AC
Item N o.
University of Mumbai
Revised Syllabus for the
M.A.( Communication & Journalism)
Semester I to I V
(As Per C BCS
With effect from the academic year 2016-17 for
Semester I to IV )
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REVISED SYLLABUS INCLUDI NG SCHEME OF COURSES , SCHEME OF EXAMINATION , MEDIUM OF
INSTRUCTION FOR THE MASTER OF ARTS (COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM).
FEE STRUCTURE:
Tuition Fees (per semester) - Rs 20,000
Examination Fees (per semester) – Rs 1,000
Project Examination Fees (to be pai d in the second year only) – Rs 1,000
Computer Lab Fees (per semester) – Rs 2,000
Library Fees (per semester) – Rs 1,000
PREAMBLE
1. Basic concepts
Credits: A course that is taught for 4 hours a week for a period of 15 weeks will carry six credits.
Course credits: To qualify in a given course, a student will have to acquire six credits in the course. Out
of these, four credits are central teaching component and two credits are for the self -study component.
The self -study component will consist of acade mic tasks outside the classroom that will be assigned by
the teacher from time to time. The self -study component assigned in this manner will be related to or an
extension of but not in lieu of the prescribed syllabus. The self -study component will be give n a
weightage of 33% in the evaluation of the student. In case of courses with practical component/ field -
work components, four credits are for theory course and two credits shall be practical component/filed -
work component.
A student who acquires a minimu m of 100 credits over four semesters will be declared eligible for the
award of the M.A. degree.
Courses : There shall be five types of courses: (i) Core Course; (ii) Elective Course; (iii)
Interdisciplinary/Cross -disciplinary Courses; (iv) Audit Courses; (v) Project -based Courses; (vi) Ability
Enhancement Courses
(i) Core Course: Core courses are courses that impart instruction in the basic non -specialized aspects of
a discipline that constitute the minimum basic competency in that discipline, regardless of any specialization that the learner might choose in the future. Core -Courses shall be offered by the parent
department. Core courses shall be for six credits. Minimum 50% courses of the MA programme over
four semesters must be core courses.
(ii) Elective Courses : Elective courses shall be courses offered by the parent department that impart
instructions in specialized/advanced/supportive aspects of the relevant discipline. Each department
shall offer a pool of such courses from which a student can choos e. Elective Courses shall be for six
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credits. The syllabus for each elective course will have a preamble clearly stating the course and the
learner objectives for the elective, along with the pre -requisites if any and a detailed list of references.
(iii) Interdisciplinary/Cross Disciplinary Courses (I/C courses) : I/C courses shall be offered by parent
department and departments other that parent department. One ‘course basket’ shall be created for
the same. Each MA program has to offer a minimum of two co urses and maximum of four courses in the
basket. Every I/C course shall be for six credits. A student may opt for an I/C course offered by his/her
parent department.
(iv) Audit Courses: Students can audit a course from the parent department as well as fr om other
departments in addition to the core, elective and I/C courses that are mandatory, with the prior
permission of the head/s of the relevant department/s. Such a student will have to apply in writing at
most a week after the relevant course has comme nced. For the audit course, a student shall attend
lectures of the audited course. The student cannot appear for the semester -end examination for the
audited course. However, the student shall appear for the internal examination/assessment. The audit course appears on the mark-sheet only when the student passes the internal assessment with minimum
50% marks, failing to which, the student cannot claim the audit for that course. The internal marks shall
not be displayed on final mark-sheet. The internal mar ks shall not be used for the credit computation. A
student is permitted to audit maximum four courses in the MA program.
(v) Ability Enhancement Course: The ability enhancement courses are skills based course. The ability enhancement courses are to be off ered at fourth semester.
(vi) Project based courses: Project based courses shall consist of a dissertation. Each dissertation course
will carry 10 credits. Every learner shall choose one project based course.
2. Rules for programmes not having a practica l component
2.1 Four core courses shall be offered in semesters 1 and 2 each.
2.2 Five elective courses shall be offered in the third semester. No other courses will be offered in the
third semester.
2.3 The fourth semester shall consist of one ability en hancement course, one interdisciplinary/cross
disciplinary courses (I/C courses) and one project based course.
2.4 Each department will offer at least one I/C course during semester 4. The learner can choose any
one course from this basket, including the course offered by his/her parent department. The preamble
to this course will clearly specify the prerequisites for this course.
2.5 A learner will have to apply to the relevant department in writing no later than two weeks after the
commencement of the fourth semester for taking the I/C course offered by that department.
2.6 A learner can relinquish an I/C course chosen by him/her no later than two weeks after the
commencement of the fourth semester by applying to the Head of the Department whose I/C c ourse
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the student wishes to opt for. The application will have to be endorsed by the head of the Department
whose I/C course the student has relinquished and the Head of the parent department.
2.7 The Head of the Department offering a specific I/C course will convey the marks of the internal
examination obtained by students taking the course to the Head of the parent department before the
commencement of the end semester examination of the parent department.
3. Dissertation courses
3.1 Dissertation based courses will be offered in the fourth semester. Every learner will have to choose
one dissertation course, which will be for twelve credits. The project based course will be in the form of
a dissertation based on a live project or a research assignment related to the specific discipline of the parent department.
3.2 Every Teacher from every department will announce four to five broad topics at the beginning of the
second semester, reflecting degree of relevance and rigor suitable to a post graduate programme, along
with an indicative reading list. These will be screened by the Board of Studies in the subject and a final
list of approved topics along with a reading list will be displayed in the first week of the third semester.
3.3 The student will submit a list of his/her three most preferred topics in the order of preference by the
fifth week of the third semester to the Head of the parent department.
3.4 Each Department will constitute a dissertation committee consisting of the Head of the Department
(Chairperson) and two other teachers from the department. The purpose of this committee is to oversee
the functioning of the dissertation component in the department.
3.5 All Masters Degree holders with NET/SET (in Communication/Journalism/Film Studies/ P ublic
Relations/Electronic Media/Television Studies) from University of Mumbai, all PhD scholars and
recognized post graduate teachers in the Department of Communication and Journalism will be guides
for the dissertation component.
3.6 The dissertation committee will allocate students to guides in order of the average of marks
obtained in semesters 1 and 2.
3.7 If it is felt necessary, the dissertation committee can assign a co -guide to a student, depending upon
specific disciplinary needs.
The student wi ll make a preliminary presentation in the seventh week of the fourth semester. The
presentation will be attended by the guide and a committee consisting of two other teachers from the department. The committee will make necessary suggestions to improve the dissertation.
3.8 The student will make a final presentation in the 10
th to the 12th week of semester four. The
presentation will be evaluated by the same committee that evaluated the preliminary presentation. The criteria for evaluation will be as follow s:
i) 10 marks for the quality of presentation
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ii) 15 marks for answers to questions
3.9 The marks given by the three members of the evaluation committee will be averaged in each head
and the total marks decided by totaling the averages under the three heads.
3.10 The student will submit a bound hard copy of the dissertation to the Department by the end of the
fourth semester, along with a soft copy on a CD/DVD.
3.11 The final dissertation will have a word limit of 8000 -10000 words and will be typed in on e and a half
spacing on one side of the paper.
3.12 The final dissertation will be evaluated out of 50 marks by the guide, 50 marks by any other teacher
in the Department and 100 marks by an external examiner by way of viva voce .
3.13 The dissertation will be given a grade point as per the following scheme:
Marks Grade Points Letter Grade
0-9 0.5 F
10-19 1.5 F
20-29 2.5 F
30-39 3.5 F
40-44 4.2 C
45-54 5.0 B
55-59 5.7 B+
60-69 6.5 A
70-74 7.2 A+
75-100 8.7 O
3.14 A student who gets a letter gr ade F in the course will be deemed to have failed in the course.
3.15 A student who feels aggrieved by the grading received will have the option of applying to the
project committee for re -evaluation of the dissertation within a period of one week after t he declaration
of the result. If the dissertation committee feels that the claim is justified, it shall appoint a fresh
examiner who will submit his/her evaluation in a week’s time . If the marks by the re-evaluating
examiner exceed the marks of the original examiner by a margin of 10% or more, the latter set of marks
will be considered final.
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3.16 The student who has got a letter grade F in the dissertation will have the option of resubmitting a
revised version within 2 months from the date of declaration o f the result. If a student fails this time too,
he/she will not get any more chances and will be ineligible to be awarded the MA degree.
3.17 If a student is unable to submit his/her dissertation in the stipulated time or fails to make the
presentations at the appointed time, he/she will be deemed to have failed the course and will have the
option of submitting within 2 months from the date of declaration of the result. If a student fails this
time too, he/she will not get any more chances and will be ine ligible to be awarded the MA degree.
3.18 The schedule for preliminary presentation, final presentation and dissertation submission will be
displayed in the first week of the fourth semester.
3.19 Ethical Standards regarding Dealing with Human Participant s:
Students should refrain from acts which he or she knows, or under the circumstances has reason to
know, spoil the academic integrity of the academic program. Violations of academic integrity include,
and not limited to: plagiarism; violation of the rig hts and welfare of human participants in research and
practice; cheating, knowingly furnishing false information; misconduct as a member of department or
college, and harm to self and others.
4. Evaluation of non-project courses
4.1 The examinations sha ll be of two kinds:
(i) Internal Assessment
(ii) Semester End Examination.
4.2 The learner who obtains less than 40 % of the aggregate marks of the relevant examination in that
course either in the internal assessment or in the end – semester examination will be awarded the letter
grade F in that course. The Medium of Instruction will be English.
4.3 Internal Assessment: The internal assessment shall be for 40 marks. Two internal assessment
examination s shall be scheduled for a course. The internal exa mination is to be conducted by the course
teacher. The schedule for the internal assessment is announced within two weeks of the
commencement of the semester. Of the two exams one will be in the form of a written test involving
theory and the other will be in the form of extension work or assignment or term work. The answer -
sheets for internal examination shall be masked before evaluation. The evaluated answer -sheets and
marks shall be shown to the students on the date announced in advance.
4.4 The existing rules for moderation of answer sheets will be followed in the case of internal
examinations in core courses.
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4.5 Semester -End Examination: The semester end examination shall be for 60 marks.
4.6 If a student is absent from the internal or end semester examination in any course including the
dissertation course, he/she will get a grade point of 0 and a letter grade of F.
4.7 If a student fails in the internal examination of a core or elective course , he/she will have to appear
for the internal examinatio n of the course when the course is offered again.
4.8 If a student fails in the end -semester examination of a core or elective course, he/she may reappear
for the same examination when it is held again in the following semester. A student can appear at th e
most three times, including the original attempt. If a student obtains a letter grade F in all the three
attempts, he/ she will have to seek fresh admission to the MA programme.
4.9 If a student obtains the letter grade F in any course in a given semest er, the letter grade F will
continue to be shown in the grade card for that semester even when the student passes the course
subsequently in another semester.
4.10 If a student obtains minimum 40% marks in the internal assessment and fails to obtain minimu m
40% percent marks in the end -semester examination of any course in any of the semester, the marks of
the internal examination shall be carried forward.
4.11 The letter grade and the grade point for the course will be computed as per 3.13
4.12 In any se mester, the students GPA will be calculated as follows:
where
= credits for that course offered in that semester
and
= grade point obtained in that course offered in that sem ester.
Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA m) at the end of semester m is calculated as follows:
, where,
is the credits for the ith course offered in semester j and
is the
grade point obtained in the ith course in semester j. There shall be no rounding of GPA and CGPA.
4.13 The semester wise GPA and CGPA shall be printed on the grade card of the student along with table
in 3.13
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4.14 The final semester grade card shall also have the aggregate percentage marks scored by the
student in all the courses in which the student has obtained the relevant credits.
4.15 The rules for gracing: the existing ordinance for gracing shall continue to be used.
4.16 The rules for ATKT will b e as per University norms.
5. Rules for MA programes with practical component/field work components are as follows:
5.1 Four core courses shall be offered in semesters 1 and 2 each.
5.2. Five elective courses shall be offered in the third semester. No other courses will be offered in the
third semester.
5.3. The fourth semester shall consist of one ability enhancement course (6 credits), one interdisciplinary/cross disciplinary course (6 credits ) and one project based course (10 credits).
5.4. The semest er having Practical Component / Field Work Component shall be given four teaching
hours per week per theory (core/elective) course. Each core/elective course shall have 4 credits in such semester.
5.5. There shall be 2 credits Practical Components/ Field Work Component per theory course
(core/elective) in a semester one to three. The credits for practical and theory courses are obtained
separately.
5.6. There shall be 8 credits Practical Component/ Field Work Component in semester one and two.
There shall be 10 credits Practical Component/ Field Work Component in semester three. There shall be
no practical/field work component in semester four. The practical/field work component shall be elective in semester three.
6. Evaluation of non-project courses and practical component /field work component for courses
having practical/field work component.
6.1: The examinations shall be of two kinds:
(i) Internal Assessment = 40 marks comprising of a class test and practical/field/extension
component
(ii) Semester End Examination = 60 marks
6.2 The learner who obtains less than 40 % of the aggregate marks of the relevant examination (16/40
for Internal and 24/60 for Semester End) in that course either in the internal assessment or in the end –
semester examination will be awarded the letter grade F in that course.
6.3 Internal Assessment for theory courses: The internal assessment shall be for 40 marks. Two internal
assessment examinations shall be scheduled for a course. The internal examination is to be conducted by the course teacher. The schedule for the internal assessment is announced within two weeks of the
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commencement of the semester. Of the two exams one will be in the form of a written test involving
theory and the other will be in the form of extension work or assignment or term work. The answer -
sheets for internal examination shall be masked before evaluation. The evaluated answer -sheets and
marks shall be shown to the students on the date announced in advance.
6.4 Internal Assessment for practical comp onent/ field work component . The evaluated practical/field
work submission material and marks shall be shown to the students on the date announced in advance.
6.5 The existing rules for moderation of answer sheets will be followed in the case of internal
examinations in core courses excluding practical component/ field work component.
6.6: Semester -End Examination: The semester end examination shall be for 60 marks for theory courses
(core /elective) and for practical component/field work component. The se mester –end examination for
practical component/ filed work component shall be conducted separately.
6.7: If a student is absent from the internal or end semester examination in any course including the project course and practical/field-work component, he/she will get a grade point of 0 and a letter grade
of F.
6.8: If a student fails in the internal examination of a core or elective course , or practical/fi eld work
component, he/she will have to appear for the internal examination of the course if and whe n the
course is offered again.
6.9: If a student fails in the end -semester examination of a core or elective course or practical/filed work
component, he/she may reappear for the same examination when it is held again in the following
semester. A student can appear at the most three times, including the original attempt. If a student
obtains a letter grade F in all the three attempts, he/ she will have to seek fresh admission to the MA
programme.
6.10. If a student obtains the letter grade F in any course in a given semester including practical/filed
work component, the letter grade F will continue to be shown in the grade card for that semester even
when the student passes the course subsequently in another semester.
6.11. If a student obtains minimum 40% marks in the internal assessment and fails to obtain minimum
40% percent marks in the end -semester examination of any course in any of the semester, the marks of
the internal examination shall be carried forward.
6.12: The letter grade and the grade poin t for the course will be computed as in 3.13.
6.13: In any semester, the students GPA will be calculated as follows:
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where
= credits for that course offered in that semester
and
= grade point obtained in that course offered in that semester.
Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA m) at the ned of semester m is calculated as follows:
, where,
is the credits for the ith course offered in semester j and
is the
grade point obtained in the ith course in semester j. There shall be no rounding of GPA and CGPA.
6.14. The semester wise GPA and CGPA shall be printed on the grade card of the student along wi th
table 3.13
6.15. The final semester grade card shall also have the aggregate percentage marks scored by the
student in all the courses including practical/filed work component in which the student has obtained
the relevant credits.
6.16. In case, if it is required to scale the internal assessment marks and end -semester examination
marks to 400 marks per semester and 1600 marks for entire MA course, then internal assessment
marks, end -semester examination marks and total marks shall be multiplied by fa ctor 0.8.
6.17: The rules for gracing: the existing ordinance for gracing shall continue to be used.
7. SCHEME OF COURSE S
Semester I
Course
Code Name of Course
A. Core Courses Term work
Teaching and
Extension Credits
PACJ101 Communication Theory 5060 6
PACJ102 Media Economics 5060 6
PACJ103 Reporting and Editing 5060 6
PACJ104 Media Criticism 5060 6
Total 50240 24
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Semester II
Course
Code Name of Course
A. Core Courses Term work
Teaching and
Extension Credits
PACJ20 5 Introduction to Television Stud ies 5060 6
PACJ20 6 Introduction to Film Studies 5060 6
PACJ20 7 Introduction to Media Research 5060 6
PACJ2 08 Ethics, Constitution and Media Laws 5060 6
Total 50240 5024
Semester –III
Course
Code Name of Course
A. Core Courses Term work
Teaching and
Exten sion Credits
PACJ3 09 Introduction to Media Production 5060 6
PACJ31 0 Advanced Media Research 5060 6
B. Interdisciplinary/Cross
Disciplinary Courses (I/C
courses)
PAPR101 Public Relations Theory and Practice 5060 6
PACJ31 1 New Media 5060 6
Total 50240 5024
SEMESTER –IV
A. Interdisciplinary/Cross
Disciplinary Courses (I/C
courses) Teaching and
Extension Credits
PACJ412 Media Research Analytical Skills 5060 6
PACJ 413 Media and Culture 5060 6
PACJ414 B. Dissertation 50120 5012
Total 50240 5024
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