Media and Communication Studies
Entry requirements
A level
The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
Aberystwyth University welcomes the Welsh Baccalaureate as a valuable qualification in its own right and considers completion of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate to be equivalent to an A level grade.
About this course
The BA in Media & Communication Studies at Aberystwyth University explores who controls and owns our media, how media content is produced, and what kind of impact the media has on us as audiences. We will also introduce you to some of the key media and communication theorists and will consider how you can apply their thinking to your own study of media and communications. This degree will allow you to study in great detail the following: media fandom, advertising, news analysis, website design, digital culture, children and the media, surveillance society, language and the media, media history and policy together with creative practice experience in multi-platform production and experimental media. Your three years of study will be dynamic, invigorating and stimulating.
**Why study Media and Communication studies at Aberystwyth?**
You will be taught and mentored by staff who are experts in the field of Media and Communication, have excellent connections to the industry, contribute to national debates on the media, and are at the forefront of research in the field. Students on this course will have a deeper understanding of sociology, psychology, cultural studies, history, philosophy, linguistics, and marketing. Students will be taught in vibrant, modern and dynamic teaching facilities including a brand new PC lab designed to assimilate the digital media industry, digital production and editing suites. Our industry links are embedded at the heart of the department with the BBC Wales, regional office and broadcast situated by the entrance. Students can exploit full access to the National Sound and Screen Archive of Wales which is a stone’s through away from the Penglais campus.
**What will I learn?**
In your first year, you may explore: Relationship between media forms, media institutions and society; The links between established media theory and contemporary approaches to new media; The links between classic and contemporary debates in communication; The research relating to modes of communication between radio, press, advertising, mobile phone technologies and the internet; Key concepts and techniques of media production, directing, cinematography, editing.
In your second year, you may discover: Specific histories, traditions and roles to each medium; Television production; Broadcasting history; Experimental media production; Journalism; Advertising; Videogames; Scriptwriting
In your final year you can choose to: Undertake independent research resulting in a dissertation; Produce experimental or documentary films; Study videogames, TV, gender, media law, semiotics or experimental cinema.
Modules
In your first year you will explore the relationship between media forms, media institutions and society; the links between established media theory and contemporary approaches to new media; the links between classic and contemporary debates in communication. You will research relating to modes of communication between radio, press, advertising, mobile phone technologies and the internet. In your second you will discover specific histories, traditions and roles to each medium; particulary in television production, Broadcasting history, Experimental media production, Website design, Surveillance technologies, Journalism, Advertising and Scriptwriting. In your final year you will have the opportunity to produce, direct, edit a short video which can be experimental, documentary or narrative fiction. The best work will be entered for the Royal Television Society Student Video Awards.
Tuition fees
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Extra funding
Aberystwyth University offers a valuable package of scholarships and bursaries to support students. Our long-established Entrance Examination competition means you could get up to £2,000 a year towards your living and study costs. You can combine that with any or all of our other awards, to make your financial package more valuable. Our awards include Sport and Music Scholarships, Bursaries for Care Leavers/Young Carers/Estranged Students and a range of department specific awards. Please visit our website for full details.
The Uni
Main Site (Aberystwyth)
Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
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Media studies
Teaching and learning
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Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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Media studies
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Only a small number of students study courses within this catch-all subject area, so there isn't a lot of information available on what graduates do when they finish - bear that in mind when you look at any stats. Marketing and PR were the most likely jobs for graduates from these courses, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Media studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£14k
£17k
£20k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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