Media and Communication

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https://www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/media-and-communication-ba-hons-2027-28

Media and Communication - BA (Hons) - 2027/28 Entry | Birmingham City University

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Undergraduate › Media and Communication - BA (Hons)

Work by - Jessica Hammond, Media And Communication

Work by - Chloe Waterhouse, Media And Communication

Media and Communication - BA (Hons)

Currently viewing course to start in 2027/28 Entry.

How media is made, who makes it, how it is consumed, and whose interests it serves are key questions you will explore in Media and Communication. These questions have significant implications for which stories and voices are prioritised and which are overlooked in the world you live in....

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Undergraduate

Study mode

Full Time

BA (Hons)

Start date

September 2027

View course fees

Media and Journalism

Location

City Centre

This course is:

Available with Professional Placement year

Open to International Students

Open Day Book now

Overview

The Student Experience | Media Production and Communication

View video transcript

[00:00:07] Speaker 1 It's a really exciting time to study Media in Birmingham. Firstly, the BBC is coming to Birmingham in 2026 and here we have a multi-million pound campus right in the heart of this city. As a media student, you'll have access to all of these amazing facilities and your tutors will be able to teach you how to use them in line with industry best practices.

[00:00:31] Speaker 2 My favourite facility personally is Hires and Loans because I can just hire equipment, whatever camera I need, whatever lights I need. Literally everything that relates to media is there.

[00:00:43] Speaker 3 We have four professional studios campus. Spaces like these normally cost thousands of pounds a day to rent. So it's perfect that we have them right on our doorstep.

[00:00:52] Speaker 1 The campus is located right in the heart of Birmingham's Creative Quarter, which means that there are lots of opportunities for students to take up work in creative sectors after graduation.

[00:01:04] Speaker 3 You should definitely study Media because it offers you so much new opportunities to learn new skills. It's been perfect to have lecturers with industry experience as they give us the confidence and the knowledge we need to go into our careers. BCU gave me so much confidence, which I didn't have before.

[00:01:22] Speaker 2 I was a presenter. I also worked as a camera operator just to feel how it feels to be in that specific role. And what kind of responsibilities do you have on you.

[00:01:34] Speaker 1 Studying media at BCU is a really exciting prospect because you will be joining a really diverse and creative community with a support network of staff who are totally committed to ensuring that your learning needs are met at university.

How media is made, who makes it, how it is consumed, and whose interests it serves are key questions you will explore in Media and Communication. These questions have significant implications for which stories and voices are prioritised and which are overlooked in the world you live in.

In a media landscape that’s constantly evolving, and where media is accessible everywhere, these questions become even more important for those wanting to understand the media and those aiming to work in it. The transferable, critical, and technical skills you’ll gain during the course will prepare you for postgraduate study, work in the media industry, and many other sectors.

What's covered in this course?

You’ll be given the space and freedom to explore and develop your own research and professional interests, allowing you to build confidence and establish a clear focus for your next steps. You’ll learn how the media industries construct and depict stories and the impact this has on our understanding of media production practices, representation, identity, and culture. You will understand how audiences engage with these stories, how they interpret them, and why they do so.

Alongside these critical skills, you will also develop technical skills across a broad range of media forms, including television, radio, photography, and digital. You won’t learn these skills in isolation; instead, you’ll be encouraged to combine research and production skills, using your own media content creation to explore these issues creatively. Through your work, you’ll address current societal issues, emergent media forms and platforms, and critically consider the history, present, and future of the media industry.

This course will equip you to explore and challenge intersections within the media, to ask and answer questions about why the media is the way it is, and to have the confidence and ambition to experiment with media forms. You’ll be empowered to create innovative and responsible media texts that speak to diverse audiences.

Professional Placement year

This course offers an optional professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, following successful completion of your second year, 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.

If you choose to pursue a placement year, you will need to find a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will be able to draw on the University’s extensive network of local, regional, and national employers, and the support of our Careers teams. If you are able to secure a placement, you can request to be transferred to the 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.

Why Choose Us?

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, enabling you to critically engage with contemporary debates and innovations in theory/practice to give you the cutting edge in the media industry

Huge range of guest speaker masterclasses. Past talks from industry professionals have included BBC Midlands Today presenter Amy Cole, BBC Creative Producer Hattie Buxton, and Vogue fashion photographer Eliot Siegel. We have also enjoyed guest talks from researchers who are experts in their fields.

The course encourages you to take creative risks and be a ‘thinking’ media worker, and you will also have the opportunity to undertake industry placements.

£500,000+ facilities

We have invested over £500,000 in new industry-standard equipment for our film, photography and media courses - giving you real hands-on experience and the tools to stand out in a competitive creative sector.

Tour our facilities

Similar Courses

Media and Communication with a Foundation Year - BA (Hons)

Journalism - BA (Hons)

Media Production - BA (Hons)

Music Business - BA (Hons)

Open Day

Join us for our next Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students,

explore our campus and tour accommodation.

Next Open Day: 21 November

an Open Day

Course in Depth

First Year

Second Year

Professional Placement Year (optional)

Final Year

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):

Popular Culture 20 credits

This module will enable you to transition into studying at university, to become familiar with Birmingham as a city and to form connections with and participate in your new learning community. In workshops you will draw upon your own interests to understand popular culture through discussion, field trips and collective creative activities. You will work together to define what makes culture ‘popular’, discuss the value of the objects of popular culture and understand the relationship between popular culture and the media.

Understanding Texts, Industries and Audiences 20 credits

This Level 4 module is designed to introduce you to key concepts and approaches to understanding media texts, industries and audiences. Production, distribution and reception/consumption is at the core of the creative, media and interrelated industries. Through a combination of lectures and workshops you will learn about the relationship between texts, the industries that create and distribute them, and the audiences and consumers that interact with them. You will also consider how these relationships are linked to changes in wider creative and cultural contexts, whilst exploring what implications these relationships have on your own engagement as a consumer, producer and aspiring professional.

Investigating Texts, Industries and Audiences 20 credits

Building on the Semester 1 module Understanding Media Texts, Industries and Audiences, this module will introduce you to key approaches and methods to researching and analysing media texts, industries and audiences. Through a combination of lectures and workshops you will develop the knowledge and methods required to investigate an aspect of media texts, industries or audiences of your choosing. You will learn how to analyse research data through a combination of analytical approaches and draw conclusions from your evidence which you will express in an appropriate format.

Image and Sound 20 credits

Creating Media Content 20 credits

This Level 4 module offers you the opportunity to begin to develop a range of practical skills relating to the creation of music-based media content. This module will consist of practical skills-based workshops with an approach is practice-led, with theoretical knowledge applied.

Community and Industry Collaboration 20 credits

In this module you will work collaboratively with other students on a real-world project that is related to your production area and that is connected to a specific community. The module will explore a range of methods for group working, supporting you and your team to collaborate effectively to produce a media artefact (or series of artefacts) and to present the results to a general audience. You will identify a community who would benefit from your project – this benefit might be felt as audiences for your artefact, or as contributors or co-creators. Participation, with your fellow students and with an identified community, are at the heart of the module. The module will enhance your employability through ensuring you respond to the challenge of collaboration in a professional manner, respecting both your peers and those external to the University that you may be working with.

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 60 credits):

Cultural Theory 20 credits

In this module you will be introduced to some of the key cultural theories that are relevant to studying the media in contemporary times. Starting by defining culture, the module will explore how cultures operate through rituals, routines, languages, behaviours and beliefs – and the media. By considering the wider societal impact of different cultural theories from capitalism to colonialism you will learn to analyse media texts through a theoretical lens. This module will therefore enable you to understand the broader frameworks in which media operate, consider how media are cultural objects, and the meanings that they carry.

Creative Industries 20 credits

This module takes a cultural studies approach to understanding the media and creative industries, as well as enabling you to explore what creativity may mean in the media and to your own practice. Some of the themes covered by the module are alternative and marginal economies, cultural entrepreneurship, cultural policy and media regulation, media making and production practice, and equality and diversity in the media, creative and cultural industries. In your sessions, we will be exploring different themes and contexts that directly impact the media/creative industries, your role(s) within them and how these affect you as an individual going into different areas of the 'media and creative industries'.

Identity and the Media 20 credits

The module draws upon your learning in Cultural Theory, enabling you to further specialise in applying range of conceptual themes and frameworks to your own interests and creative practice. The module offers a dynamic, critical, and intersectional exploration of identity through sites of popular consumption, lived experience and personal subjectivities, creative practice, and protest. Importantly, you will consider the role of ethics and your own positionality when engaging with topics, attitudes, and beliefs that you may or may not agree with. Themes in the module consider a range of contexts and circumstances enabling you to navigate and consider the diversity of voice, histories, visibilities and absences, and stories (personal, political, etc.) that shape how we encounter identity, how it is mediated and why considering identity matters to everyone. Based on your own interests and creative practice, the assessment is a research portfolio comprising a research report and a creative artefact inspired by what you have found in your research report.

In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of CORE Faculty modules.

Work Placement 20 credits

The purpose of this module is to enable you to develop professional attributes and subject skills through experience in the work place, and to critically reflect upon your learning in that context. You will normally be expected to arrange your own placement, with support from academic staff and ADM Careers+.

Live Project 20 credits

This module provides an opportunity for you to apply your knowledge and skills to an external, professional brief. The brief will be set by an external client/ agency, in consultation with your supervisor, and it could be a ‘real life’ problem to be solved, or a simulation. It is an opportunity for you to engage in a professional manner with an aspect of your subject area, which contributes to the development of employability skills within the supportive infrastructure of the University. Where appropriate, the project may involve interdisciplinary collaboration with students from other courses. In this way, it reflects the collaborative, flexible nature of employment within the Creative Industries.

Collaborative Practice 20 credits

The module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration by enabling you to create an interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines, or with academic staff. Collaboration is a vital employability skill within the Creative Industries and this module allows you to develop these skills, making use of University facilities and with the support of academic staff. Within this module framework, several kinds of collaborative opportunities are available. For example, with the approval of your supervisor, you can determine a project based on your own interests; your supervisor may set you a predetermined project to enable you to work with other students in a way that is appropriate to your subject area; or there may be opportunities for you to collaborate with staff on research projects. In all cases, you must apply your subject skills to an interdisciplinary project which will be agreed in advance with your supervisor.

In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete at least 40 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.

Bi-Media Drama 20 credits

This optional module will help prepare you for undertaking a drama related final Major Project in your final year, in either radio or television.

Comedy in the Media and Popular Culture 20 credits

You will build on your previous studies by developing skills in connecting research and practice. Through set readings, class discussions, e-learning and directed study tasks, we will identify and explore key debates, theoretical perspectives and concepts in humour and comedy studies so that you can develop your familiarity with these theoretical fields. You will then test theoretical perspectives and key concepts through your own innovative comedy production. In this work, you will offer research based, critical reflection on your own practice and on political, moral and ethical issues that emerge from the relationships between humour, comedy and power, on both a national and an international scale.

Fandoms and Subcultures 20 credits

This module offers an introduction to some of the ongoing academic debates on media fandoms and subcultures. Through readings, lectures, seminars and independent research, you will engage with key theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches and case studies in these academic fields. This module is intended to develop the knowledge and skills that you established in your first year, to develop your critical thinking and research skills and to enable you to gather, organise and use secondary and primary sources to express arguments coherently and effectively.

Photojournalism 20 credits

This module is for students wishing to further their photographic abilities, exploring the professional working practices and the visual language specific to photojournalism with due consideration to the context in which photojournalists and documentary photographers, music photographers and sports photographers operate within the media industries. You will continue to develop camera, lighting and post-processing techniques to a more advanced and appropriate professional level as a complementary skillset to your media interests.

Television Studio 20 credits

This module will help prepare you for undertaking a television studio related final Major Project in your final year.

Creating Compelling Content 20 credits

The ability to create compelling content is an essential communication skill and the key to employability in a range of media careers, not least in Public Relations. As well as being engaging and accessible, effective communication almost always involves the ability to produce professional content across a range of platforms and channels. This module concentrates on developing the writing and crafting skills that are highly valued by media employers.

Digital Storytelling 20 credits

Digital Storytelling techniques have evolved to include everything from film techniques, still images, immersive-audio, environmental storytelling, and more. In this module we will consider the different ways in which these techniques can be effectively utilised to allow creative citizens to share their stories and to create engaging and meaningful stories through digital platforms.

Radio Documentary and Podcast Production 20 credits

This module will encourage you to develop original ideas for innovative radio documentaries, within a recognised professional industry context. You will identify a clear target audience for your work. You will produce an individual, self-contained radio documentary with an accompanying reflective written report. A live presentation will showcase your documentary concept and its audience / station in a mock ‘commissioning’ style pitch.

Commercial Photography 20 credits

This module is for students wishing to further their photographic abilities, you will continue to develop camera, lighting and post-processing techniques to a more advanced and appropriate level whilst working towards distinct areas of photographic practice within defined professional contexts. The module encourages you to explore and evaluate a range of styles, approaches and working practices of commercial photographers enabling you to engage in creative photographic production utilizing appropriate techniques relevant to contemporary professional photography practice.

Emotion, Media and Culture 20 credits

It’s easy to be dismissive of emotion, and often phrases such as “you’re being over-emotional” are used pejoratively. However, cultural theorists and sociologists are increasingly discovering that emotion underpins what it means to be human and that even decisions and positions we take that we assume to be based on rational thought are informed by emotion. These emotions can be constructed by the people, law-making and media texts that we encounter. This module invites you to explore the links between emotion, media and culture. You will examine how media texts are constructed to provoke emotional responses, how audiences respond and the cultural discourses which frame production and reception.

Climate Change, Media Work, and You 20 credits

This module explores how climate change and environmental issues are communicated through media, and why that matters for public debate, policy, everyday life, and your future career. It is designed for students who want practical, employable skills for working with complex topics across journalism and digital content work, including marketing and PR, as well as documentary and cultural production. Using contemporary case studies from news, documentary, popular culture, and digital platforms, students will learn how environmental stories are framed, whose perspectives carry authority, and how these choices shape what audiences come to accept as normal or possible. The module pays close attention to inequality and power, including how the climate emergency is experienced differently across race, class, gender, sexuality, and between the global North and global South.

Television From Small Screens to Smart Screens 20 credits

This module will explore the historical, cultural, social, and political context of both television and emerging screen practices. The approach to screen media in this module will enhance students’ knowledge of production, consumption, and industry context, and will build on the critical and analytical skills learnt in year one.

Graphic Design 20 credits

Graphic design is an important element in media communication that is used across all mediums in a variety of formats, from print to screen. How designers and communicators use imagery and form to transmit messages evolves as new technology and practices emerge. Whether this is in advertisements, promotional material, entertainment, or raising awareness of societal and environmental issues, design can draw attention and change the perceptions of the intended audience and casual viewers alike.

PR Campaign Planning 20 credits

PR Campaign Planning explores the many and varied creative solutions the PR industry employs to attract the attention of the public and the media to a particular cause, subject or activity. The module considers how PR campaigns can be developed to serve different purposes, including brand building, commercial gain and social change. It draws on a range of examples from across sectors and around the world to inform your understanding and inspire your own creative communications solutions.

Digital Creators Lab: Media and Journalism 20 credits

In this module you’ll explore alternative media formats and examine the way they are challenging the traditional platforms. You will get the chance to engage with tools which are increasingly being used in everyday media practice, such as social media and email newsletters. This will help you understand how traditional media is being influenced and reshaped by digital platforms, whilst preparing you for the workplace, where adaptability to new technologies and platforms is increasingly expected.

Exploring PR, social media and influencers 20 credits

Public Relations is all around us. Brands, businesses, celebrities, charities, politicians, and everyone in between use PR as a means to spread messages, inform understanding and influence the way we behave. In practice, PR involves a range of different communications techniques and activities, including media relations, social media, and influencer engagement.

Live Music and Media 20 credits

As revenue streams for recorded music are put under increasing pressure, live music remains one of the important financial strands of a professional musician's career. This Level 5 module introduces you to the various elements and roles of the live music sector. The organisation, planning and delivery of live music events speaks to its interconnectedness across the wider music business and creative industries, including media production, PR and promotional strategising, communication, journalism, photography, marketing and social media management.

Live Radio Production 60 credits

On this module you will develop specialist practical skills in live radio production. You will learn about the critical role of the Producer in generating ideas for programme content and in directing members of a production team. You’ll apply editorial judgement in selecting items suitable for the target audience, producing short features, programme trails and handling studio and remote guests. You will develop a critical understanding of social media marketing in radio and consider how it can be used to enhance audience engagement.

Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.

In order to qualify for the Professional Placement Year, you must successfully complete the following Level 5 module:

Professional Placement 120 credits

This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a credit bearing, 40- week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Undergraduate Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.

In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 40 credits):

Media for Social Change 20 credits

Media products are powerful tools with potential to spread messages, change the status quo, and challenge those in power, though there are limitations to what they can do. In this module you will engage with a variety of media texts that aim to intervene in human behaviour in order to shape society and culture for the better. Media texts will explore issues such as equality, sustainability, education and economy, considering the different methods that are used to target audiences, foster change, build communities, convey narratives, elicit affect, and create interventions across local and global platforms. The module will draw from on the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals and consider how media can help to shape future ideologies and discourses. You will be encouraged to think of a social cause that is close to your heart, and to create a media product based on your research that aims to raise awareness around this issue.

Major Project - Preparation 20 credits

In order to complete this course, you must successfully complete one module from the following list of CORE-OPTION modules (worth 40 credits)

Major Project - Dissertation 40 credits

The Major Project - Dissertation module is where you will put into practice the creative thinking, initial research, proposal, and plan developed in the Major Project Preparation module and wherein you will undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research project exploring an area that is related to an aspect of media and culture and is of personal interest to you. Completion of the Major Project represents the culmination of your studies.

Major Project - Hybrid 40 credits

The Major Project - Hybrid module is where you will put into practice the creative thinking, initial research, proposal, and plan developed in the Major Project Preparation module and wherein you will undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research and production project exploring an area that is related to an aspect of media and culture and is of personal interest to you. Completion of the Major Project represents the culmination of your studies.

Major Project - Production 40 credits

The Major Project - Production module is where you will put into practice the creative thinking, initial research, proposal, and plan developed in the Major Project Preparation module and wherein you will undertake a sustained, in-depth production media project exploring an area that is related to an area of personal interest to you and wider audiences. Completion of the Major Project represents the culmination of your studies. You can produce a single media product or portfolio of products either individually or as part of a group.

Media Activism 20 credits

Media Activism is a practice-based research module for students who wish to study media activism, and engage in media activist work in practice within social justice, community media and voluntary sectors. This module will examine the role of media in political campaigns and social movements, with a focus on the role of digital communications. It will draw on a range of interdisciplinary literature from media studies, social movement studies and political theory, and examine case studies of political campaigns and social movements in the UK and globally.

Understanding Social Media Practices Cultures And Debates 20 credits

This module is intended to give an overview of the current state of scholarly research into the use of social media platforms as a communication tool. The module provides a systematic understanding of the approaches to studying social media and its social and cultural role. The module looks in detail at the ways in which social media is utilised by citizens and media producers and ask whether these platforms can help alter traditional power relationships in society. There is a focus on how students can put social media to use as a tool for furthering their professional ambitions or to help create advocacy networks.

Digital Futures 20 credits

This module will enable you to look towards the future innovations occurring within the fields of digital media. Starting with a history of digital emergence, considering concepts such as remediation, convergence culture, and the post-digital, we will then begin to unearth some of the more experimental and emerging practices, and consider their viability for a digital future. We will ask why some mediums prevail and others pass us by and to question what is really “new” about new media, and how we might escape certain structures and practices that constrict our developments. This module will also engage critically with ideas of utopian and dystopian predictions of the future and engage with concepts such as posthumanism and transhumanism to ask what the long-term impact of digital media usage might mean, from AI to cyborgs and beyond.

Creative Camera 20 credits

This module is for students wishing to further their creativity and provides the opportunity to develop a unique visual style as a photographer in line with appropriate professional practice. You will engage with a variety of creative photographic approaches and explore innovative practice, informing your own photographic style and enabling you to work professionally within specific fields of photography.

Radio Station 20 credits

On this immersive module you will develop the skills and knowledge to design and format a new radio station brand. You’ll work with peers to plan, launch and run an online radio station and will pitch for and undertake a range of production and station management roles. The module will build on the practical and theoretical skills developed earlier in the course. It will offer you the opportunity to apply these in the conception, marketing, launch and operation of a publicly available radio service and in the production of other associated social media, podcasting and visual content.

Audio Drama and Podcast Writing 20 credits

The United Kingdom commissions, produces and broadcasts more audio drama – online, on digital and on radio – than any other country in the world. In this diverse and dynamic medium, writers can tell human stories set anywhere in time and space, at a fraction of the cost of television and film production. What’s more – as an old industry saying goes – ‘you see it better on radio’. In this module you will learn how to write and produce compelling audio drama scripts and episodes of a podcast drama series by engaging practically and theoretically with the key principles and techniques involved. You will also be introduced to editorial collaboration, the pitching of projects, and appropriate methods of presentation, including recorded voice essays that can incorporate sound effects. You will learn how to communicate ideas clearly, accurately and effectively both orally and in writing.

Audience and User Experience 20 credits

Audience and user experience design is the reference point for meeting audience and user needs for most media products. User experience is the understanding of who your audience is, what motivates them, what frustrates them, and how to add value to their lives. User experience enables the designer of experiences and media products to meet their audience’s needs on an emotional level through a creative process called "design thinking" and encourages repeated use. In an increasingly user-focused world, user experience design is an area that transcends its home of digital media design and can be applied to any field that requires an audience and consumer interaction, with many employment and further education opportunities to consider.

Gender, Sexuality and the Body 20 credits

This module applies and develops critical and theoretical study of gender and sexuality across a wide range of media. The module will draw from cultural theory and a range of qualitative and ethnographic research to explore historic and contemporary discussions, issues and debates around gender identity, sexuality and sexual practices, and attitudes towards ‘the body’. The module will develop key modes of analysis and research related to the study of gender and sexuality, and how these are informed by and through culture. You will explore how associated socio-cultural, political and ideological contexts ‘produce’ issues, but also how certain identities and ‘practices’ offer ways to challenge ideological views concerning gender, sexuality and what we ‘do’ with/to our bodies.

Race, Media and Culture 20 credits

This module examines key issues, concepts and debates relating to race, culture and the media, and how the diversity of lived experience is represented in the media. The module takes an intersectional perspective, considering race in relation to gender, sexuality, citizenship, etc. It engages with literature from Media and Cultural Studies, and also draws on Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Theory and other aspects of Humanities scholarship. A range of media examples will be considered, ranging from film and television to digital media platforms. Students will have the opportunity to explore their own personal and research interests in relation to the module themes, and explore methodological approaches for doing so. Students are encouraged to consider their own positionality and identity as media workers/scholars in relation to the module themes and their own work.

Popular Music Narratives 20 credits

This module examines both the historical and contemporary fields of popular music and their relationship to music business and the wider media, creative and cultural industries. You will have the opportunity to reflect on issues of production, distribution, and reception, through the lenses of theoretical concepts and approaches such as genre, ethnicity, gender, and many others. You will undertake research that explores the changing ideological, political, technological, and cultural contexts related to popular music and will consider the role of popular music in relation to societal and cultural contexts.

Media Production Company 20 credits

In this module you will set up an innovative media production company that explores the opportunities available for new enterprises in contemporary audio or video production. In doing so you will start to establish yourself as a professional media worker, exploring the possibilities for change and innovation. You may work independently or as a team member.

Communication in Action 20 credits

Communication in Action takes a critical look at how organisations operating across a wide variety of sectors use communications techniques to achieve operational goals. It examines the PR strategies and practices they use to enhance their credibility and reputation with a range of stakeholders through effective messaging.

Feature Writing for News Media 20 credits

In this module you will explore alternative storytelling methods to create engaging feature articles for different publications. From profiles through to in-depth interview articles, you will analyse and apply the structures and techniques used by feature writers in the professional journalism industry.

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Across each of our undergraduate degree courses there is an equal emphasis on production, theory and professional development.

Teaching is conducted across a range of environments, including radio, TV and photography studios, editing suites, computer classrooms, lecture theatres, seminar rooms, and online.

You will use blogs, create wikis and other interactive media to support your work and self-development.

All production teaching staff are established media professionals who bring with them a range of expertise. They are able to recognise and respond to the rapidly changing demands of the media, ensuring that the course remains relevant to the industry.

We maintain close contacts with a variety of media organisations including Sky, BBC, Maverick Television and Future Publishing, and visiting tutors and guest speakers regularly hold masterclass sessions to enhance and enrich your learning.

Classroom activities and projects

Interactive teaching and learning is important to us, especially as this fosters an active and engaged community of thinking media workers. Twitter has been used in modules to enable more students to engage in informal, fun and diverse ways of learning. This gives students a sense of ownership of the module content and greater freedom to discuss topics through applying their own examples/practice.

The showreel below gives you a glimpse into what some of our incredible students have created during their time at BCU, featuring the best in TV, journalism, radio and more.

Entry Requirements

These entry requirements apply for entry in 2027/28.

All required qualifications/grades must have been achieved and evidenced at the earliest opportunity after accepting an offer to help confirm admission and allow for on-time enrolment. This can also include other requirements, like a fee status form and relevant documents. Applicants can track their application and outstanding information requests through their BCU mySRS account.

Essential requirements

112-72 UCAS Tariff points

The offer we make you takes into account your individual circumstances, predicted grades, achieved qualifications and potential to succeed at university.

GCSE and other level 2 requirements

This course does not require evidence of GCSE qualifications. Please see A Level, BTEC and other level 3 requirements below.

A Level, BTEC and other level 3 requirements

Qualification

Entry requirements

A Level / AS Level

A Level: 112-72 UCAS Tariff points / BBC-CDE (or equivalent)

AS Level: Must be in a different subject to A Levels

A maximum of four subjects will be considered

Pearson BTEC (Diploma / Extended Diploma/ Extended Certificate)

Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications

Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications

Typical offers vary according to individual circumstances and may be equivalent to a Merit or Pass overall grade

All subjects accepted but Digital Production, Design and Development and Media, Broadcast and Production preferred.

Access to HE Diploma

Pass with 60 credits, 45 credits at level 3

Accepted subjects: Arts, Media and Publishing subjects preferred but other subjects also considered

OCR Cambridge Technical qualifications

NCFE CACHE Level 3 qualifications

WJEC Level 3 qualifications

Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)

Irish Leaving Certificate (Highers)

112-72 UCAS Tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects

Scottish Higher / Advanced Higher

112-72 UCAS Tariff points, achieved from three Advanced Highers or two Advanced Highers plus two Highers

Welsh Baccalaureate

112-72 UCAS Tariff points. Considered with three A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications

UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma

Typical offers vary according to individual circumstances and may be equivalent to a Merit or Pass overall

Foundation Studies (Art and Design, and Art, Design and Media)

Typical offers vary according to individual circumstances

If you're applying with an International Baccalaureate Diploma or international qualifications, please see further information below.

Mature students

Applications from mature students (21+) with alternative qualifications and/or considerable work experience will be considered on their merits.

International qualifications

International Baccalaureate Diploma

Obtain 28-24 points overall

EU / International students

Please see your country page for further details on the equivalent qualifications we accept. In addition to the academic entry requirements listed above, international and EU students will also require IELTS 6.0 overall with no less than 5.5 in each band.

If you do not meet the required IELTS score, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English courses. Please note that you must have a Secure English Language Test (SELT) to study on the pre-sessional English course. More information on pre-sessional English courses.

Meeting our entry requirements

If you do not meet our academic or English language requirement, or have been out of education for some time, you may wish to consider joining Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC). BCUIC is part of the global Navitas Group, an internationally recognised education provider, and the partnership allows students to access the University’s facilities and services and move seamlessly through to undergraduate study at Birmingham City University.

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply

UK Student

International Student

UK students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: BA (Hons)

Starting: Sep 2027

Duration

£10,050 in 2027/28

Apply via UCAS

International students

£19,220 in 2027/28

Apply Online

Included in your course fees

Access to computer equipment

You will require use of a laptop, and most students do prefer to have their own. However, you can borrow a laptop from the university or use one of our shared computer rooms.

Printing

You will receive £5 print credit in each year of your course, available after enrolment.

Field trips

All essential field trips and associated travel costs will be included in your course fees.

Access to Microsoft Office 365

Every student at the University can download a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use whilst at university and for 18 months after graduation.

Key software

You will be able to download SPSS and Nvivo to your home computer to support with your studies and research.

Key subscriptions

Subscriptions to key journals and websites are available through our library.

Free Adobe Creative Cloud licence

Students studying on this course can request a free licence to install the entire suite of applications on up to two personal devices.

Specialist equipment

Production equipment for video, audio and photography is available in class and for students to hire independently through ADM Hires and Loans.

Specialist production spaces (radio studios, TV studios and photography studios) are made available in class and for students to hire independently through ADM Hires and Loans.

SD Cards are provided to students during Welcome Week in their first year of study.

Not included in your course fees

Excess printing (optional)

Once you have spent your £5 credit, additional printing on campus costs from 5p per sheet.

Personal stationery and study materials (optional)

Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £30 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials.

Accommodation and living costs (optional)

The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.

Guidance for UK students

UK students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.

Applying through UCAS

Register with UCAS

Login to UCAS and complete your details

Select your course and write a personal statement

Get a reference

Pay your application fee and submit your application

Guidance for International students

There are three ways to apply:

1) Direct to the University

You will need to complete our International Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form, and submit them together with scan copies of your original academic transcripts and certificates.

2) Through a country representative

Our in-country representatives can help you make your application and apply for a visa. They can also offer advice on travel, living in the UK and studying abroad.

3) Through UCAS

If you are applying for an undergraduate degree or a Higher National Diploma (HND), you can apply through the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

You can request a printed form from your school or nearest British Council office. You will be charged for applying through UCAS.

Birmingham City University’s UCAS code is B25 BCITY.

Personal statement

The personal statement gives you a crucial opportunity to say why you’re applying and why the institution should accept you.

Here are the three areas you’ll need to address:

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Here’s where you explain what makes this course exciting to you. Think about your motivations for studying the course and your future plans. If you’re planning to take a year out, don't forget to give your reasons.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

This is your chance to show what you’ve learned at school or college. You should include the skills and knowledge you’ve gained from education or training and how this will help you succeed in your chosen course.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Not everything you’ve learned comes from the classroom. Life experience counts too! You might want to talk about work experience, employment, or volunteering and how they’ve helped you develop the skills needed for your chosen course or future career.

Worried about Personal Statements?

If you've got no idea where to start or just want to check you're on the right track, we’ve got expert advice and real examples from our students to help you nail your personal statement. You can even download our ultimate personal statement guide for free.

Get personal statement advice

Financial Support

We offer further information on possible undergraduate financial support. This includes the type of loans, grants and scholarships available both from the government and from Birmingham City University.

View fees for continuing students

Employability

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 traditional media jobs, such as producer/director roles, journalism, public relations and graphic design. We also have a high number of graduates working in media and communications jobs in non-media organisations, such as charities, the NHS, education and the hospitality industry. Some of our graduates have embraced freelance work or have set up their own businesses.

Placements

We strongly believe in the practical application of learning and are 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, Endemol, Spotty Dog and WPR.

More about our placement opportunities

Facilities & Staff

Media and Journalism facilities

Take a look around some of the facilities, studios and workshops that you’ll have access to.

See our Media and Journalism facilities

Our staff

Dr. Hazel Collie

Course Leader - Media and Communication

Hazel teaches on research-based modules across all three years of the BA Media and Communication degree. Her research focuses on television audiences, media histories and identity. She has published work on women’s use of television to narrate their lives, audiences of historical musical television, female desire and reality television.

More about Hazel

Dr Poppy Wilde

Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication

Dr Poppy Wilde is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication. She is the author of Posthuman Gaming: Avatars, Gamers, and Entangled Subjectivities (Routledge, 2023) and has published extensively on critical posthumanism and game studies. Her research explores how posthuman subjectivities are enabled and embodied in a variety of contexts,...

More about Poppy

Dave Harte

Deputy Head of Department of English and Media

Dave Harte is Deputy Head of Department of English and Media. Dave’s research is focused on local and community journalism, and he has published widely on these topics.

More about Dave

Dr Ross Hawkes

Course Director for MA Journalism

Ross is the founder and editor of an award-winning hyperlocal news website, Lichfield Live, and also leads the Community Interest Company producing The Lichfield and Burntwood Independent newspaper. His PhD explored the work of semi-professional journalists operating in the hyperlocal and independent space across the UK. He is a member of the...

More about Ross

Dr Gemma Commane

Dr Gemma Commane is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications. Broadly the areas of her expertise span the fields of media and cultural studies and gender and sexuality. Her research interests focus on contemporary cultural studies, gender and sexuality, queer studies, sexual economies and entrepreneurship, dangerous femininities and...

More about Gemma

Ellie Tomsett

Dr Ellie Tomsett is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication. Ellie's research focuses on contemporary feminisms, stand-up comedy and television comedy drama. In 2017 she co-founded Mixed Bill a comedy and gender research network which seeks to engage comedy industry professionals, researchers and members of the public in discussions...

More about Ellie

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UK prospective students

Contact the enquiries team

T: +44 (0)121 331 6295

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E: International enquiry form

T: +44 (0)121 331 5389

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