BA (Hons)
Undergraduate degree - combined honours
for Satisfaction with Feedback in Media and Film Studies (Guardian University Guide 2025)
for Satisfaction with Teaching in Film Production and Photography (Guardian University Guide 2025)
Combine a more traditional programme of film studies with innovative media studies modules to expand your understanding of new media and visual communication. Look at all things “screen” – from social media bites to feature-length productions, digital billboards and film theory.
Throughout your time at Bath Spa, you’ll have the support and guidance of our course leaders, who are award-winning experts and innovators in their fields. You’ll get the chance to use our state-of the-art film facilities in our studios, with cameras, mixing desks and editing suites. You’ll have the opportunity to work in the University’s new city-centre innovation hub for creative media technology.
On this degree you’ll develop and challenge your thinking about film and media. An emphasis on diversity, inclusion and accessibility allows you to explore pertinent topics such as decolonisation, building inclusive audiences and think about sustainability. By studying international and transnational film and de-centred audiences, as well as exploring new and innovative media and communications strategies, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running as a confident professional in the ever-evolving world of work.
Students on this course will benefit from the core skills of both degrees. You’ll learn film theory and practical techniques, and explore the industry. You’ll also use your media skills to communicate your ideas in engaging and creative ways. Film underpins this degree, while the media modules give you greater flexibility in career options and develop your professional skills in communication.
As a student of our Film and Screen Studies and Media Communications degree at Bath Spa, you’ll develop practical skills in marketing, creative strategy, public relations (PR), social media management, production and direction, and visual communications theories and criticism. You’ll develop intellectual, analytical, research and creative skills that will help you to prepare for employment and have the opportunity to engage in practical filmmaking and media projects if you wish.
Over the course of your studies you'll have the flexibility to choose four optional modules in areas that are of particular interest to you, allowing you to build a degree tailored to your passions and career aspirations. You’ll look at the film industry through the lens of visual communication, and study media consumption and changing trends in the visual media.
In your final year, you’ll join The Studio, the University’s city-centre innovation hub for creative media technology. By collaborating across the region’s business and arts sector, you’ll realise your vision for a more inclusive world with strong knowledge of film production and cinema as an industry.
Year one
You’ll investigate film as a specific academic discipline, and be introduced to analytical tools to critique contemporary media. You’ll explore how meaning is conveyed in visual media and analyse how films are constructed. You’ll also learn project management skills and begin to look into the key theoretical and methodological issues involved in the study of cinema, and explore film as a commercial, cultural and aesthetic institution.
Year two
Understand the communications and film industries in greater depth. You’ll learn marketing practices, identifying opportunities to revolutionise how media creators communicate with audiences. You’ll learn web design skills, explore grassroots community media, practice cross-platform communication strategies, and increase your awareness of media ethics. You’ll also get the chance to work on film projects, both practical and theoretical.
Year three
Take your knowledge into the real world. Look at how you can shape the future of visual communication, through film and media, and develop new ways to communicate your passion for film, criticism and journalism.
You’ll be taught in a range of ways, including lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, which give you wide opportunities to learn progressively, stretch your capabilities, test your ideas and methods and interact positively with staff and other students in the department. You’ll be taught by a team of world-leading researchers and creative media practitioners, as well as award-winning film industry professionals. The course is practical and hands-on, and will get you thinking, discussing and debating topics with your coursemates.
To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.
Assessment includes essays, research reports, journals, group presentations and portfolios. Your assessments are designed to help you build a portfolio that you can take into your career. On some modules you’ll produce digital media campaigns, podcasts and social media content, while elsewhere you’ll deliver presentations and work on group projects, computer-based simulations and business strategy reports.
As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.
Visits may include tours of famous UK film studios such as Pinewood and key film centres such as the BFI.
Graduates from this course could expect to find careers in various roles including:
Some of our graduates have gone on to work at regional, national and international companies such as:
Work placements are available within the programme through the second year Work Placement model. They can also be facilitated on an extra-curricular basis through members of the teaching team.
We encourage our filmmaking students to enter material for film competitions and festivals.
If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.
You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.
Develop a wealth of indispensable digital skills that you can take into your future career. One of only three Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, we provide all Bath Spa students with access to the full Adobe Creative Suite, giving you the tools to communicate creatively, whatever your course or chosen professional field.
The Professional Placement Year (PPY) provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for, and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.
By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.
Before your PPY, you'll work to identify roles of interest and secure a placement. The Placements Team will support through timetabled sessions and 1:1 appointments.
As well as completing a minimum of 900 placement hours, you will complete two assessments demonstrating your skill development, growth in professional behaviours and how the PPY has impacted your future career aspirations.
In their final year, Media Communications students collaborate with The Studio in Bath, the University’s city-centre innovation hub for creative media technology.
The Studio provides free and paid-for space for micro-businesses, Bath Spa students and graduates, where they can work on projects and ideas that focus on creativity and technology.
We publish Immediate, a digital publication that showcases our students' journalistic work, including feature articles and think pieces about the media.
You'll be taught on our Newton Park campus, with access to a range of facilities including:
You'll work in a professional environment with industry-level equipment, truly preparing you for a career in the industry. Our electronic, multi-camera TV studios rival those used by commercial organisations and broadcast companies. They’re equipped to exceed industry standard and have both blue and green screen capability.
As a student at Bath Spa, you'll be able to benefit from the studios, the studio gallery equipped with three HD camera channels, our nine HD-capable edit suites, a viewing theatre offering viewing for 2D, 3D, 4k (ultra-HD) and HD presentations, and two mixing rooms.
| Student | Annual tuition fee |
|---|---|
| UK full time | £9,535 |
| UK part time | £4,768 |
| International full time | £17,430 |
During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. This applies to UK and EU/International students.
You may need to pay additional course costs over and above your tuition fees, for example, for specialist equipment or trips and visits. Please check the course Programme Document (linked under the main image on this page) for details of any additional costs. You can also read our Additional Course Costs Policy for further information.
Please visit our Funding pages for an overview of the funding options that may be available, including scholarships and bursaries.
We value applicants who are self-reflective, creative and have good teamworking skills. The ability to challenge the media and identify new ways of communicating to audiences are important traits that we also look for in candidates.
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed below:
English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants
IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.
Course enquiries
For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.
Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.
We recommend these two introductory texts:
Course contact: Dr Jamie Steele (Film and Screen)
Email: j.steel@bathspa.ac.uk
Course leader: Dr Conrad Moriarty-Cole (Media Communications)
Email: c.moriarty-cole@bathspa.ac.uk
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed under 'Typical offers' in the main column below. For combined courses, please check both subjects. If your qualification is not listed, please email admissions@bathspa.ac.uk with your specific details.
