UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025: Download PDF Now!

The UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025 is designed to provide comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the field to aspiring candidates. As an integral part of the UGC NET Syllabus, it covers a wide range of topics, including media theories, communication research, journalism ethics, advertising, public relations, and media management. Moreover, candidates will delve into the intricacies of media law, development communication, digital media, and emerging trends in the industry. The UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025 for Mass Communication and Journalism aims to equip candidates with the necessary skills and expertise to excel in the dynamic and ever-evolving media landscape.

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UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus Highlights

Before delving into the details of UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus, let us quickly go through the paper pattern and key points about the exam below:

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UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

The UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025 provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to studying the environment. Below are the units of UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025:

• Introduction to Journalism and Mass Communication
• Communication for Development and Social Change
• Reporting and Editing
• Advertising and Marketing Communication
• Public Relations and Corporate Communication
• Media Laws and Ethics
• Media Management and Production
• ICT and Media
• Film and Visual Communication
• Communication Research

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Now, let us go through unit-wise UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism syllabus topics in detail below:

Unit 1: Introduction to Journalism and Mass Communication

• Concept of Journalism and mass communication, mass communication in India.
• History, growth and development of print and electronic media. Major landmarks in print and electronic media in Indian languages. Media’s role in formulation of states of India.
• Media criticism and media literacy, Press Council and Press Commissions of India, status of journalism and media education in India. Media policies of the Government of India since Independence.
• Models and theories of mass communication, normative theories, administrative and critical traditions in communication, media and journalism studies, communication and theories of socio-cultural, educational and agricultural change. Technological determinism, critique of Marshall McLuhan’s views on media and communication and Marxist approaches. Information and knowledge societies.
• Indian traditions and approaches to communication from the Vedic era to the 21st century. Western and Eastern philosophical, ethical and aesthetic perceptions of communication - Aristotle and Plato, Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions.
• Media and culture - framework for understanding culture in a globalised world. Globalisation with respect to politico-economic & socio-cultural developments in India.

Above are the topics of Unit 1 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 2: Communication for Development and Social Change

• Concept and definition of development communication, role of media and journalism in society, characteristics of Indian society – demographic and sociological impact of communication, media and journalism. Media and specific audiences.
• Development and social change. Issues and post-colonial conceptions.
• Deconstruction of the dominant paradigm of communication and development. Responses and critique of dominant models.
• Corporatisation of development - Corporate Social Responsibility, non-state actors in development, mass campaigns by NGOs, Government of India, international agencies and corporates. Paradigms and discourse of development communication.
• Emergence of global civil societies, public sphere, global communication system - nation state-universal, national communication policies.
• Leading influencers of social reform in India - Raja Rammohan Roy, Pandit Madanmohan Malviya, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Mahatma Gandhi, Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Deendayal Upadhyay, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia etc.

Above are the topics covered in Unit 2 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 3: Reporting and Editing

• News-concepts, determinants (values), structure and perspectives. Reporting for print, radio, television and digital media. Types of reporting. National and international news agencies and feature syndicates, functions and role.
• Writing for print, electronic and digital news media. Translation and transcreation.
• Editing and presentation techniques for print, television and digital media.
• Journalism as profession, reportage of contemporary issues, ethics of reporting.
• Critique of western news values, effect of new technology on global communication flows.
• Niche Reporting.

Above are the topics in Unit 3 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 4: Advertising and Marketing Communication

• Definition, concept, functions, types, evolution of advertising, standards and ethics in advertising. Theories and models of communication in advertising.
• Brand management.
• Advertising management - agency-role, structure and function, client-agency relationship, media planning and budgeting.
• Advertising and creativity, language and translation.
• Advertising campaign and marketing.
• Advertising and marketing research.

Above are the topics covered in Unit 4 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 5: Public Relations and Corporate Communication

• Public Relations and Corporate Communication - definition, concept and scope.
• Structure of PR in State, Public, Private and non-government sectors.
• Tools and techniques of PR and Corporate Communication.
• Crisis communication and crisis communication management.
• Ethics of Public Relations.
• International Public Relations, communication audit.

Above are the topics in Unit 5 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 6: Media Laws and Ethics

• Concept of law and ethics in India and rest of the world.
• The Constitution of India, historical evolution, relevance.
• Concept of freedom of speech and expression in Indian Constitution.
• Defamation, Libel, Slander-IPC 499-502, Sedition IPC 124(A), Contempt of Courts Act 1971, Official Secrets Act 1923, Press and Registration of Books Act 1867, Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1955, Wage Boards, Law of Obscenity (Section 292-294 of IPC); the Miller test, the Hicklin test, Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986, Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Parliamentary Privileges. Famous cases involving journalists and news media organisations.
• Right to Information Act 2005, Copyright Act 1957, Intellectual Property Rights, Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act 1995, Information Technology Act (relevant) 2000 and cyber laws, Cinematograph Act 1952, Film Censorship, Press Council Act as amended from time to time, IPR, ASCI, Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, Various regulatory bodies for print, TV, Advertising, PR, and Internet.
• Rules, regulations and guidelines for the media as recommended by Press Council of India, Information and Broadcasting ministry and other professional organisations, adversarial role of the media, human rights and media.

Above are the topics of Unit 6 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 7: Media Management and Production

• Definition, concept of media management. Grammar of electronic media.
• Communication design theories and practice.
• Media production techniques – print and electronic.
• Digital media production techniques.
• Economics and commerce of mass media in India.
• Principles and management in media industry post liberalisation.

Above are the topics of Unit 7 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 8: ICT and Media

• ICT and media - definition, characteristics and role. Effect of computer mediated communication. Impact of ICT on mass media. Digitisation.
• Social networking.
• Economics and commerce of web enabled media.
• Mobile adaption and new generation telephony by media, ethics and new media.
• ICT in education and development in India, online media and e-governance.
• Animation - concepts and techniques.

Above are the topics in Unit 8 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 9: Film and Visual Communication

• Film and television theory.
• Film and identity in Indian film studies, leading film directors of India before and after Independence. Indian cinema in the 21st century.
• Approaches to analysis of Indian television.
• Visual Communication. Visual analysis.
• Basics of film language and aesthetics, the dominant film paradigm, evolution of Indian cinema-commercial and ‘non-commercial’ genres, the Hindi film song, Indian aesthetics and poetics (the theory of Rasa and Dhvani).
• National cinema movements: Soviet Montage cinema, German Expressionistic cinema, Italian Neo-Realistic cinema, French New Wave cinema, British New Wave cinema, Indian New Wave cinema, Period cinema. Cinema in the new millennium.

Above are the topics covered in Unit 9 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Unit 10: Communication Research

• Definition, concept, constructs and approaches to communication research process.
• Research Designs - types, structure, components, classical, experimental and quasi experimental, variables and hypotheses; types and methods of research; basic, applied, descriptive, analytical, historical, case study, longitudinal studies.
• Research in journalism, Public Relations, advertising, cinema, animation and graphics, television, Internet, social media practices, magazines, children’s media. Communication, journalism and media research in India.
• Levels of measurement: sampling-probability and non-probability, tests of validity and reliability, scaling techniques. Methods and tools of data collection-interviews, surveys, case studies, obtrusive and non-obtrusive techniques, ethnography, schedule, questionnaire, dairy, and internet based tools, media specific methods such as exit polls, opinion polls, telephone, SMS surveys and voting with regard to GEC (general entertainment content).
• Data analysis, testing, interpretation, application of statistical tests-parametric and non- parametric, tests of variance-univariate, bivariate and multivariate, tests of significance, computer mediated research.
• Ethical considerations in communication, media and journalism research, writing research reports, plagiarism.

Above are the topics in Unit 10 for UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025

Also Read: UGC NET Paper 2 Syllabus

UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus - Important Topics 

Mass Communication and Journalism are vital fields that play a significant role in shaping public opinion and disseminating information. If you're preparing for the UGC NET exam in Mass Communication and Journalism, it's crucial to be well-versed with the key topics covered in the UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism syllabus 2025. Here are the important topics you should focus on:

• Theories of Mass Communication
• Media Laws and Ethics
• Print Media: History and Evolution
• Electronic Media: Radio and Television
• Advertising and Public Relations
• Communication Research and Methods
• Journalism Ethics and Standards
• Role of Social Media in Mass Communication
• Media Effects and Influence
• Media Management and Industry Trends

Also Read: UGC NET Important Topics

UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Exam Pattern 2025

Have a look at the UGC NET Exam Pattern for the UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus 2025. The mark distribution and the total number of questions for both papers are displayed in the table below.

Note:

• Correct Answer: 2 marks
• No Answer: 0 mark
• Incorrect Answer: 0 mark

Best Books to Prepare UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabus

The books are an essential part of the preparation, as they enhance the performance of the candidates in all ways. The best UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalisms books will give the candidates the insights about all the necessary concepts related to the subject and thus reinforce their self-confidence. Some of the UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalisms books’ will also help the candidates for practicing the model questions that are designed as per the latest UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalisms syllabus.