Media Communications and Sociology

You’ll develop practical skills in marketing, creative strategy, journalism and social media management through the lens of ethically engaged media activism, balancing creative and design work with research into online influencers and media ethics.

Throughout the degree, you’ll examine the role of immersive media, feminist activism, AI communications, exhibitions and public audiences and much more in shaping the future of media communications.

You’ll bring together your ability to rethink the media with your deep-rooted knowledge of the communications sectors, working on everything from short-form Instagram content to large-scale media campaigns with our industry partners.

Year one: audiences, activism and access
Open your eyes to being a media activist. You’ll be introduced to analytical tools to critique contemporary media, such as gender and inequality. You’ll learn new graphic design and project development skills, as well as how to research media audiences.

Year two: industries, inclusivity and influencers
Understand the communications industry. You’ll learn marketing, influencer and branding practices, identifying opportunities to revolutionise how media creators communicate to audiences. You’ll learn web design skills, explore grassroots community media, practice cross-platform communication strategies, and increase your awareness of media ethics.

Year 3: emerging voices, technologies and opportunities
Become a communications professional and realise your vision for a more inclusive media landscape. You’ll work beyond the borders of the university, joining The Studio, our innovation hub for creative media technology, while collaborating with arts and cultural organisations. You’ll learn how immersive media, feminist activism, AI communications and public exhibitions can all shape the future of media.

You’ll produce the kind of media content that defines our ‘communications for change’ ethos, working on creative media campaigns, marketing strategies, investigative journalism features, political media making, social media content and PR packs.

You’ll be taught by a team of world-leading researchers and creative media practitioners.

Lectures set out key practices and emerging trends in media communications, such as gender on social media, racial inequality in journalism, or how global media companies define their audiences. You’ll also learn via workshops devoted to skills including web design and media branding, and in project labs you’ll work with staff and students to co-design larger campaigns.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

All final-year students will join The Studio, Bath Spa University’s city-centre hub for creative media technology.

Our final-year modules are delivered in collaboration with industry partners, providing students with insight into - and hands-on experience with - some of the most innovative and culturally significant arts, media and communications organisations in the region.

Recently our students have produced articles, campaigns, strategy reports and social media content for the likes of:

• Bathscape
• Voices
• Stroud Film Festival
• Great State
• Victoria Art Gallery in Bath
• Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein in Bath.

Our Media Communications course is designed for those looking to succeed within and across the ever-growing communications industry, developing much sought-after skills in digital marketing, creative strategy, PR, journalism and social media management.

Our graduates are equipped to succeed as advertising, branding, and marketing leaders, social media creators, campaign designers, web and graphic designers, creative strategists, events coordinators, and media researchers.

They’ve gone on to work at companies like Marvel Studios, ITV, Newbury Racecourse, Save the Children UK, Q Magazine, Komedia, and more.

As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.

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.

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.

As a BA Media Communications student you’ll benefit from access to comprehensive digital workshops and specialist art and design facilities, including:

• Our student service point at Locksbrook where you can purchase subsidised art and design materials, hire out equipment for free and collect Library resources
• Access to our well-stocked Library at Newton Park
• Access to specialist technical workshops across all of art and design
• Access to studio space where you can work on projects and refine your practice
• The Studio in Bath
• Virtual Learning Environment

Media Communications students can make full use of Bath Spa University’s purpose-built media production and post-production facilities at Newton Park.

Media Communications students can hire out equipment using SISO, Bath Spa University’s free equipment loan service. We provide a huge variety of equipment and resources from multi-camera TV studios through to digital cameras and field recorders.

You'll also have access to a wide range of University resources:

• Library collections directly relevant to the Media Communications course include more than 450 journal subscriptions, 18,000 books and 3,000 e-books. The Library’s extensive digital collections include Film and Television Literature Index, Rock's Backpages, and Box of Broadcasts, an archive of over two million off-air television broadcasts. Library resources for the course are underpinned by our Subject Librarian, who provides subject-specific support and a defined point of contact for research enquiries.

• The Careers team have very close links with the media and creative industries in Bath and Bristol, and organise bespoke opportunities for you to engage with media employers, including networking sessions and bus tours visiting organisations.

• (ASk) Academic Skills provides continuous support for your academic work, providing feedback on written drafts and running sessions on academic writing.