Rising journalism star first of his family to graduate from university

Maghnus Dunne graduates from Ulster University this summer with a degree in Journalism with History.  

Having had an interest in Journalism from a young age, Maghnus knew that he wanted to progress to higher education to pursue a career in that field. After carrying out some research, he discovered that Ulster University offered a course that was right up his street, an undergraduate degree Journalism with History.  

 Speaking about why he chose Ulster University, Maghnus said, “After looking into Journalism courses offered at undergraduate level, the summary of Ulster University’s course appealed to me the most. It suited my skill set and I knew a few people in the industry who were Ulster University Alumni, so it just felt like it would be a great platform for me to launch a career from.”  

 Maghnus made the jump straight from secondary school to higher education and was the first in his family to do so. As well as navigating this change, the pandemic was at its height when he started studying.  

 Maghnus recalled, “I was the first in my family to go to university, there’s a bit of a running joke in my family that they don’t know where I got my brains from. University was a massive change from secondary school, it was definitely a bit of a culture shock. You go from six hours of teaching a day to maybe only having one, two-hour class a day and from having short pieces of homework every night, to large assignments with long deadlines. I didn’t really have any family members to go to for academic advice and guidance, so I had to work it out on my own. It did get much easier to manage over time and I managed to get onto the Dean’s list at the end of my first year. The pandemic also meant that my first year was quite strange. With much of the teaching being online there wasn’t much opportunity to socialise with others in my class but when we finally did get to go on campus it was great.”  

 Maghnus loved studying on the Coleraine campus as he explains:  

“Studying at the Coleraine campus was a great experience, it really is the heart and soul of the town. I gained practical skills such as editing video and audio, as well as developing and improving my skills in writing stories. I really enjoyed the mixture of practical and academic work during my degree. The facilities available to Journalism students on campus were amazing, for example, we got to use the broadcast and radio studio. We also learned from many lecturers that worked in the field before who really inspired me and helped to better prepare us for what it would be like to work as a journalist, rather than just reading about it from books.”  

During his final year Maghnus worked at his local newspaper, the Andersonstown News and a lecturer of his has described him as a rising star in journalism.   

 Speaking about experience he gained during this role, Maghnus said, “I’ve had multiple front pages and so many great opportunities such as working at the recent Council elections. It’s really nice to hear that I’ve been called rising star. I’m so enthusiastic about journalism and hearing that really inspires me to work hard to prove it and continue to develop along the way.”