Skip navigation

Film and Television Studies (Research)

  • MA (Res)
  • 1 Years
  • Full-time
  • October 2026
  • Postgraduate
Main Site
More about University of Warwick

Course options

2025-20262026-2027
Apply directly to the university/college

Course summary

The MA for Research in Film and Television Studies offers those with a background in Film and Television Studies more flexibility to choose which of Warwick's world-leading scholars they wish to work with. Film and Television Studies has a worldwide reputation for the quality of its teaching and research within the fields of film and television aesthetics, history and theory.

Course overview
This course is designed for students with an academic background in film and/or television studies. Applicants will normally have achieved a First Class result at undergraduate level, have firm PhD plans and feel that they need to develop their knowledge of fields that are not covered by our taught modules, in order to prepare for their proposed PhD project.

Film and Television Studies at Warwick is internationally recognised as one of the leading programmes in the field, offering an unparalleled training in the study of audiovisual media as cultural, historical, and aesthetic forms.

Through this MA programme, you will be able to draw upon the renowned expertise of our staff to develop a programme tailored to prepare for your doctoral research.

The programme provides a rigorous training in textual analysis alongside the historical and methodological study of film and television. Through research-led teaching and specialised skills training, students develop competencies including critical thinking, interpretation and audiovisual literacy. In the final phase, students hone these skills through an independent dissertation under supervision, allowing for in-depth exploration of a specialised area of interest.

This information is applicable for 2026 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply.

Modules

Core modules

  • Independent Study
  • Dissertation

Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:

  • Almodovar
  • Bio-pics
  • Contemporary Latin American Cinema
  • Film Cultures
  • Film and Social Change
  • Issues in Documentary
  • Queer + Trans Theories of Film and Television
  • Postcolonial Film
  • Screening Bodies
  • Sound and Cinema
  • South Asian Cinema
  • Television History and Aesthetics
  • US TV Comedy

Read more about the core and optional modules for this course on the Film and Television Studies website

Assessment method

A combination of assessed essays and a 15,000 word dissertation.

Ways to study this course

Campuses

  • Main Site

Study options

  • MA (Res) • Full-time • 1 Years

Start dates

  • October 2026

Entry requirements

Minimum requirements
First Class Honours undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in Film and/or Television Studies.

All applicants are asked to provide us with a sample piece of written work of around 1,500-3,000 words (preferably, though not necessarily, on a film/TV-related subject) and a short (c. 200-300 words) description of the kind of research topic(s) they would be interested in studying for the mandatory 20,000 word dissertation.

For a speedier decision on your application, we advise you to provide us with these supplementary documents when you apply. This supplementary material can be uploaded in one document to your application.

English language requirements
You can find out more about our English language requirements on our website. This course requires the following:

Band B
IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

International qualifications
We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

General costs to be considered:

  • Core text books

  • Printer credits

  • Dissertation binding

As well as tuition fees and course costs, students should budget for:

  • Accommodation
  • Food
  • Clothes and leisure
  • Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Sponsorship information

We offer a variety of postgraduate funding options for study at the University of Warwick, from postgraduate loans, university scholarships, fee awards, to academic department bursaries. It's important that you apply for your postgraduate course first before you apply for a University of Warwick scholarship. Please visit the University's scholarship webpages.

Related courses

At University of Warwick

Like this page