Public Relations and Media with a Foundation Year

Our BA Public Relations and Media with a Foundation Year blends critical theory with practical experience, giving you the skills to analyse, create, and innovate across PR, journalism, digital media, and film. The foundation year offers a supportive introduction to university-level study, helping you build essential academic skills before progressing to the full degree.

PR today is far more than press releases. This programme focuses on digital PR, social media strategy, and PR as a key management function within corporate communications. You will gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools, from content creation and influencer marketing to social media analytics. Practical projects and authentic assessments prepare you to manage campaigns, online reputation, and digital communications in a fast-changing environment.
In an era of instant communication and heightened scrutiny, crisis management is essential. Through real-world case studies, simulations, and strategic exercises, you will learn how to respond swiftly and effectively to emerging issues.

PR is a collaborative discipline that intersects with journalism, marketing, and media production. You will also study these areas to understand integrated communications and work confidently in cross-functional teams. Ethical practice and social responsibility are central to the programme, with a focus on transparency, corporate social responsibility, and tackling challenges such as misinformation and brand authenticity.

Bilingual study options in English and Welsh provide a unique advantage, enhancing your career prospects and opening doors to opportunities across Wales and beyond.

You will be based on our stunning Singleton Park Campus, overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the Gower Peninsula.

We pride ourselves in preparing you for life beyond university. We are able to do this by using our connections to industry, and our emphasis on the particular interpersonal skills that our industry panel identify as key within their recruitment processes.

In your Foundation Year, you will typically study areas including: Academic Writing and Skills Development; Introduction to Being Human; Introduction to Research; Critical Reflection and Problem Solving; Research Essay; an dPlace, Memory & Identity in Literature, Film, Visual Art & Media.

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Introduction to Media Communication; Delivering and Decoding the News; Principles of Mediation; Creative Media Platforms; PR and Strategic Communications; Introduction to Film Studies and Pitch Invasion: Sport and its Impact on Society

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Theorising the Media; Public Relations Theory in Action; Introduction to Writing Fiction; Introduction to Film Production; Professional Development: Preparing for Work; Misinformation, Fake News and Fact-Checking; Approaches to Film Analysis; Introduction to Writing Drama....

In Year 3, you will typically study areas including: Strategy, Marketing and Branding; Guerrilla Campaigns: Subversive and Interruptive PR; The Story of the USA on Film and Television, 1865-2008; Media and Identities; Documentary and Fiction Filmmaking; Keeping it Reel – Studying Documentary; Journalism in Practice; Science Fiction and Media; Contemporary Film and Television...

We are proud to provide an outstanding educational experience, using the most effective learning and teaching approaches, carefully tailored to suit the specific needs of your course. Apart from a small number of online-only courses, most of our courses consist of in-person, on-campus teaching, enabling full engagement with your lecturers and fellow students.

Practical skills sessions, lab work seminars, and workshops predominantly take place in person, allowing for group working and demonstrations. We also operate virtual labs and Simulated Learning Environments which will facilitate greater access to training opportunities in the future. However, our approach also includes the use of some online learning to support and enhance traditional face-to-face teaching.

Online learning may take place ‘live’ using software such as Zoom, allowing you to interact with the lecturer and other students and to ask questions. Lecture recordings also allow for more flexibility to revisit material, to revise for assessments and to enhance learning outside of the classroom. Some modules have extra resources in Canvas, such as videos, slides and quizzes enabling further flexible study.

This course may offer some modules taught through the medium of Welsh or bilingually for students who consider themselves to be fluent Welsh speakers. For more details on the provision available see the Welsh Provision expander below.