Media Studies or Sociology?

I've applied to study Soc, but am considering switching to Media Studies. I'm fairly sure that I'd like to go into journalism in the future, and I've heard that either of these subjects can be good for getting you there. I've also heard that you don't need to study Journalism to become a journalist, so I've written that off in favour of one of these two subjects which will give me more breadth of knowledge/experience. It's also a safety net because if I find that I actually don't want to be a journalist at the end of the 3 years, I'll have something to fall back on, whereas a Journalism degree really narrows down your options.

The issue is that I don't know whether I'd like to become an investigative journalist (in which case taking Soc would be helpful) or a magazine journalist (where Media would be a good choice). And the even greater issue is that I don't know whether I'll still want to be a journalist at all! I also really enjoyed Media at A-level, whereas I didn't do A-level Soc.

If anyone has any experience with these courses please let me know what your thoughts are!

I'm fairly sure that I'd like to go into journalism in the future

Then stick with Sociology.
It will be far more use.

I haven't done any of the 3 subjects, but from what I can tell you don't need a degree in media to work in media (just like journalism). Just like journalism, you can get work in media with a degree in any subject, or with no degree at all.
You do need a degree in sociology if you want to work as a sociologist or possibly apply for the government's social research track (https://www.faststream.gov.uk/government-social-research-service/index.html). If you want to go into social research, make sure there is a lot of statistical and quantiative modules in your degree.

In terms of entry requirements, none of the 3 degrees require any specific A Level subjects, so you're free to switch between any of the choices as you wish

For the heads up, outside of the discipline of the degree of your choice, you can generally use the degree to apply for work in any role that asks for a degree in any subject (or no degree at all). This can include: teaching, law, accounting, most things in business, IT, property, design, government work, most areas in finance, publishing, fashion....
The only areas where I would err a lot include: architecture, most roles in healthcare, vetinary science, dentistry, engineering, academic research (when you don't have a degree in the subject), economics. These are areas where you need a degree via apprenticeships or university.

Thanks for the heads up! Although I know I wouldn't need a degree in media to work in media, I feel it would give me an advantage in terms of having knowledge of the industry and applying for internships post-graduating. I think it helps to have a degree, given how competitive the industry is and how many areas it encompasses.

I'm not sure I'd be fit for social research as I'm horrible at maths, and am already nervous about the quantitative work I would be doing in soc. I haven't considered being a sociologist, but have looked at jobs I could get with a soc degree (other than journalism) and the only things that interest me are HR or research. But with media, I'd be okay with any writing job in the industry if I reject journalism. So does that mean media might be the smarter choice?

I've applied to study Soc, but am considering switching to Media Studies. I'm fairly sure that I'd like to go into journalism in the future, and I've heard that either of these subjects can be good for getting you there. I've also heard that you don't need to study Journalism to become a journalist, so I've written that off in favour of one of these two subjects which will give me more breadth of knowledge/experience. It's also a safety net because if I find that I actually don't want to be a journalist at the end of the 3 years, I'll have something to fall back on, whereas a Journalism degree really narrows down your options.

The issue is that I don't know whether I'd like to become an investigative journalist (in which case taking Soc would be helpful) or a magazine journalist (where Media would be a good choice). And the even greater issue is that I don't know whether I'll still want to be a journalist at all! I also really enjoyed Media at A-level, whereas I didn't do A-level Soc.

If anyone has any experience with these courses please let me know what your thoughts are!

Hey there @le-cygne !
I currently study Media at Hallam and just from that I would say there's some skills in Journalism that are not in a Media course. You get the experience with news reporting and how to operate camera equipment. Obviously I can't speak for your prospective course, but I know some people who study just Journalism that get more experience with that side of it than I do. For example, on a journalism course they'll learn how to write in shorthand which is really helpful for investigative journalism. My friend gets the chance to visit court and write news reports on that sort of thing on a solely Journalism course whereas I don't get a chance to do that on my Media course because there's a lot of other areas to cover, it doesn't just include Journalism there's also the TV and filming part of it and the industries stuff as well.

If you want journalism as something to fall back on, that's fine but you may be at a disadvantage to other prospect candidates who have that exact degree under their belt. I thoroughly enjoy studying Media but that's because Journalism isn't what I want to do. Media will give you more of an overall breadth of knowledge, it's just that if you already have a specialist subject in mind then it's probably a good idea to go for that.

Hope this helped!
Lucy - Digital Student Ambassador SHU

I'm not too confident about the advantage, but then again I don't work in media so I can't really say.

In terms of research, the only real maths used would be the hypothesis testing and regular stats. You can pretty much learn this through a standard stats book or pick up the stats material from A Level maths. It's relatively straightforward, but then again I like maths so I'm biased.
In terms of jobs that you can get with a degree, there's usually common grounds in the sectors that you can apply for that would accept degrees in any subject or those don't require you to have a degree in the first place e.g. HR jobs normally accept people with a degree in any subject, because you don't need a degree to go into it in the first place.
With writing jobs, I think you can more or less do them with a degree in any subject. I mean, they're not jobs where you are really required to have a degree in the first place. For example, there is no rule or law where it says that you need to have any qualifications to become an author (although I strongly recommend you do have qualifications for some sort of backing). Publishing houses don't really care about your degree. I think most of the employers only really care whether you are able to write well.

I don't know whether media degrees have any stats or research modules. If they do, they are likely going to cover similar material in stats as mentioned above. I can't imagine media lecturers needing you to know maths in any other topic.

Honestly me and maths are not a good idea, given I barely scraped a pass at GCSE and hope to never see it again lol. Luckily I'm pretty sure there is no maths involved in media degrees, as it's more practical. It's interesting that you don't need a degree to go into HR, I always thought a degree in sociology or similar was necessary. In that case, I am starting to reconsider staying with soc. I originally chose it because the course content seemed interesting and it had many job opportunities. But seeing that the degree isn't necessary to pursue those jobs, it might be smarter for me to switch to media or a joint honours media and journalism degree.

I agree that writing jobs are more about building a portfolio of your work than a degree, but in terms of journalism most employers expect you to have done a course that is NCTJ-accredited, which is a necessary qualification for most journalists. A few joint honours degrees might give me this qualification, however if I go with just media I would have to do a Masters to get the NCTJ, providing I still want to be a journalist. Maybe joint honours is the way to go here, although I'm slightly nervous about this as I've heard they give less in-depth knowledge of both subjects than single honours?

Thanks Lucy! Yes I understand that a Journalism degree would give me the skills that all journalists are expected to have like shorthand, but I'm hesitant to study journalism because it's such a specific course where there aren't a lot of job opportunities outside of journalism. This is slightly terrifying to me as I'd like to know that there are still other fields I could go into if I change my mind about journalism at the end of my course e.g. soc or media would give me more breadth of knowledge/skills I could apply to other careers.

I agree that I'd be at a disadvantage compared to journalism graduates, so I am thinking of getting an NCTJ-accredited Masters degree in journalism if I find that I'd still like to become a journalist at the end of my media/soc course, ensuring I get the skills needed. Although I do favour journalism, I would be happy with other writing jobs in the media industry if I found something that interests me whilst on the course, and I did really enjoy studying the subject at A-level. I'm wondering if a Journalism with Media Studies course would be a good idea, as it would allow me to gain knowledge in journalism, whilst still keeping my options open for other media roles?