MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. Membership is open to all who teach and research these subjects in HE institutions, via either institutional or individual membership; international members are also welcome. The field includes media and cultural studies; film, TV and screen studies; digital media and culture; media production, journalism, radio, advertising, PR, creative writing, and publishing.

MeCCSA is recognised by, and works with, government departments and other agencies. The association has represented its subject areas and made recommendations to bodies such as HE funding agencies and the Quality Assurance Agency. It is an unincorporated association, whose constitution includes the following purposes:

• Supporting, developing, representing and promoting the field in Higher Education

• Providing a professional forum for members to exchange information and experience

• Contributing to policy debates and consultations

• Raising and improving public understanding of the field

• Maintaining and improving the quality of provision in teaching and learning in the field

• Advising research and funding bodies, and other relevant national and international bodies, including professional practice and training associations

• Promoting the interests of students

• Fostering research in the field

• Advising on professional qualifications in the field

• Promoting policies which encourage diversity and equal opportunities in the field

Each year MeCCSA holds a conference which attracts around 200 delegates internationally, and which includes keynote speakers, academic papers, presentations around media and teaching practice, networking opportunities, and the Annual General Meeting at which the Executive is elected by the membership. Throughout the year other events are held or supported by MeCCSA, and its member networks organise a variety of events such as conferences, symposia and webinars.

MeCCSA members organise activities through 11 networks: Climate Change; Disability Studies; Local and Community Media; Policy; Postgraduate; Practice; Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonial; Radio Studies; Social Movements; Sound Studies; and the Women’s Network. 

History

MeCCSA’s roots lie in the Standing Conference on Cultural, Communications and Media Studies in Higher Education (SCCCMSHE), which came into being in 1983. That organisation merged with the Cultural Studies Association to become MeCCSA in 1998/9.  Subsequently the new organisation merged with the Association of Media Practice Educators, as by 2005 it was recognised that a unified voice across the field would be beneficial, and collaborative working would be much enhanced by closer ties.  Both organisations held their first joint annual conference in 2005. A merger proposal was passed by both AGMs in 2006.