Media and Communication with a Year in Industry

In a world increasingly shaped by digital technologies, media literacy is essential, not only for understanding the world around us but for actively shaping it.

Our BA in Media and Communication offers a dynamic blend of critical theory, hands-on experience and forward thinking that will equip you with the skills to analyse, create, and innovate across journalism, public relations, digital media, and film.

This programme embeds critical thinking, media literacy, and research-led learning from the outset. You’ll benefit from expert-led teaching, that’s directly related to cutting-edge media research, delivered alongside real-world projects, authentic assessments and a suite of innovative practice modules that reflect industry practice.

Our BA in Media and Communication ensures you are both critically informed and practically skilled, ensuring you graduate with the essential skills to become an adaptable, reflective media professional ready to navigate and contribute to the fast-changing media landscape.

Through the study of concepts such as media history and identity, algorithmic bias and the digital political economy, you’ll gain a critical understanding of how media transforms societies and influences everyday life.

The programme also includes the opportunity to study a Year Abroad or a Year in Industry. A Year Abroad allows you to hone your intercultural awareness, developing your skills in relation to international journalism and content creation.

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Introduction to Media and Communication; Delivering and Decoding the News; Principles of Mediation; Creative Media Platforms; Introduction to Film Studies.

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Theorising the Media; Social Media Cultures; Digital Content Creation; Misinformation, Fake News and Fact-Checking; All Ears: The Art of Podcasting; Activist PR: The Democratisation of Public Relations; Adaptation: Storytelling Across Media.

In Year 3: Year spent in Industry

In Year 4, you will typically study areas including: Dissertation Preparation; Graphic Novel; Media and Identities; Sports Public Relations; Digital Futures; Science Fiction and Media.

Studying Media and Communications at Swansea University allows students to enhance their future employability prospects through assessments that replicate the kind of experiences you will face in the creative communications industries, often with the involvement of industry professionals to offer feedback and advice. Some examples of these are:

• Developing creative ideas for a multi-media project that is then pitched to a commissioning editor from the BBC
• Working with one of the University’s Sports Club to develop a communications strategy to raise the profile of the club among Freshers students
• Creating a multi-media rebranding project for a client
• Writing and/or recording a film review
• Interpreting a brief from a local organisation and working with that client to develop a digital PR strategy that is then pitched to the client
• Filming and editing a series of short 3-minute videos in a variety of styles optimised for distribution on social media
• Sourcing and writing a local news story as a part of the development of a digital journalism portfolio
• Developing an idea for a new lifestyle journalism publication, and pitching the idea to a publisher

For full breakdown of course structure and assessment please visit our course page: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/media-comms-journalism-pr/ba-journalism-media-communications or get in touch with us at study@swansea.ac.uk