Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Film [with Foundation Year]

Entry requirements


Sorry, no information to show

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Subject

Film studies

**Explore theories and histories of film and cinema, and develop creative skills in filmmaking, screenwriting and a range of creative, practice-based modules by studying on our full-time BA (Hons) Film degree in Cambridge.**

Join a course that scored 94% for Academic Support in the National Student Survey 2023 and prepare for many careers in the film industries, including screenwriting, filmmaking, journalism, programming, festival management and public engagement.

As a Film student at ARU, you’ll discover the history of global cinema and study a range of films, from avant-garde cinema to Hollywood blockbusters. As well as studying a range of film theories and ideas about how cinema reflects and affects society, you’ll also make short films and explore the language of cinema from the perspective of a creative practitioner. In this aspect of the course you’ll write screenplays and make experimental films, narrative and non-fiction films using digital video as well as 8mm and 16mm film.

Throughout your Film degree, you’ll be supported by our team of expert lecturers and a close-knit community of students and graduates.

There are opportunities to show your films at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse and work with a range of external partners. Our links with local and national organisations will help you make contacts and find work placements in the industry.

Our recent students have found internships and placements with companies such as the BBC, Cambridge Festival of Ideas, Film & Video Umbrella, Cannes Film Festival, Cambridge Film Festival, Take One magazine, Watersprite Film Festival, CBBC, ITN Productions, London Studios, MTV, New York Film Academy, Pinewood Studios, StudioCanal UK (formerly Optimum Releasing) and Sight & Sound magazine.

You’ll also have opportunities to take part in live briefs with our partner organisations. Our students recently worked with mental health charity Lifecraft, producing a series of short videos about the charity for their website and social media channels.

Our course options allow you to take a placement year as part of your course as well.

You can also choose to study abroad as part of your course and get funding to cover the cost.

**Industry-standard facilities**

As part of your studies at ARU, you’ll have access to all of our creative industries facilities including:
- Film studio with overhead lighting, tracks, dollies and green screen

- Multi-camera television studio with modular set panels and modern set dressing

- Full range of location kit from 4K digital cameras to Steadicam

- Sound-recording equipment for location filming

- Editing suites with Da Vinci Resolve and the full Adobe Creative Cloud software suite

- Finishing suite with audio monitoring and grading panels

- Aaton Cameras and Steenbeck editors for 16mm film production

- Motion capture equipment

- Podcast and video capture system

**Careers**

Our BA (Hons) Film degree will help you prepare for a career in many film and cinema-related roles, including film and television production or post-production, journalism, screenwriting, programming and curation, festival management and public relations.

You might also decide to continue on to a Masters course, such as our MA Film and Television Production. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get 20% off your fees.

**Employability and personal career development**

Informed by employers, our courses support an integrated approach to employability. You’ll have opportunities to develop the skills and abilities they are looking for and gain a deeper understanding of how your academic learning relates to the world of work through Live Briefs and Ruskin Modules. To amplify your career ambition, you'll need to actively dedicate time outside of your studies, whether you choose to explore placements, internships or volunteering, which all provide you with experience that you will be able to evidence on your CV and talk about in interviews.

Modules

Year 1 core modules: Interactive Learning Skills and Communication; Information and Communication Technology; Critical Thinking; Intercultural Studies; Ethics; Psychology; Composition and Style; Social Perceptions. Year 2 core modules: Film Language and Concepts; Creative Moving Image; Screenwriting: The Short Film; History of Global Cinema. Year 2 optional modules: Introduction to Filmmaking: Super 8mm, Anglia Language Programme. Year 3 core modules: Theorising Spectatorship; Classical Hollywood Cinema; Documentary Film Theory; Ruskin Module; Filmmakers on film. Year 3 optional modules: Independent Cinema: US and Beyond; 16mm Filmmaking; Non-Fiction Filmmaking; Film Criticism and Reviewing; From Script to Screen; Anglia Language Programme. Year 4 core modules: Special Topics in Film Studies; Gender and Popular Cinema; Research Project in Film and Media. Year 4 optional modules: Screenwriting: Writing and Selling the Feature Film; Narrative in Global Cinema; Professional Practice in Film; Experiments in Film and Moving Image; Film Journalism; Anglia Language Programme. Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment methods

You won’t take any written exams. Instead, you’ll show your learning through a portfolio of creative work (including short films and film scripts), film reviews, critical essays and oral presentations. You’ll also critically evaluate your creative work, presenting and defending your work in ‘crits’.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Cambridge Campus

Department:

Cambridge School of Creative Industries

Read full university profile

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.

73%
Film studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Media studies

Teaching and learning

80%
Staff make the subject interesting
80%
Staff are good at explaining things
67%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
76%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

67%
Library resources
81%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
56%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

67%
UK students
33%
International students
42%
Male students
58%
Female students
81%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
C
D

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

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.

£17,000
med
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
19%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Other elementary services occupations
9%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

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.

£13k

£13k

£20k

£20k

£26k

£26k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
Bangor University | Bangor (Wales)
Film Studies and Production
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 96-128
Nearby University
University of Essex | Colchester
Film and Journalism (Including Year Abroad)
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 128
Lower entry requirements
Anglia Ruskin University | Cambridge
Film and Media
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 96
Same University
Anglia Ruskin University | Cambridge
Film
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 96

Share this page

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here