Film & Screen Arts (Extended Degree)
Entry requirements
UCAS Tariff
Although many of our students do come in with top grades and high UCAS points, these aren’t necessarily essential for entry. We typically ask for a minimum of 104 UCAS points, but we understand that talented artists, designers and makers can have a wide range of relevant strengths and skills beyond formal qualifications. We’re just as interested in exploring your portfolio as we are in seeing your grades.
You may also need to…
Present a portfolio
About this course
**Arts University Plymouth is an arts university for the 21st century, preparing students who are uniquely placed to provide creative solutions to the complex global challenges of a changing world. Formerly known as Plymouth College of Art, we were granted full university title in Spring 2022. We are now the city of Plymouth’s first and only specialist arts university, allowing us to offer our students a dynamic and unique learning experience.**
If you want to pursue a creative degree at Arts University Plymouth but feel you have yet to acquire the experience and range of skills necessary, our Extended BA course will prepare you for entry to one of our BA (Hons) undergraduate courses. This four-year route offers an exploratory year, developing your insight into a range of art, design and media skills and approaches, before focusing on your Film & Screen Arts degree.
**BA (Hons) Film & Screen Arts is a practical filmmaking course that focuses on the craft and aesthetics of contemporary filmmaking. With a focus on cinematic storytelling, the course allows you to design and create storyworlds for a range of audiences, and to gain real insight into the global filmmaking industries.**
This course equips you with the necessary skills to succeed as a practical filmmaker, these include cinematography and lighting design, directing and camera operation, sound design and mixing, production design and art direction, editing and post production. Alongside this you'll be challenged to consider the role of film in society, how audiences consume film across multiple platforms, and how best to showcase your own work. From initial idea, to shooting and screening, you will be encouraged to think through the creative techniques you choose to use, whilst also considering your work in relation to the wider world.
Being filmmakers in an Arts University allows for creative collaborations that make for unique works being created, sometimes beyond traditional film forms, including screen-based installations, music videos and site specific cinema. Led by a team of practicing filmmakers, sound artists and film writers, all areas of your learning are underpinned by rigorous critical thinking and cultural enquiry in order to understand how film functions in its many contemporary forms.
Our experienced technicians support your practical learning, and you’ll have access to our outstanding facilities including film and media studios, sound recording and post-production studios, vocal recording booths and foley studio space. Our Multimedia Lab is stocked with a specialist media equipment, with cameras including Arri Alexa, Black Magic Ursa, Arri Super 16mm cinema cameras, camera rigs, specialist lighting kit, sound recording kit and much more.
Our on-site independent cinema, run by Plymouth Arts Cinema, provides the perfect opportunity for you to display your work on the big screen as well as to watch a diverse programme of films, and to engage in specialist film-focused events.
With a rich programme of visiting filmmakers and lecturers, and opportunities to take on professional client briefs, you will have the chance to build a creative network that will truly support your development as a filmmaker. We have established links with NAHEMI, BFI, Royal Television Society and the Aesthetica Film Festival, as well as many filmmaking professionals and organisations. You’ll have the opportunity to attend international film festivals such as Glasgow Short Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival and Aethestica Film Festival, where our students have screened their own work as well as held panel discussions.
Graduates of the course have had their work selected for screening at international film festivals including the London Short Film Festival, New York Tribeca Film Festival and Raindance International Film Festival. Our alumni are employed across the globe at organisations including Paramount Pictures, Netflix, BBC, Aardman and ProDirect Sport.
Modules
The first year of an Extended Degree is not a qualification in its own right, but when you successfully complete it you are guaranteed a place on our full undergraduate programme.
You’ll develop confidence in your use of drawing, visual research, contextual studies, digital imaging and design methods, and you’ll have the chance to experiment with a range of materials, equipment, processes and software.
As the year goes by you’ll specialise in your chosen undergraduate subject (illustration, graphic design, fine art, etc.), helping you to become a confident, independent and creative artist, designer or maker.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Arts University Plymouth
Arts, Design and Media
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?
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.
Cinematics and photography
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
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
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.
Cinematics and photography
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
£16k
£18k
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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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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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
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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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