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How Important Are NTCJ Accredited Courses?

I'm in London and only want to do a BA journalism degree that's in London. My top choices are City Uni of London, LCC, Kingston, Birkbeck, and Goldsmiths but none of these are NCTJ accredited. Is this a big deal? Also what's the best out of the 5?
If you want to be a journalist then an accredited course is a must (unless you’re rich enough to afford to get accredited through a postgraduate route)
Reply 2
Original post by antxgha
I'm in London and only want to do a BA journalism degree that's in London. My top choices are City Uni of London, LCC, Kingston, Birkbeck, and Goldsmiths but none of these are NCTJ accredited. Is this a big deal? Also what's the best out of the 5?

Hi! Sorry this is two months late, but if it's helpful - it depends on what area of journalism you want to go into. Traditional roles like court reporting, newspaper reporting etc, may still have a requirement for NCTJ. However, I have been a digital journalist on magazines and in lifestyle for nearly 10 years, with no formal training at all. Having a good degree in Journalism will definitely set you ahead of others who just want to do writing etc. I'd suggest looking at vacancies for jobs at your preferred outlet - I think UK newspapers like The Guardian still require NCTJ for some roles, but if you want to do anything more modern, you'll be fine without. Similarly a lot of Journalism courses cover social media, websites etc, so if that's your angle, I don't think anyone cares about NCJT, as said I didn't even have a degree when I started out and got this far! Media Law is the main component on NCTJ that they want but you should cover that in most undergrad anyway. Hope that's helpful 🙂 Btw I go to Birkbeck and have loved my time there so definitely recommend. I didn't do Journalism but did do some journalism modules and the staff are great.
Hi @antxgha,

I second BeckyAdele's response - a lot of jobs do require an NCTJ accredited degree/qualification, so it's worth looking into some job applications before you make your decision to see if the roles you would want do ask for this.

Best of luck with your decision - and if you're ever considering an NCTJ-accredited course outside of London, why not consider UoG?😉

Mara
University of Gloucestershire
Reply 4
If you want to be a journalist then an accredited course is a must (unless you’re rich enough to afford to get accredited through a postgraduate route)

So even if I do a non-NCTJ undergrad course as long as I do an NCTJ postgrad then I'll be fine?
Reply 5
Original post by BeckyAdele
Hi! Sorry this is two months late, but if it's helpful - it depends on what area of journalism you want to go into. Traditional roles like court reporting, newspaper reporting etc, may still have a requirement for NCTJ. However, I have been a digital journalist on magazines and in lifestyle for nearly 10 years, with no formal training at all. Having a good degree in Journalism will definitely set you ahead of others who just want to do writing etc. I'd suggest looking at vacancies for jobs at your preferred outlet - I think UK newspapers like The Guardian still require NCTJ for some roles, but if you want to do anything more modern, you'll be fine without. Similarly a lot of Journalism courses cover social media, websites etc, so if that's your angle, I don't think anyone cares about NCJT, as said I didn't even have a degree when I started out and got this far! Media Law is the main component on NCTJ that they want but you should cover that in most undergrad anyway. Hope that's helpful 🙂 Btw I go to Birkbeck and have loved my time there so definitely recommend. I didn't do Journalism but did do some journalism modules and the staff are great.

Thanks for the insights! I want to go into more hard news journalism so mainly politics and covering social issues. Ideally, I'd be working for a big establishment like BBC or The Guardian.

For me, the decision comes down to doing an NCTJ course instead of a non-NCTJ undergrad OR doing a non-NCTJ undergrad and then doing an NCTJ postgrad.

Also, what kind of journalism do you work in and how did you get more experience under your belt? I can't wait to start working as a journalist but sometimes it seems impossible😂
Original post by antxgha
So even if I do a non-NCTJ undergrad course as long as I do an NCTJ postgrad then I'll be fine?


Look at the costs associated with postgrad accreditation courses before you choose that route.

it’s the route that was most common 20+ years ago but it’s also extremely expensive (which is why journalists over 40 are heavily dominated by people from a wealthy and privileged background)
Reply 7
Look at the costs associated with postgrad accreditation courses before you choose that route.

it’s the route that was most common 20+ years ago but it’s also extremely expensive (which is why journalists over 40 are heavily dominated by people from a wealthy and privileged background)

Kingston does one that's slightly more expensive per year than an undergrad degree. Is it worth it?
Original post by antxgha
Kingston does one that's slightly more expensive per year than an undergrad degree. Is it worth it?


And can you afford it?
There's no tuition fee loans for postgraduate courses
Original post by antxgha
I'm in London and only want to do a BA journalism degree that's in London. My top choices are City Uni of London, LCC, Kingston, Birkbeck, and Goldsmiths but none of these are NCTJ accredited. Is this a big deal? Also what's the best out of the 5?

Hi @antxgha

It's great that Kingston is one of your top choices! Although the undergraduate course is not NCTJ accredited the postgraduate master degree is, which I think may be the case with most courses considering none of those courses in London are NCTJ accredited. Also you can apply for a loan for a postgraduate master degree it just doesn't get paid directly to the university so you choose how you spend it so this may be something to look into and consider. I don't personally study Journalism here at Kingston but I do know that the third year students are in charge of the university newspaper and it's website called The River, which is a great opportunity to gain experience whilst studying.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions you may have :smile:
-Grace (Kingston Rep)
The postgraduate loan is £12,167 IN TOTAL and is only available for Masters courses (not PGDips).

The tuition fee for the MA in Journalism at Kingston is £11,900

That leaves £267 to cover living costs

@Kingston Reps it’s misleading to imply that the masters is affordable because there is a loan.

An accredited undergraduate degree would have separate tuition fee and maintenance loans, would involve a year less studying, and would be a much more affordable option.
Reply 11
The postgraduate loan is £12,167 IN TOTAL and is only available for Masters courses (not PGDips).

The tuition fee for the MA in Journalism at Kingston is £11,900

That leaves £267 to cover living costs

@Kingston Reps it’s misleading to imply that the masters is affordable because there is a loan.

An accredited undergraduate degree would have separate tuition fee and maintenance loans, would involve a year less studying, and would be a much more affordable option.

To be fair though, I'll be living at home and commuting so the £12,167 is enough for me. The extra 267 can be put towards travel costs. Although an NCTJ undergrad degree in London would've been nice and way easier + cheaper.

I might just end up doing the postgrad at Kingston after I graduate because I value the NCTJ but I don't wanna miss out on the university experience.
Original post by antxgha
To be fair though, I'll be living at home and commuting so the £12,167 is enough for me. The extra 267 can be put towards travel costs. Although an NCTJ undergrad degree in London would've been nice and way easier + cheaper.

I might just end up doing the postgrad at Kingston after I graduate because I value the NCTJ but I don't wanna miss out on the university experience.


Have you looked into the feasibility of commuting to Kent, Brighton or Oxford Brookes for undergrad? Contact time/scheduled study hours for 1st year at kent are around 10-15 hours a week

The postgrad loan will increase your repayments for student loans from 9% of income above the threshold to 15% - plus you lose a whole year of earning to additional studies....a minimum wage job for a year on a 35 hour week would earn you nearly £21k (£18k after tax and NI) - so that extra year of studying costs you £30k plus living costs (and then the additional pain in higher student loan repayments).
(edited 9 months ago)

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