Strand Campus
Strand Campus sits along the Thames at London's cultural heart. Alongside world-class teaching spaces, students enjoy access to the pedestrianised Strand Quad, with Somerset House and iconic landmarks just steps away.
Overview
Understanding the digital economy through a human lens
The MSc Digital Economy at King’s College London examines how digital technologies are reshaping economic life. Rather than approaching the digital economy solely through the lens of business, management, or traditional economics, the programme draws on the strengths of interdisciplinary Digital Humanities approaches to critically examine the cultural, political, and economic implications of technology. Students thereby gain a richer understanding of the human consequences of digital transformation and the complex forces driving technological change.
Students investigate the digital economy at multiple scales, from the ways technologies shape everyday experiences and organisational practices to their impact on labour markets, economic power, global capitalism, and emerging forms of inequality. The programme’s interdisciplinary approach combines perspectives from anthropology, sociology, political economy, media studies, science and technology studies, and related disciplines. Students develop the analytical skills needed to understand complex digital systems, evaluate emerging technologies, and engage with some of the most pressing debates shaping contemporary society.
Key benefits
- Understand how digital technologies influence individuals, organisations, markets, and societies.
- Analyse contemporary developments such as platform economies, artificial intelligence, datafication, and digital labour.
- Evaluate the social, economic, political, and ethical implications of technological change.
- Examine the role of power, governance, and inequality in digital systems.
- Explore innovation, entrepreneurship, and emerging business models in digital environments.
- Evaluate policy and regulatory responses to technological transformation.
- Apply interdisciplinary frameworks to complex challenges within the digital economy.
- Develop advanced research, analytical, and critical thinking skills.
- Conduct independent research on a specialist topic within the digital economy.
Course essentials
The programme is anchored by two core modules that provide complementary perspectives on the digital economy, moving from everyday experiences of technology to the wider structures that shape digital capitalism. This allows students to bridge local and systemic dynamics, revealing how seemingly small technological changes connect with broader structures of power, inequality and economic organisation.
Micro Perspectives in the Digital Economy focuses on how people, communities, and organisations experience and shape technological change. Macro Perspectives in the Digital Economy broadens the analysis to examine the digital economy as a global system.
Students can tailor the programme through a range of optional modules reflecting different dimensions of the global digital economy. Topics include the societal implications and governance of artificial intelligence; digital industries and internet cultures; digital entrepreneurship and innovation; digital assets; data journalism; and digital marketing. These options enable students to develop expertise in specialist areas that align with their academic interests and career ambitions.
The programme concludes with an independent research dissertation, allowing students to investigate a topic of their choice in depth. Working closely with an academic supervisor, students design and conduct original research that draws on the theories, concepts, and methods developed throughout the degree. The dissertation provides an opportunity to develop specialist expertise in an area of personal interest while advancing their research and analytical skills further. It serves as both the culmination of the programme and a strong foundation for future professional or academic pathways.
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