Program Overview

The world we live in is dominated by media in many forms. From entertainment and culture, through news and social media, to politics and promotion: the media shapes our understanding of what we know and what we consume. Whether you want to work in one of these areas, to research their impact or simply to understand more about our relationship with media, this programme provides a thorough introduction with plenty of opportunities to develop specialist skills.

During your first year, you will develop your foundational understanding and academic skills through core modules in media, communication and language.

As your degree progresses, you will have the opportunity to tailor your studies through a wide range of optional modules in topics such as political communication, screen media, virtual worlds, digital cultures, media writing, language and public relations. These options will allow you to pursue your own interests and focus on particular media and communication forms, analysing how they are organised as text, how they represent the world to us and ourselves to the world (from global power politics to constructions of individual identity), and how the media industries are organised to produce and profit from them.

In your second and final years, a suite of dedicated modules will teach you to acquire strong research skills, which you’ll be given the opportunity to put into practice through independent or collaborative research. Our final year module ‘Viral Video’ enables students to develop practical skills in videomaking. Check out their efforts on our dedicated YouTube page, or search ‘Media/Pool’.

All of our single honours programmes share a common first year consisting of four compulsory modules, giving you the flexibility to change to another one of our programmes at the end of your first year.

Year in industry

• This programme is available with an optional year in industry. If you choose this option, year three is spent on a paid placement within an organisation in industry, broadly defined. You will be supported by the School of the Arts and the Department throughout, and your reflexive written account of the experience will contribute towards your final degree result. If you wish to study this programme with a year in industry, please put the option code ‘YI’ in the ‘further choices’ section of your UCAS application form.

What you'll learn

• Practical skills, including media writing, blogging, analysis of social media data, and video-making
• Research skills
• Commercial and cultural understanding
• Critical analysis
• Problem solving
• The ability to construct arguments and convey ideas effectively
• Effective communication and presentation skills