Programme Overview

This is the second year of HSE’s 'International News Production' Programme, the first English-taught Master's programme to be offered by the Faculty of Media, Communications, and Design (FMCD). With more than 4,500 students, FMCD is HSE's largest department. Moreover, the university itself is internationally recognized for its innovative approach to teaching, as well as its commitment to inclusivity, open-mindedness, and liberal values.  

The Master's Programme 'International News Production' offers a unique curriculum that blends theoretical study with on-the-ground experience. Courses are taught by leading scholars of the field and supplemented by firsthand accounts from international award-winning journalists, many of whom work for RT News, which has gained international noteriety for its unconventional, non-mainstream approach to news. 

The duration of the programme is 2 academic years.

The first year includes courses—often taught with an unorthodox approach—that provide an in-depth understanding of media theory and history; media economics and its legal aspects; the use of “new media”; and non-traditional methods of creating and delivering high quality content to audiences. These courses will be taught on HSE’s Moscow campus. Starting from September, 2021, students will be able to try online courses on hot media subjects.

The second year focuses on practical experience. Students will be able to spend part of this time working in their own countries (if they so choose), applying their newly acquired skills and knowledge to real life media outlets. Meanwhile, they will remain in close contact with their academic advisors as they prepare their final Master’s thesis or project.

Here’s a list of the top courses designed by the international teaching staff of the program:

• Introduction to Alternative media. The first-ever course that explains the essence of alternative media and its rivalry with the mainstream establishment;
• Writing for new media. The course is offered by the leading specialists from RT and Sputnik News Agency who won numerous international news awards;
• Video innovations. A practical course on how to shoot on new types of cameras, including “video 360”;
• Reporting in extreme situations. The course is taught by international war correspondents from Russia and other counrties.   

In addition, the programme offers a variety of optional courses that can be taken either in the classroom or online, e.g.

• Audience Analysis; 
• Licensing and Compliance; 
• Fact Checking in a Multimedia Environment; 
• Data Journalism, etc.

The 'International News Production' online degree is supported by the HSE media centre with all modern news production technology which lets us to record high-quality videos and presentations.

The programme will also encourage international students to set up their own teams to carry out various 'cross-national' media projects.

All courses will be taught entirely in English, meaning a command of Russian is not required. In terms of navigating the city outside of the classroom, non-Russian speakers usually find it manageable. Moscow is a vibrant city with a large and diverse expat population of 200 000, many of whom have limited or zero knowledge of Russian. English is widely spoken by members of the HSE community as well as areas in the city center. For those wishing to learn Russian, HSE offers assistance in organizing further language study.

Overall, the programme offers foreign students a unique and valuable opportunity to enhance their professional skills and qualifications while experiencing Russian culture, cuisine, and everyday life firsthand in one of the world’s most exciting cities.

Please note that the programme aims to create a diverse, truly international community. Therefore, the number of students representing each country in the programme will be intentionally limited, with applications evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Alexey Nikolov, Creative Head of the Programme

With the flood of information brought on by 'Web 2.0',  the task of differentiating real news from 'fake news' is becoming more challenging by the day. To make matters more complicated, in this 'post-truth' world, the very people who present themselves as the champions of honest, objective journalism are often the very ones who perpetuate 'fake news'. With this course, we hope to not only give you a set of ready-made tools to bring your news production skills up-to-date, but also to teach you critical and independent thinking skills that will help you navigate your way through an ocean of information surrounding you on all sides.

Oleg Dmitriev, Academic Head of the Programme

I am delighted to be a part of a programme that operates according to the principle 'learning by doing'. With the help of professors and international media gurus, students will have the unique opportunity to hone their skills through on-the-ground training within international newsrooms. I am looking forward to this spectacular 'news journey' we will make together.