Media and Communications (including foundation year)
Entry requirements
GCSE/National 4/National 5
English Language GCSE at grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent eg Functional Skills at Level 2).
UCAS Tariff
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**Why study this course?**
Our Media and Communications (including foundation year) BSc (Hons) degree is the perfect route into higher education if you want to work in media but don't have the necessary qualifications for an undergraduate degree. This four-year degree will give you the skills and working practices needed to start your career in the exciting and ever-evolving world of media.
**More about this course**
During your foundation year you'll learn about digital media and journalism more broadly. By the end of this first year you’ll understand how to critically assess the media. The skills you gain in this preparatory year will prepare you for the subsequent three years of study.
The foundation year on this course is shared with a number of other media-related foundation courses, so you'll learn alongside students who are interested in different specialisms.
Following your foundation year, you will study the same course content and get the same choice of modules as those who study our Media and Communications BSc (Hons) degree. Should you wish to change your subject specialism following Year 0, there will be flexibility to do so.
As you progress through the course you’ll learn about how media affects society from a cultural and political perspective. The forms of media you'll be focusing on include the press, television, film, the internet, popular music and social media.
You'll benefit from tutors who are experienced researchers as well as insights from industry experts. Learning from current media professionals will ensure that you graduate with the skills and techniques widely used in the industry. You’ll also have regular opportunities to visit educational places such as London Film Festival and British Board of Film Classification.
You'll graduate with a full undergraduate degree with the same title and award as those who studied the traditional three-year course.
Modules
Example Year 0 modules include:
Introduction to Journalism and Writing for Media;
Introduction: Media and Communications;
Introduction: Film, TV and Broadcast Media;
Introduction: Digital Media.
Example Year 1 modules include:
Introduction to Digital Media;
Media Genres;
Media Histories;
Moving Image and Sound Practice;
Digital Media.
Example Year 2 modules include:
Media and Communities;
Researching Media Audiences;
Television Studies;
Work Related Learning for Media 1;
Cultural and Creative Industries;
Situation Comedies;
Crime and the Media;
Digital Humanities;
Documentary Photography;
Youth Culture and the Media;
Open Language Programme.
Example Year 3 modules include:
Globalisation and the Media;
Media and Communication Dissertation;
Media, Culture and Identity;
Analysing Popular Music;
Digital Video Post-Production;
Documentary Filmmaking;
Media, Power and Politics;
Open Language Programme.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through reports, creative media work, essays, poster presentations, research projects (both individual and group) and a final year dissertation. You’ll also receive regular feedback throughout the course.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Holloway
School of Computing and Digital Media
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Media studies
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Media studies
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Only a small number of students study courses within this catch-all subject area, so there isn't a lot of information available on what graduates do when they finish - bear that in mind when you look at any stats. Marketing and PR were the most likely jobs for graduates from these courses, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Media studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£19k
£27k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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