Film Studies

UCAS code: PP32

Here's what University of Portsmouth says about its Film Studies course.

This is a Connected Degree

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview

Take your interest in film and turn it into a promising career or pathway to further study with our Film Studies degree course.

You'll examine film and its related institutions from a contemporary perspective, focusing on the theories and concepts that define them. Guided by an internationally recognised team of researchers and academics, you’ll explore film's interrelationships with society, culture, identity, history, and the future, in areas ranging from fandom and popular culture to gender and global cinema. Our range of optional modules, industry talks and experiences, and local community and outreach connections in the curriculum will offer you a tailored degree experience to enhance your learning and enjoyment.

You’ll graduate from our course with a critical and global understanding of film. You'll also develop adaptable media skills in research, industry knowledge and communication, which will help you fashion your career in film or whatever field you choose.

Course highlights

• Take part in the annual Portsmouth Comic Con for the latest developments in film, popular culture, fan communities, and technology – course lecturers and students are panelists and run film screenings

• Screen your final-year film project at Portsmouth's established independent No. 6 Cinema and gain industry contacts

• Learn from widely published media experts and active researchers to add depth to your studies

• Be part of our extensive media culture at Portsmouth: you can write for student publications, collaborate with students on our Film Production and Television and Broadcasting courses, and participate in our student-led TV channel CCI TV

• Become an Adobe Certified Associate to enhance your technical and production skills

Careers and opportunities

Along with theoretical and practical knowledge of film, you'll also graduate with a more nuanced understanding of the world. You'll develop methods for deconstructing its sociocultural ethics, means of representation, and constructs, and scrutinise environments more deeply. These analytical skills are crucial in many sectors within and outside media and film.

Many of our graduates begin their careers in communication, such as public relations and advertising. Some continue to postgraduate studies and research in multimedia, while others take teacher training to begin careers in higher and further education.

With such a flexible degree as our Film Studies course, you'll be able to explore many other possibilities.

Graduate roles

Roles our graduates have gone onto include:

• Content Creator

• Marketing Manager

• Theatrical Marketing Department Executive

• Lecturer

• Writer and researcher

• Videographer

Graduate destinations

Our graduates have worked at places such as:

• Pathé

• CIC Film Crew 4u

• Arrow Films

• Studio Canal

• Chichester College

After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.

** Year 1** Core modules

• Future Production (20 credits)
• Global Screens (20 credits)
• Screen Research (20 credits)
• Spectacular Hollywood (20 credits)
• Understanding Film Production (20 credits)
• Writing for the Film and TV Industries (20 credits)

** Year 2** Core modules

• Film Curation (20 credits)
• World and Transnational Cinema (20 credits)

Optional modules

• British Cinema (20 credits)
• Broadcast Radio and Podcasting (20 credits)
• Comic Book Industries (20 credits)
• Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)
• Film and Ethics (20 credits)
• Production: Camera and Editing (20 credits)
• Production: Short Film-Making (20 credits)
• Professional Experience (20 credits)
• Student Enterprise (20 credits)
• Study Exchange (60 credits)
• Transmedia Narratives and Strategies (20 credits)
• World and Transnational Cinema (20 credits)

** Year 3** Optional modules

• Film and Media Dissertation (40 credits)
• Gender, Sexuality and Cinema (20 credits)
• Marketing Movies (20 credits)
• Media Fan Cultures (20 credits)
• Professional Industry Skills (20 credits)
• Practical Video Project (40 credits)
• Representing Science in the Media (20 credits)
• Researching Animation (20 credits)
• Researching Genre (20 credits)
• Self Promotion (20 credits)
• Studying Comedy (20 credits)

Changes to course content

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry. If a module doesn't run, we'll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

You’ll be assessed through:

• essays
• presentations
• video productions
• film scripts
• reports
• a research portfolio
• examinations
• dissertation or video project

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:

• Year 1 students: 3% by practical exams and 97% by coursework
• Year 2 students: 3% by written exams, 12% by practical exams and 85% by coursework
• Year 3 students: 10% by practical exams and 90% by coursework