BA in Media and Communication
Birmingham City University
Key Information
Campus location
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
3 - 4 years
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
GBP 9,250 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Sep 2024
* UK students: £9,250 per year | international students: £13,980 per year
Scholarships
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Introduction
Get practical, professional preparation for a career in media with our BA (Hons) Media and Communication degree course.
What's covered in this course?
This course is based in Birmingham City University's £62 million Parkside facility - one of the biggest university media centres in the UK.
Learn a wide array of the skills you’ll need for a rewarding career in the media on one of the UK’s longest-running media degree courses. Our BA (Hons) Media and Communication course mirrors the workflow of the industry, offering practical, professional preparation for a rewarding career.
Helped by strong links with many influential media organisations, the course offers an industry-relevant blend of production, theory and professional studies.
Teaching takes place in environments where you gain most, such as radio, TV and photography studios, editing suites, and computer suites, as well as lecture theatres, seminar rooms, social learning spaces and online.
You will use blogs and employ social media channels along with other interactive media to support your work and self-development to become a thinking media worker.
Professional placement year
This course offers a professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, between the second and third years of your degree and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.
The University will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. If you do not find a suitable placement, you will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.
Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year (£1,850 for UK students).
Why choose us?
- Top 15 for Communication and Media Studies graduate prospects (Complete University Guide 2023)
- Specialised, sophisticated equipment for every area in our new £62 million home in the city centre, including six radio studios, four TV studios, the largest free-standing green screen in Europe, edit suites, music production studios and photography studios (including a half and a full infinity cove)
- Research-informed teaching, enables you to critically engage with contemporary debates and innovations in theory/practice
- Huge range of guest speaker masterclasses. Past talks have included BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, Jo Geary, UB40’s Brian Travers, Vogue fashion photographer Eliot Siegel and BSkyB’s Head of Production Services, Dave Rooke
- The course encourages you to take creative risks and be a ‘thinking’ media worker, and you will also have the opportunity to undertake two (or more) industry placements
Curriculum
Year one
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):
- Researching the Media and Communication
- Introduction to Media Contexts and Practice 1
- Introduction to Media Contexts and Practice 2
- Professional and Academic Development
- Collaborative Project
Year two
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 60 credits):
- Research 1
- Advanced Media Contexts and Practice
- Professional and Academic Development
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete one of the following core optional modules (totalling 20 credits):
- Collaborative Practice 2
- Live Project
- Work Placement
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of optional modules.
Optional modules 1
- Gender, Sexuality and the Body
- Alternative Lifestyles (Pleasure, Leisure and Taboo)
- Comedy in the Media and Popular Culture
- Perspectives on Community and Alternative Media
- Race, Ethnicity and the Media
- Media and Materiality
- Fandoms and Subcultures
- Communities of Practice: Culture, Heritage and Space
- Film Cultures
- Media Censorship and Regulation
- Celebrity Culture
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of optional modules.
Optional modules 2
- Advanced Visual Communication
- Music Industry Promotional Practices
- Commercial Production for Radio
- Radio Documentary
- Fashion Photography
- Photojournalism
- Bi-Media Drama
- Television Studio
- Campaigning and Investigative journalism
- Music Media And Digitalisation
- Digital Content Distribution
- Creating Compelling Content
- Digital Storytelling
Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
Year three
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 100 credits):
- Professional Media Contexts And Practice
- Professional and Academic Development
- Major Project
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of optional modules.
- Queer Studies and Popular Dissidence
- Sex Texts And Activism
- Science Fiction And Fantasy
- Understanding Social Media Practices Cultures And Debates
- DIY Music Cultures
- Media and Music Heritage and Archives
- Affect Emotion And The Media
- Promotional Culture
- Transnational Radio Cultures
- Cinema And Psychoanalysis
- Technology And Transmedia Storytelling
- Creativity In The Media
- Media Activism
- Media Crime And Deviance
- Quality Global Television
- Digital Public Sphere
Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
Career Opportunities
Enhancing your employability skills
Our track record for graduate employment is excellent, with the majority of graduates going into a media-related role. Each course opens up specific employability avenues related to the production route chosen. A high number of graduates have gone into producer/director roles, journalism, public relations, web development, freelance, and setting up their own businesses.
Placements
The School strongly believes in the practical application of learning and is fortunate to have very strong links with employers and the media industry. Students on placements have worked with a wide range of organisations including the BBC, Maverick Television and Endemol.