Media and Communications
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject specific modules
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
With three Higher Level subjects at 655
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
T Level
Each application will be considered on its individual merits. Where the T Level subject area does not directly match the degree programme being applied for, the personal statement and reference will be particularly important in demonstrating interest, enthusiasm and suitability for the subject.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
Bringing together media practice and communications theory, this degree covers a broad spectrum of critical perspectives on the media, and will introduce you to a range of contemporary media practices.
**Why study BA Media & Communications at Goldsmiths**
- You will study in one of the UK's and the world's top media and communications departments.
- You'll be taught by leading names in media, communications and cultural studies.
- We concentrate on high quality lectures and small group work, and all our teaching takes place on one purpose-built site.
- On practice modules you'll be taught by industry professionals engaged in TV, film, journalism, radio, photography, scriptwriting, short fiction, illustration, interactive media and animation.
- You'll have access to industry-standard practice facilities, including TV/film, radio and photography studios, digital video and audio editing suites, and animation software and hardware.
- Our close links to the media industry bring you into regular contact with media professionals. You will have the opportunity to apply for an internship in the media as part of the course.
- We regularly host debates and talks by international figures in media and cultural research and the media industry; recent guests have included Danny Boyle, Gurinder Chadha and Noel Clark.
- You'll be taught alongside students from all over the world and with diverse cultural experiences that enrich the department and the learning experience.
- You'll develop skills that you can use throughout your career whether in the media industries or elsewhere. Our recent graduates are now working as television producers, news readers, editors, journalists etc... Others have gone into a whole range of careers such as research, teaching and law.
- The Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies has been ranked 2nd in the UK for 'world-leading or internationally excellent' research (Research Excellence Framework, 2021) and 12th in the world (2nd in the UK) in the 2022 QS World Rankings for communication and media studies.
Please note the BA Media and Communications only accepts applications for first year entry.
Modules
The degree consists of 50% media theory and 50% media practice. We aim to provide an inspirational learning experience in which theory and practice influence and enrich each other in the production of original creative and intellectual work.
Far more than just a media degree this programme incorporates philosophical perspectives on technology and human life as well as sociological approaches to media production.
We look at issues of identity through critical race studies, queer theory and critiques of post-feminism. We investigate global screen cultures and also the role of news in democracy. All of this, together with critical, creative practice in production equips our students to be the thinking media practitioners of the future.
Year 1 (credit level 4)
Media Theory
In the first year, the theory element introduces you to the study of verbal and visual languages, and encourages you to assess changes in the media. You'll be acquainted with debates surrounding the term 'culture', and will look at how experiences of gender, age and race affect our understanding of the concept. You'll also examine various media texts, and take a module that will address theories of society and approaches to the modern state as they relate to media.
You take the following compulsory modules:
Media History and Politics
Culture and Cultural Studies
Key Debates in Media Studies
Film and the Audiovisual: Theory and Analysis
Media Arts
Media Practice
Media Production – Option 1: Media Campaigning and Social Activism pathway
Year 2 (credit level 5)
Media Theory
In the second year you take theory modules covering a range of approaches to the study of communications and the media. You'll look at theories of postmodernity, identity and globalisation; be introduced to differing psychological perspectives on the analysis of culture and communications; consider cultural theory; and investigate concepts of audience.
You take the following compulsory modules:
Psychology, Subjectivity and Power
Media, Modernity and Social Thought
And a choice of two option modules. Options offered recently have included:
Culture, Society and the Individual
Moving Image Spectatorship
Money, Society, and Culture
Media, Memory and Conflict
Television and After
Media Practice
Practice modules introduce you to media production in a different area to the one you studied in year one. You'll apply production skills in the creation of small-scale projects, and develop critical skills through the analysis of examples and of work produced in each area. You then choose a practice area in which to specialise.
You take: Media Production Option 2
Year 3 (credit level 6)
Media Theory
You can choose any combination of options to the value of 60 credits. Options offered recently have included:
Structure of Contemporary Political Communication
Race, Empire and Nation
The City and Consumer Culture
Music as Communication and Creative Practice
Embodiment and Experience
Strategies of World Cinema
Media Law and Ethics
Media, Ritual and Contemporary Public Cultures
Promotional Culture
Politics of the Audiovisual
Social Media in Everyday Life: A global perspective
Media Geographies
Dissertation
You can also undertake a work placement as one of your option modules.
Media Practice
You undertake the research, planning and production of a major project or a portfolio of work in the practice area in which you specialised in Year 2 (60 credits).
Practice options may include:
Animation
Creative Writing
Illustration
Interactive Media
Journalism
Photography
Radio
Television and Film
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework assignments such as extended essays, reports, presentations, practice-based projects or essays/logs, group projects and reflective essays, as well as seen and unseen written examinations.
The Uni
Goldsmiths, University of London
Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
What students say
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How do students rate their degree experience?
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Media studies
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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.
£19k
£25k
£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.
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