Publishing

You’ll develop key skills, knowledge and experience to give you the edge in a range of rewarding careers

• Learn from inspiring and experienced lecturers who have worked in publishing at companies including Bloomsbury and Penguin Random House and Cengage Learning
• Cover every stage of publishing including editorial, production, sales, marking, legal and financial – from acquisitions to cover design, and from book launches to metadata
• Be inspired by a range of industry visits and guest talks. In the 2025/26 academic year we visited Penguin Random House in London, Hachette in Sheffield, and Emerald in Leeds. And we had speakers visit us from Elsevier, Hachette, Galley Beggar Press and Bloomsbury, as well as hearing from authors and publicists
• Our students have gone on to work for companies including Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Oxford University Press, Bonnier, Pan Macmillan, Hachette, Bloomsbury, and Taylor & Francis
• Benefit from the opportunity to volunteer for the Derby Book Festival
• Receive expert, bespoke careers advice before and after graduation from our dedicated and experienced teaching team

This course explores all aspects of the publishing industry, including editorial and content development, design and production, sales and marketing, and business success and entrepreneurship. Throughout, you will learn how to respond to the exciting new opportunities facing the industry today and in the future.

An industry full of opportunity

The total value of the British book publishing industry is over £7 billion, the largest in the world in terms of its output per head of population. The growth of ebooks and audiobooks, the ongoing impact of social media on reading habits, and the impact of AI, are all bringing new challenges and opportunities to the industry.

The Derby MA Publishing programme is up-to-date, well balanced and exciting, with all modules including a blend of theory and practice. This tightly focused and complete MA covers industry sectors from trade fiction and non-fiction through to academic, educational and professional publishing.

New skills for a new era

Publishing companies are keen to dispel the myth that all you need for success in the industry is a love of literature and reading. New entrants are now expected to bring industry-specific professional skills along with qualities such as innovation, versatility, enterprise and problem-solving.

Our MA therefore covers vital insights not just into editorial functions but also into aspects of the business such as leadership and management, project management, metadata, marketing, intellectual property law, and finance. This programme provides a comprehensive and well-balanced training to enter a wide variety of careers in publishing and beyond.

Expertise to inspire you

Our teaching team comprises enthusiastic, dedicated academics and practitioners with extensive experience in the UK, US and Australian publishing industries, encompassing editorial, marketing, publicity and freelance work.

International Students

The British publishing industry is one of the largest and most important in the world, exporting more books than any other country, and at the forefront of many developments such as digital business models, English language publishing, niche products and globalised business. By coming from overseas to study Publishing at MA level International students will receive unparalleled insights, knowledge base and training in every aspect of this dynamic, global industry.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

You will learn through a mixture of seminars, lectures, workshops and applied study, with a focus on real world learning.

Thanks to our networks across the creative, media and cultural sectors, you will have the chance to make valuable contacts. We offer a vibrant programme of guest lectures and we host events where authors, editors and publishers speak about the realities of making a living in the field.

Programme leader Dr David Barker worked in publishing for over 20 years, split equally between London and New York. During his career, he worked at Cassell, Continuum, and Bloomsbury and commissioned non-fiction books about all aspects of pop culture.  His research interests focus on the decline in reading, and diversity and inclusion in the editorial process.

How you'll be assessed

You will learn through a mixture of seminars, lectures, workshops and applied study.

Your work will be assessed using a wide range of methods, including oral and written presentations, reports, essays and portfolios of practical work in areas such as editing, production, marketing, design and digital publishing. 

A broad choice

The MA Publishing will equip you with a broad range of skills, a critical awareness of the whole industry, a high degree of flexibility and an enterprising mindset. It will prepare you for careers with major publishing houses or with smaller, independent publishers. You could also consider becoming self-employed or setting up your own publishing company.

There are opportunities, too, to work in publishing roles within charitable organisations, government bodies and cultural organisations such as galleries and museums.

Much of the knowledge and many of the skills you will attain on this MA are highly transferable. The course is a perfect springboard for a wide range of professional careers such as magazine publishing, librarianship, bookselling, PR, communications, or illustration and web design.

Ensuring you’re ‘work-ready’

Our Careers and Employability Service will provide you with support from day one of your course to ensure that you leave Derby as a ‘work-ready’ graduate – industry aware, motivated and enterprising.

The support continues once you’ve completed your course too: you are entitled to further help and guidance from the Careers and Employment Service for up to three years after leaving the University.

If your ambition is to set up your own business in the publishing field, you could consider moving into one of our incubation units which offer reasonable rents and a range of business support services to help you establish your venture.

The entry requirement to this programme is a good honours degree (1st or 2:1) in any subject, or its international equivalent. Applications may be considered if you have a 2:2 honours degree and can demonstrate significant publishing or related industry experience or aptitude. Examples might include a period of work at an appropriate level within publishing or a related industry, or a portfolio of work or achievements in a related discipline such as for example, English, Business, Law, Graphic Design, etc.

It is important that we get to know you, your aspirations and your expectations. Therefore, depending on your qualifications and experience, you will be invited to attend an informal interview before being accepted onto the programme to discuss the course, the nature of the programme, and what will be expected of you during it. Interviews will normally take place online and will last between 30 and 45 minutes. You are also invited to attend an Open Day/Evening event on campus if you can. 

The University welcomes applications from every sector of society, and the College of Health and Humanities is a signatory to the Equality in Publishing Charter.

If English is not your first language you will need to have passed the International English Language Teaching System (IELTS) at the overall level IELTS 6.5, including a minimum score of 5.5 in each test category. The test must be taken within the last two years leading up to the course start date and must still be valid when a visa is issued. (Where appropriate the University’s International Admissions office can give further details, including information regarding approved IELTS test centres.) The English language qualification required by this programme is at a higher level than that required for other university programmes: The reason for this is that throughout the MA Publishing programme, you will have to work with the English language at an advanced level.

If you are interested in finding out more about the MA Publishing, you may contact the Programme Leader by email at d.barker@derby.ac.uk. 

Interview information

Please note fees normally increase in line with inflation and the University's strategic approach to fees, which is reviewed on an annual basis. The total fee you pay may therefore increase after one year of study.

* UK full-time fees paid within one academic year are rounded down to the nearest £50 if applicable

Additional costs and optional extras

About postgraduate awards

Please note at postgraduate level, you'll need to gain the following number of credits in total to obtain the respective awards. If you have any questions please contact us.

This means you will gain 180 credits in total to complete the full MA or MSc.

Funding your studies

Find out more about fees, postgraduate loans and support you may be entitled to.

Find out about funding your studiesFind out about funding your studies

Alumni discount for Derby graduates

We offer a discount on postgraduate course fees for all Derby alumni.

Find out about the Alumni discountFind out about the Alumni discount

Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.