The Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) is the Southern African region's premier graduate research unit in the field, offering Honours, Masters and Doctoral study. The Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) is the Southern African region's premier graduate research and educational unit in media studies. The staff, research and publications of CCMS are internationally renowned and read, and its leading staff members have been visiting professors in a variety of universities allover the world. CCMS was established after the Soweto uprising of 1976, in order to develop strategies of cultural resistance through media and culture. The aim of CCMS was to teach critical media and cultural studies and to actively contribute to political change from inside the anti-apartheid coalition then known as the Mass Democratic Movement. Staff and students set out to develop theories and strategies to enable grassroots empowerment and local media and cultural development projects. CCMS offers courses of an interdisciplinary nature, calling on contributions for the faculties of Humanities, Social Science, Science, Architecture and Education. Graduates find employment in a wide range of professions including:
Non-government or community-based organisations
University-based education, research and consultancy
Film industry
Television and radio broadcasting
Marketing and market research
Journalism
Community development
With the advent of democratic political processes in South Africa, CCMS has shifted its emphasis to policy research and development support for communication projects, in the context of reconstruction and policy studies. This requires working as critical consultants for the state and parastatal corporations, commissions and task groups, as well as the progressive business sector. CCMS also engages in major research projects, development projects, conferences and media production.
