Media

From cancel culture to digital activism, AI to algorithms - our Media BA explores all aspects of media and culture.

This course combines digital content production with the study of how media shapes the world around us, preparing you for a career in the creative and cultural industries.

You’ll get hands-on, creating your own films, podcasts, marketing pitches and portfolios. There’s plenty of opportunity to explore and experiment with different formats.

Customise your degree to explore your interests with modules on social media, podcasting, gaming, celebrity culture, fan studies, film-making, film marketing, and more. And experiment with media formats of your own in our industry-standard facilities.

Our professional links and commitment to employability mean you’ll graduate with not just a degree, but a portfolio of skills and experiences that prepare you for diverse careers across the creative industries. You’ll hear from industry professionals and make key contacts in organisations such as Google, the BBC and The Guardian at careers events, seminars and conferences.

You’ll also develop valuable critical thinking and analytical skills, exploring the impact of social media on our everyday lives and asking how we can use digital media to change the world for the better.

Choose to add a Year in Television and Online Broadcasting and you'll add a year of real work experience to your CV. You'll learn how to make content for TV, online and social media channels alongside experienced professionals.

Year 2

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Advanced Making Media

  The proliferation of mobile devices has transformed how moving images are generated and experienced. The ease with which we can now create and share images, audio and video has had a huge impact on how stories are told and films are made.

  You’ll explore some of the many new forms of moving image content creation and narrative practices that have appeared as a result of this technological and cultural change, and engage with them critically and creatively. You’ll learn to master advanced video production techniques such as camerawork, lighting, editing, and sound. You’ll also produce work that engages with new narrative forms, with a particular focus on producing content for the web, such as non-linear short filmmaking, social media-based storytelling, and audiovisual essays.

• Media and Social Change

  What is media’s relation to social change and how can digital media transform the world? How have digital technologies reconfigured the media? What are the key media-related issues that we should be concerned about today, not just as scholars but as citizens?

  Focusing on the topic of ‘change’, you’ll explore the place of media in social change, and think about how economic and cultural factors shape the media. You’ll critically examine how media follows, blocks, represents, produces or manages changes of one kind or another in our society. You’ll also investigate a range of topics and case studies, engaging with different industry views and academic approaches for understanding media at a particularly critical moment in its development.

• Media, Ethics & Social Justice

  What are the moral responsibilities of digital content creators and social media platforms? Can commercial success and social justice go hand in hand? Critically reflecting on these and other questions is crucial for aspiring media practitioners and industry professionals.

  To answer these questions, you’ll investigate some of the most pressing ethical issues in contemporary media culture. You’ll use theoretical frameworks to critically examine a diverse range of media, and you’ll learn to articulate your own critical perspectives in creative ways.

Optional modules may include the following:

• Screenwriting

• Documentary Filmmaking

• Disability and the Arts

• Psychology of the Arts

• Cinematography

• Sound, Music and Cinema

• Podcasting

• Social Media and Digital Platforms

• Video Gaming: Play and Players

• Film Genre

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.

Year in Industry (optional)

Year in Industry

You have the option to add a year in industry to this course. This can be added during your studies. We already know you have the confidence and commitment to thrive in the workplace and kick-start your career. This is your chance to prove it, to yourself and to employers.

Any questions? We have the answers!

When should I start looking? Companies will recruit at different times of the year based on their size. It's good to be application ready by the summer of your first year.

Where can I get help finding a placement? Book an appointment with a placement adviser via the careers service.

Will I get paid? Most of our placements are paid.

Do I have to pay tuition fees? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website.

Where can I get visa advice if I’m an international student? Kent Students' Union can help with any visa queries.

Does the University keep in touch? You receive four-weekly check-in emails, a visit from the team every three months and you can reach out to us any time by email or phone.

Do I work for a full year? The minimum requirement for an industrial placement is 44 weeks.

Year in Television (optional)

Year in Television and Online Broadcasting

This freestanding, self-contained year is open to any undergraduate student at the University at the end of Stage 2 or 3 (that is, between your second and final year, or after your final year). This can be added during your studies.

The course gives you an unrivalled opportunity to spend a year working at KMTV, a commercial Ofcom-licensed television station. It’s a great way to add a year of real work experience to your CV while learning how to make content for TV, online and social media channels alongside experienced professionals.

Your assessments will include building a practical portfolio of content produced individually and as part of a team which will become your calling card to future employers.

If successful, when you graduate your degree title includes the words with a Year in Television and Online Broadcasting.

Year 3

The final year of your degree allows you to deepen your knowledge and explore your creativity. You choose from a wide range of modules as well as taking Independent Industry Project focused around your ideas (in past years, students have created marketing campaigns for businesses, fashion design collaboration concepts, fan app design, photography projects, film screenplays as well as dissertations). You will also have the chance to take an internship as part of your modules and be assessed on your work in industry as part of your degree.

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations:

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Independent Industry Project

  When you work in the creative industries, a lot of your time revolves around the development of novel creative practices in an independent manner. This module gives you the opportunity to develop your own independent project which introduces an innovation in an established area of media practice.

  You'll deepen your expertise in a specific area of the media industry by critically examining the state of the art in your chosen area. You'll identify a 'gap' in current media practice which you then address through your own innovative work.

  The relevant areas of media practice will change yearly, depending on the specialism of the module convenor, but may include audio production (e.g. podcasts); audio-visual production (e.g. short films or video essays); creative and critical writing (e.g. blogging, journalism, scriptwriting); and promotional media (e.g. social media campaigns). This module focuses on developing your career skills, including designing, delivering, presenting, pitching and critically reflecting on a creative project.

Optional modules may include the following:

• Arts Internship

• Film & TV Adaptation

• Film Criticism

• Film Marketing and Distribution

• Factual Entertainment

• Fans and Fandom

• Media, Gender and Sexuality

• Stars and Celebrity Culture

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.

Year 1

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Film and Media Practice #1

  Have you ever wanted to better understand film as a media form and learn how to make your own? Film and Media Practice 1 draws on concepts in film and media studies to introduce you to moving image production and the principles of audiovisual language.

  You’ll learn technical skills in pre-production, production and post-production along with skills applicable to both narrative and experimental screen production. Through a combination of lectures, screenings, creative and technical workshops, and peer reviews of work in progress, this module encourages experimentation, critical reflection, independent thought, and dialogue between theory and practice.

• Introduction to Cultural and Creative Industries

  What are the creative and cultural industries? Why are they important and what do they do? How are they funded? How do they generate and develop creative ideas and projects?

  By examining real-world examples and case studies, you’ll develop your knowledge of the creative and cultural industries and how they continue to evolve in today’s digital world. You’ll explore current debates and practices within these industries by reflecting on media theory and consider how they communicate effectively.

• Promotional Media

  How do the growing public relations, marketing and advertising industries influence today’s media landscape? What is the relationship between new media technology, consumer culture and promotional practices in our everyday lives?

  With a focus on critical analysis, creative practice and strategic thinking, you’ll develop a solid understanding of promotional media, examining its development in both historical and contemporary contexts. You’ll evaluate current forms of promotional media and critically discuss the economic, sociological and political impact of promotional activity.

• Media, Politics & Identity

  How do media representations construct, reflect or navigate identity? What are the social and political consequences of this mediation? This introductory module enables you to examine the concept of 'identity' and ‘politics’ through the prism of cultural capital and media presentation.

  You will be introduced to key concepts and theories surrounding issues of gender, class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, political identity, sports identity, and diversity. These topics are considered through a series of case studies that may include theories of media stereotypes, high and low culture, consumption society, identity politics, cultural production, subculture and style, and media pluralism.

• Media and Meaning

  How do different forms of media help create and communicate meaning? This module will introduce you to a range of important media across history, ranging from traditional forms such as print, film and television, to newer forms such as the internet and user-generated content. You'll consider how the medium itself shapes the meaning of media, and how we can work within or around this relationship to create meaningful and impactful media content.

• Film and Media Practice #2

  Building on the specific skills of image production gained in Film & Media Practice #1, this module will introduce you to other kinds of digital content creation. Media content producers work with different mediums and in a variety of communication formats and through this module, you will expand your practice-based and technical skills in order for you to produce diverse narrative-based and/or non-fiction creative outputs.

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.