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Media and English

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

Including English Literature, or Language and Literature. A level General Studies is not accepted.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30

Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject specific modules.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

33

With three Higher Level subjects at 655 including English Literature, or Language and Literature.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H2,H2

Including English Literature, or Language and Literature.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

Including English Literature, or Language and Literature.

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,B,C

Grade B in English Literature, or Language and Literature is required.

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,B,C

Grade B in English Literature, or Language and Literature is required.

T Level

M

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

120-136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

English studies

Media and communication studies

This degree allows you to explore critical perspectives in literature and media alongside each other while developing your skills in creative writing (script and short story) and editing.

**Why study BA Media & English at Goldsmiths**
- The media shapes our lives in many unseen ways, from our views on race and religion to the way we see the economy. You’ll be given the tools you need to understand and address these issues. We encourage you to be critical – a vital skill for questioning the status quo.

- You’ll develop a vocabulary for discussing and analysing works of literature from different genres and historical periods.

- This course offers you the chance to cultivate your creative skills – you’ll be creating screenplays for film and TV, plays for radio, and short stories. These will form a portfolio that you can show to future employers.

- You’ll gain an understanding of media production and how writing impacts on the technical aspects of the media industry.

- We regularly host events in which major international researchers, writers and critics present and talk about their work; they have included Danny Boyle, Gurinder Chadha, Noel Clark and Sir Lenny Henry.

- On graduating, you'll have the skills and portfolio to explore careers in writing and production across areas like film, TV, publishing, journalism and advertising.

- 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 English only accepts applications for first year entry.

Modules

You'll take introductory-level theoretical modules in media/communications and literature in your first year, and take a creative writing module in which you explore the various forms of narrative fiction in media – screenplays for film and tv, plays for radio and short stories – and develop an original idea into one of these forms.

The second year develops your understanding of approaches to studying communications and the media, and gives you the opportunity to follow your interests in English. You'll also complete a second, longer project in creative writing.

In the third year you're free to choose from a range of options, according to your interests. You'll also complete a final creative writing project, in which you'll demonstrate understanding of how to work with fiction writing (and writers) from the production side (film, tv, radio, publishing).

Year 1 (credit level 4)
In your first year you take the following compulsory modules:
Approaches to Text
Film and the Audiovisual: Theory and Analysis
Key Debates in Media Studies
Explorations in Literature

In addition to:
Creative Writing (Script and Short Story) - Level 4

Year 2 (credit level 5)
Media and Communications - you'll take media theory options that cover the internationalisation of cultural and media studies, the psychology of communications or theories of political economy in the cultural industries.

You select two Media option modules. Those recently available have included:
Psychology, Subjectivity and Power
Money, Society, and Culture
Media, Memory and Conflict
Television and After
Culture, Society and the Individual
Moving Image Spectatorship
Media, Modernity and Social Thought

You also study:
Creative Writing (Script and Short Story) Level 5

In addition to:
English and Creative Writing (chosen from an approved list) Level 5
You take modules to the value of 60 credits from an approved list of module units available annually from the Department of English and Creative Writing.

You can follow your interests and choose three modules from a wide range offering diverse literary, historical and contextual scope.

Year 3 (credit level 6)
Media and Communications (chosen from an approved list)
You take modules to the value of 30 credits from an approved list of third year module units available annually from the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies

Examples of previous Media options include:
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

You also take the following compulsory module:
Creative Writing (Script and Short Story) Level 6

In addition to:
English and Creative Writing (chosen from an approved list)

You take modules to the value of 30 credits from an approved list of third-year modules available annually from the Department of English and Creative Writing. Note: students who take the dissertation option must pass that module (30 credits) in addition to the compulsory Creative Writing module in order to be awarded the degree

And either a dissertation (30 credits) or modules to value of 30 credits from the Department of English and Creative Writing.

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


Course location:

Goldsmiths, University of London

Department:

Media, Communications and Cultural Studies

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.

34%
Media and communication 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.

English 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.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

77%
UK students
23%
International students
23%
Male students
77%
Female students
70%
2:1 or above
21%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
B

Media studies

Teaching and learning

73%
Staff make the subject interesting
64%
Staff are good at explaining things
63%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
49%
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

57%
Library resources
77%
IT resources
64%
Course specific equipment and facilities
15%
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?

60%
UK students
40%
International students
26%
Male students
74%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
14%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

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.

English studies (non-specific)

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.

£18,200
med
Average annual salary
93%
low
Employed or in further education
45%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Other elementary services occupations
10%
Childcare and related personal services

English is one of the most popular degree subjects and in 2015, more than 11,000 students graduated with English degrees - although this does represent a fall from recent years. As good communication is so important to modern business, you can find English graduates in all parts of the economy, although obviously, you can't expect to get a job in science or engineering (computing is a different matter - it's not common but good language skills can be useful in the computing industry). There's little difference in outcomes between English language and English literature degrees, so don't worry and choose the one that suits you best. More English grads took another postgraduate course when they finished their degree than grads from any other subject - this is an important option. Teacher training was a common choice of second degree, as was further study of English, and journalism courses. But many English graduates changed course and trained in law, marketing or other languages -or even subjects further afield such as computing, psychology and even nursing. This is a very flexible degree which gives you a lot of options

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.

£20,000
high
Average annual salary
87%
low
Employed or in further education
42%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

26%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
17%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
8%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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.

English studies (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£23k

£23k

£25k

£25k

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.

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

£19k

£25k

£25k

£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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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