UDJFTSTU - BA (Hons) Journalism, Film and Television Studies

The BA Journalism, Film and Television (including foundation year) Studies combines the theoretical, historical and cultural study of film and television with practical and industry learning and the wide-ranging study and practice of journalism. explore a wide variety of theories, approaches, national cinemas and television industries, engaging in critical analysis of both text and context. With both core and optional modules, the course provides students with a wide-ranging knowledge and understanding of the film and television industries and their global cultural significance. Practical skills of filmmaking and screenwriting are developed, as well as up-to-date industry knowledge. Simultaneously, students focus on developing critical inquiry and professional skills related to journalism, both of which are essential to success in the field. Students learn a range of writing techniques, from academic essay to snappy tweet. Curiosity about and knowledge of a wide knowledge of social and historical contexts is also crucial in developing professional journalistic practice within today’s fast-changing industry, as is an understanding of ethics and law in the post-Leveson media geography, as well as post-Trump fake news challenges.

Students are able to gain transferrable skills throughout the course via student presentations, group work, original and secondary research, news dayays, coursework planning and practice-based assignments, as well as through the opportunity for work-related learning and a placement. Essential to the course is the approach of the University’s Education for Social Justice Framework, ensuring that learning and teaching are inclusive and expand student knowledge both historically and in today’s world. Students begin their studies at level 3 with both core learning in the theory and history of film, television and media, audio-visual practice, and the essential development of writing and study skills in preparation for university level study. Subsequently, students combine academic, historical and cultural analysis of film and television with practical filmmaking and industry-based learning, the ethical practice of journalism and its audio-visual practice, and have opportunities for work based learning or a placement. Through this combination and the integration of student choice, the course provides students with the academic, industrial and practical knowledge and transferrable skills required for a wide variety of careers in the journalism and the cultural industries.

Students will experience a variety of teaching and learning approaches from course teams of leading researchers and practitioners, including lectures, seminars, film screenings, workshops, news days, group work, and blended learning via the university’s virtual learning environment. Guest lecturers and industry professionals provide additional opportunities to engage with industry professionals. Students are expected to complement their in-class and blended learning opportunities with extensive guided independent study and to be actively engaged in their learning. Developmental learning encourages students to reflect on their learning experience, and formative and summative assignments including portfolios, essay and project planning, presentations, short-film screenplays and film provide opportunities for early feedback and development. A student-centred approach is embedded in the course approach to assessment so that students are able to write, present and make films about themes and topics of interest developed through the course of their study and that draw on personal identities and histories. Learning strategies on the course are designed to promote transferrable skills of communication, independent thinking, the ability to work effectively with others, work planning and independent responsibility. Student feedback and engagement with teaching and learning strategies are promoted via student representatives and course committees. Learning facilities include large screen lecture theatres, film and television studios, film production and television studies, a radio studio, digilab facilities, and flexible open-learning spaces. Students also have access to audio-visual equipment and the extensive facilities of the university’s Learning Centre.

Using a mixture of workshops, simulations, seminar discussions and exposition, the course is taught by respected, experienced practitioners. Every session makes use of blended learning, particularly via class blogs and the course website, and many modules are taught within the multimedia newsroom, or the film, television or radio studio. Team working and collaboration, among other key social skills like the ability to gain interviews, present oneself successfully and sell ideas, are developed through class exercises and news days. Event-led news weeks are a unique feature of the course.

Course Aims:

• To develop students’ understanding of film and television theories and histories and of the journalism industry and its ethical practice

• To enable students to critically analyse film, television and journalism in relation to a variety of cultural issues

• To promote student engagement with world history and culture and to reflect on their place in the world

• To develop student’s practice-based skills, including digital film and television production, screenwriting and broadcast journalism

• To develop students’ transferrable skills through presentations, group work, practice-based assignments, employment-based learning, course committees and student consultation

• To encourage skills of research, writing, argument development and critical analysis

• To promote students’ self-directed learning

• To encourage students to reflect on their personal development through student choice in learning and assessment

• To prepare students for careers in a variety of fields including the film, television and journalism industries, and for further academic and practice-based study

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

UL0. Demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and will act as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in their discipline.

LO1. Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of key debates and theoretical perspectives in Film and Television Studies and Journalism;
LO2. Understand the representational, technological and cultural significance of film, television and cultural texts and canons;
LO3. Analyse the role of journalism, film and television in contributing to political and cultural debates and the contestation of power;
LO4. Demonstrate an understanding of and/or ability to engage in cultural and production practices, applying theoretical understanding to production processes such as constructing audio-visual narratives, writing for the screen, camera operation, framing and composition, use of editing and other software, audio recording and editing, and lighting;
LO5. Identify, evaluate and employ research methods (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to Film and Television Studies and Journalism);
LO6. Research and present an extended piece of research or practical equivalent;
LO7. Be able to locate, retrieve, evaluate and draw upon a range of data, sources, and conceptual frameworks appropriate to research, production and professional practice;
LO8. Communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions effectively verbally and/or non-verbally, electronically and in writing, showing sensitivity and openness to different ideas and approaches;
LO9. Manage their learning and work with minimal supervision, responding to specific briefs and deadlines;
LO10. Demonstrate flexibility, initiative and/or personal responsibility/resilience.

Subject Benchmark Statement: Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies [April 2024]

https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/sbs/sbs-communication-media-film-and-cultural-studies-24.pdf?sfvrsn=c401b481_4

The course provides a variety of assessment strategies designed to promote and evidence students’ engagement with academic, practice-based and experiential learning. Assessments are both formative and summative to promote developmental learning, and include formal essays, presentations, portfolios, case studies, practice-based assessments such as scriptwriting, short film-making exercises, magazine and website layouts, online journals and reflection on work-related, skills-based learning.

Module assessment is frequently designed around connected summative assessments, providing opportunities for initial research, planning and group work to develop towards final assessments, and so providing opportunities to demonstrate good academic practice. Through the validation processes, course committees and informal feedback, students have the opportunity to engage with the development of the course assessment strategy. Draft assessments may be submitted to tutors and receive written and in-person feedback prior to formal submission of summative assessments. Students will be provided with both formative and summative feedback in a variety of forms including in-class, tutorials, on-line, and formal written feedback via WebLearn. Students are encouraged to attend individual tutorials to gain additional understanding of written feedback.

The course’s wide variety of assessments enables students to demonstrate effectively their knowledge and understanding and to demonstrate their creative skills and communication skills. Student choice is an essential element of the assessment strategy, enabling students to engage with assessments in ways that reflect individual identities and histories, and to engage with themes and topics of individual interest. Students are encouraged to choose topics considered as part of the Education for Social Justice Framework and that are integral to the course from cultural modules related to film to news weeks.

Feedback on assessment is timely, constructive and developmental, promoting student engagement and reflection in preparation for future assignments. Equitable marking is ensured through processes that include blind marking and internal moderation at all levels, and external moderation of modules at levels 5 and 6.

Students have the option to take a work-based learning module and engage directly with work-related experience during their period of study, or to take a journalism placement module that provides the opportunity for key experience within the industry. Within the module they have the opportunity to reflect on their experience and skills gained in order to combine both practice-based and critical learning. Each module demonstrably contributes towards the student’s portfolio of employable skills, providing the opportunity for students to demonstrate how they have developed high-level transferrable and career management skills as well as industry experience.

They would normally proceed through the program, taking only half the number of modules per year.

Certificate in Higher Education 120 credits at level 4.
Diploma in Higher Education 240 credits, minimum 120 at level 5.

Strategies designed to promote students’ reflective learning and personal development planning are embedded across the course. Assessments including presentations and learning through workshops and seminars encourage student skills in communication and promote reflection on feedback, as well as providing opportunities to develop plans for both individual and group projects. Consistent reflection on the links between theory, practice and work-related learning is additionally central to course content. Formative feedback on assignments encourages students to reflect on and consistently develop their learning and forms an integrated aspect of the assessment strategy. Group work on both theory and practice modules promotes students’ engagement with group planning and teamwork. Students’ personal blogs and the course website are repositories for successful work, creating portfolios. Students are also asked to design portfolio websites in their second year, where they can showcase published work as well as their CVs. This provides a helpful tool that is useful in gaining work placements as well as jobs after graduation. In addition, many modules require students to do group presentations, which, when submitted, include a personal reflection of their work up until this point. Throughout the course, students engage with the university’s specialists in career development, and guest lecturers from the film and television industries as an ongoing strategy to promote individual career planning and development. Through modules related to industry and work-related learning, students have opportunities to develop and reflect on their planning for and experience of a working environment or project and the skills developed. Through the first of two dissertation/project modules, personal development is extended to the higher level of students’ extended research and writing or planning for a major practice-based project, encouraging deeper learning skills of effective planning, reflection and engagement with feedback.

Successful completion of this course offers improved career opportunities in the creative and cultural industries, journalism, teaching, arts administration and a variety of media-related professions. The programme is also excellent preparation for further research or study. Students are introduced to a variety of career opportunities through modules that engage with roles within the film and television industries and journalism, and are provided with the opportunity to create commercial projects in the work-related learning module or gain valuable industry experience. Students are also prepared to go on to postgraduate study or further practice-based learning in readiness for careers in the creative industries, journalism or academia. News days and news weeks are simulations which offer work-based learning.

The course includes information, training and advice on employability, job applications, CVs and finances. Simulation of the work environment also includes job applications and interviews. Students will learn how to write their own CVs and also learn how to devise a portfolio website, to showcase not only articles, podcasts and TV shows in which they have participated but also their work experience in other areas, in which transferrable skills are displayed. A course team of leading academics and practitioners, as well as career development specialists provide guidance and support to students in their career planning throughout the course.

This degree prepares you for a career as a journalist with specialist knowledge of the moving image or for work in factual television or film entertainment, or writing in a non-journalistic direction. Employability and transferable skills are an integral aspect of this degree which encourages the development of skills for use in both the journalism and media fields.

Our creative technologies and digital media graduates have gone on to exciting careers as content programmers, fashion copywriters, motion graphic designers, multimedia journalists and visual effects production assistants, radio presenters, studio runners and producers in companies such as D2 Interactive, TK MAXX, Motion Picture Company, Virtual Arts, Volant Media and We Are Capture.

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, students should normally have:

• a minimum of grades BBC in three A levels or minimum grades BBC in at least two A levels in academic or business subjects (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg Advanced Diploma)
• English Language GCSE at grade C (grade 4 from 2017) or above (or equivalent)

If you do not have traditional qualifications or cannot meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing our Journalism, Film and Television Studies (including foundation year) BA (Hons).

Applications are welcome from mature students who have passed appropriate Access or other preparatory courses or have appropriate work experience.