are interested in studying the Master of Arts in Communication Programme at TAR UC can find out more about it at https://www.tarc.edu.my/fcci/a/programmes/programmes/, or send an email to [email protected].