Film and Journalism (Including Year Abroad)

Our joint honours BA Film and Journalism at Essex offers a creative, flexible degree with a strong foundation for employability. Your degree is balanced 50-50 between the disciplines of Film and Journalism, but there will be many modules where the two disciplines come together, for example in modules such as ‘Documentary Filmmaking' and ‘Advanced Practical Journalism.'

On the Journalism side, you will become thoroughly grounded in the theory and practice of journalism, develop your craft of writing and broadcasting skills to a high level, and make sound editorial judgements. You will gain investigative and analytical skills, learning to work effectively on your own and in teams to produce the best journalism.

In Film you will study the history and theory of film, and will have the opportunity to gain technical skills in camerawork, editing and film-making. You can also study directing, screenwriting and explore many aspects of screen media, from cinema to social media. In addition, you will gain transferable skills in research, essay-planning and writing, and you will be offered careers guidance and training. In the third year, a specialist option on film journalism, consolidating the two parts of the degree, will be available.

A typical timetable involves a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar or a two-hour seminar for each module every week, but there are variations in place depending on the module.