A POSTGRADUATE course in- tended to help students to "think and reflect theologically on the role of the media in a global society" has been validated, and will take students from September.

The MA in Theology, Media, and Communication has been developed by the University of Chester and the Church of England (News, 2 March 2012). It will be officially launched at an open day at the University of Chester next Thursday, at which the Church Times columnist Paul Vallely will speak on the topic: "Religion and the Media: Collaboration or Conflict?"

Students can study for the MA full-time over one year, or part-time over three years, either at Chester or via distance learning. The Univer- sity of Chester website says that it is "particularly suited to those already working in some aspect of PR or communications who wish to understand the relationship between religion and contemporary media".

The director of communications for Leicester diocese, Liz Hudson, was seconded part-time to help develop the course. Speaking last month, she said that, in a digital age, church communications needed to be more professional than ever. It was also important for communications professionals to have a theo-logical understanding of what they do, she said, and for communications to be seen as "mission".

www.chester.ac.uk/postgraduate/theology-media-and-communication