Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Digital Media and Culture

Entry requirements


A level

C,C,C-B,B,B

UCAS Tariff

96-120

The UCAS tariff score is applicable to you if you have recently studied a qualification that has a UCAS tariff equivalence. UCAS provides a tariff calculator for you to work out what your qualification is worth within the UCAS tariff.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Part-time | 2024

Subjects

Digital media

Cultural studies

Our BA Digital Media and Culture is focused on studying and researching the relationships between digital media and culture. Not only will you learn about the latest technological trends but the wider historical context of how the digital media we use and depend on today have been made possible.

Our world today is increasingly digital. We can know our city’s iconic places through location-aware apps. We shape our identity alongside social media influencers. We fuel the growth of platform monopolies through small, daily gestures like posting videos or ‘liking’ friends’ jokes. We are learning that biases around race, class, gender and sexuality are embedded into algorithms that need to be challenged.

If you are interested in exploring digital media theories and research with leading academic scholars, this course is for you.

The course gives you an extensive understanding of:

- online identity

- social media influencers and algorithmic bias

- location-based media

- meme cultures

- the power of platform companies

- how to develop your own research.

Alongside your more academic studies, you also learn how to become a digital media professional. On this course, you also have access to option modules focusing on applied knowledge and aptitudes, such as social media strategy, digital design, video editing and data mining.

By the end of your studies, you will be equipped to work across a broader range of professional and creative settings where knowledge of digital media is in high demand. You will also be very well prepared for further academic study on a postgraduate course.

If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

**Highlights**

- Birkbeck was ranked as one of the top four universities in the UK for its Art and Design research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

- In film, media and cultural studies, Birkbeck fosters an especially research-intensive environment. We offer an extensive portfolio of internationally respected courses that span a variety of academic disciplines and engage with the latest ideas and techniques in journalism, media and cultural theory, arts policy and management, film and television studies, creative marketing, digital culture and East Asian cultural studies.

- Attend our dynamic programme of seminars, events and guest lectures organised by affiliated research centres and networks such as Birkbeck Interdisciplinary Research in Media and Culture, the Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image and the Vasari Research Centre for Art and Technology.

- Make yourself at home in our Bloomsbury campus, which includes facilities such as the award-winning Birkbeck Cinema, the Peltz Gallery, and computer labs equipped with video editing, print layout and web design software packages.

- Learn from leading academic researchers in the field such as Scott Rodgers, Joel McKim, Rebekah Cupitt, Silke Arnold-de Simine, Lina Džuverović, Robert Topinka, Sophie Hope and Professor Tim Markham. Acquire up-to-date skills and knowledge from experienced industry practitioners at the heart of London's global media industry.

**Careers and employability**

Graduates can pursue careers in the media and cultural industries, for example in:

- digital design and management

- film and television

- curatorial practice

- news media and PR

- cultural and educational institutions

- public policy or professional communications.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment methods

Essays and a range of alternative and creative methods of assessment, including writing exercises, audiovisual presentations, digital media designs and applications, conceptual representations and online or mobile diaries.

Tuition fees

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

England
£9,250
per year
International
£17,620
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Birkbeck, University of London

Department:

School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication

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.

74%
Digital media

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

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
71%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
79%
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

44%
Library resources
68%
IT resources
71%
Course specific equipment and facilities
65%
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?

89%
UK students
11%
International students
42%
Male students
58%
Female students
67%
2:1 or above
32%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
D

Cultural studies

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

After graduation


We don't have more detailed stats to show you in relation to this subject area at this university but read about typical employment outcomes and prospects for graduates of this subject below.

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.

£11k

£11k

£27k

£27k

£30k

£30k

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.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

Explore these similar courses...

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