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Immersive Factual Storytelling MA

London, Stratford (UCL East)

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Immersive Factual Storytelling MA (2024), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

£20,500

£10,250

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)

£36,500

£18,250

Duration

1 calendar year

2 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2025

Applications accepted

Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

We normally require an upper second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Applicants with lower second-class degrees (i.e. UK 2:2 or the overseas equivalent) may be considered if their application is supported strongly by relevant experience. In exceptional circumstances, we will also consider applicants without higher education qualifications provided they demonstrate a significant track record in this or a related field.
We seek students who can show evidence of active engagement in immersive storytelling in previous work or study experience. We require a portfolio of work to support all applications, please find the portfolio requirements under the Next Steps section (below).

The English language level for this programme is: Level 4

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

'It has been a truly enriching and unique learning journey.'
Felicity Chen, Immersive Factual Storytelling MA, 2023-24

The Immersive Factual Storytelling MA will develop your skills as a factual immersive storyteller, including training you in the use of 360-degree cameras and immersive sound equipment and the creation of computer graphics-based virtual reality experiences. Unlike other virtual reality and immersive technology programmes, this MA focuses on factual storytelling, including creating stories for enterprise use.

You will learn to plan, produce and pitch exhibition-quality narrative-based immersive experiences and graduate with the skills to practice as a non-fiction 360-degree virtual reality storyteller.
You will explore the boundaries of immersive storytelling, drawing on anthropological and social science approaches to documentary and taking inspiration from games, films, immersive audio experiences and more.
You will benefit from regular contact with industry-leading practitioners to help you expand your ideas, ambitions and professional networks, equipping you for your professional life beyond UCL.

From audio production to experimental cinema, you will specialise in the elements of public anthropology that interest you most, choosing from a range of option modules to enrich your appreciation and understanding of factual storytelling in different contexts.

You will study at the top university in London, and 4th in the world, for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024) and The Times and Sunday Times University of the Year 2024.

You will study in a warm and welcoming department that is also one of the largest and broadest anthropology departments in the UK, which researches and teaches across five sub-sections, and which continually works to expand and reshape the discipline.

Who this course is for

The Immersive Factual Storytelling MA is best suited to students looking to develop their immersive factual storytelling and production in a professional framework, guided by leading industry figures and informed by innovative and scientific approaches.

You may already be actively engaged with immersive storytelling in previous work or studies and want to extend your storytelling by exploring experiential factual storytelling.

The degree is well-suited to working professionals who wish to study part-time over two years.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

The Immersive Factual Storytelling MA builds on UCL’s tradition of developing a new generation of immersive experts. Taught by leading immersive professionals, this programme is designed to meet increasing demand for professional training in virtual (VR) and extended (XR) technologies and storytelling techniques.

As virtual reality (VR) becomes a tool for enterprise, students have the opportunity to collaborate with members of other world-leading faculties across UCL to create collaborative, cross-disciplinary work which has the potential to address solutions for current social challenges.

The programme is based at our new UCL East campus in Stratford. Students will benefit from state-of-the-art facilities including exhibition, performance and curating spaces, conservation studios and a 160-seater surround-sound cinema.

You will receive advanced training in the fundamentals of immersive production and delivery, including story development, independent research design and implementation; ethics; pitching; 360-degree recording and filming devices; 3D production including basic coding in game engines and virtual reality (VR) IT software and equipment; editing and delivery.

You will also develop demonstrable competencies transferable to any profession, including complex problem solving and creative initiative, communication skills, including the ability to interpret and present complex data to diverse audiences, effective independent and team working, leadership, and time and project management.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

You will graduate an expert in factual immersive experience design, production and delivery, fully equipped to pursue a successful career in the immersive industries or any profession requiring strong project management, problem-solving and communication skills.

The interdisciplinary skills and extensive project experience I have gained on this course have consistently fostered my creative thinking, whilst the technical skills I’ve acquired in devices and software have been essential for content production within Virtual Reality.

Tianxing Zhou

Immersive Factual Storytelling MA

Employability

Graduates of this programme will be equipped to pursue a range of careers in extended reality (XR), particularly in virtual reality (VR) design and development.

Networking

As a student in the Department you have access to many opportunities to help further your career:

You will become part of the department's Public Anthropology section, learning from and networking with leading internal and external industry practitioners through a weekly seminar series, regular masterclasses and immersive events in and around London.
You will be supported by an industry mentor while planning and producing your final project, who will help you forge links with and gain access to relevant professional organisations.
You will be encouraged to get involved with UCL Computer Science's Virtual Reality (VR) Club and take advantage of opportunities to showcase your work across the university.
You will be encouraged to attend complementary departmental seminars given by active researchers in environmental, evolutionary and social anthropology and material, visual and digital culture throughout your studies.
You will be encouraged to take advantage of the broader virtual reality (VR) and factual storytelling communities at UCL, our neighbouring institutions and across London more widely, including attending and participating in seminars, conferences, virtual reality exhibitions and partnership opportunities to help you establish industry connections and extend your professional networks.
You will be encouraged to engage with the department’s active careers support activities and initiatives, which include regular career development seminars and networking events.

All students are encouraged to host and/or participate in a Reading and Research Group (RRG), which are open spaces to exchange ideas on themes of mutual interest and welcome staff and student participation from across UCL and our neighbouring institutions.

The department's central London location presents a range of opportunities to work, volunteer and carry out fieldwork in relevant organisations.

The department also houses London's global non-fiction film festival, Open City Documentary Festival, which all students are invited to volunteer to support to network with non-fiction film industry leading professionals.

Teaching and learning

You will learn through lectures, interactive seminars involving critical discussion to develop your analytical skills, masterclasses, practical workshops and exercises and independent directed and self-directed watching and reading. You will undertake supervised research activity and create short immersive works throughout.

The three compulsory modules will teach you skills in virtual reality storytelling, taught by a team of specialists in their field: spatial audio, 360-degree filming and editing, immersive storytelling and interactivity, including coding for game engines. While planning and producing your final project, you will benefit from mentorship from an industry professional.

You will learn to assess when and how immersive techniques can be used to communicate effectively, and will create headset-based immersive stories and experiences to understand, consider, analyse and experiment with the future of innovative storytelling. You will be encouraged to develop your own ideas for using immersive techniques to investigate the enormously diverse world around you.

You will critically analyse a catalogue of virtual reality (VR) content to develop your critical thinking and analytical abilities. This will involve watching, experiencing and listening to various immersive works from different parts of the world, exploring different modes of representation and storytelling.

You will be assessed through a series of summative exercises for which you will receive feedback. These include immersive works of varying lengths and styles, accompanied by written evaluations, critical evaluations of existing immersive works and your final project. You will also need to submit a number of formative exercises (for which you will receive feedback, but do not count toward the degree).

For full time students, typical contact hours are up to 21 contact hours a week consisting of a mix of lectures, seminars and one-to-one project supervision. The two option modules (15 credit) usually amount to around 45 contact hours (assuming 2 hour weekly seminars and independent study time) but will vary depending on the choice of modules.

Outside of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.

Term one In term one, you will spend much of your time in the classroom developing your skills.

Term two In term two, you will spend more time in independent study, creating your own interactive work.

Term three In term three and into the summer you will mostly work in small teams, overseen by a mentor, to plan and produce your graduate project.

On average, across the programme, in a typical week, your time is spent as follows:

Approx. 20% in lectures and tutorials.
60% on project-related activity (supervised seminars, workshops, etc).
20% dedicated to administrative, research and self-directed learning.

The first 12 weeks of the programme are conducted full-time as they set the stage for the rest of the year. Part-time students will also need to be available on a full-time basis during this period to fulfil these requirements.

The specific days vary throughout the year.

Modules

In terms 1 and 2, you will take the Introduction to Immersive Factual Storytelling and the Spatial Audio production module: Sonic Experience Production. These two modules are designed to prepare you to find compelling stories and produce and direct immersive projects using VR, 360 filming technology and spatial sound. Practical training in the use of 360 cameras, sound technology and coding will support you to bring your stories to light. In small production teams, you will produce a 360 film, a short spatial audio work and a fully interactive VR experience with associated critical evaluations

You will also take two optional modules.

From April to the end of the summer, in small production teams under the guidance of an established industry professional mentor, you will work on your graduation project: a full 360 or VR production. This will build your experience in advanced level immersive storytelling and design skills, preparing you for professional work in the immersive industry.

As a part-time student, you will complete your degree over two years. In the first year, you will take the two compulsory modules.

You may choose to take one optional module in the first year and one in the second, or both in the second.

From April of your second year, you will work on your graduation project.

Compulsory modules

Sonic Experience Design and Production

Introduction to Immersive Factual Storytelling

Advanced Immersive Storytelling Practice

Optional modules

Developments in Global Cinema

The Story and I - Finding the Form: A Practical Exploration of Storytelling

Experimental cinema and new media: Form and narrative

Documentary Radio - A Practice-Based Introduction

An Introduction to Social Theory - a foundation course

History and Aesthetics of Documentary

Practical Documentary Filmmaking

Feature Writing in a Multi-Media World: Journalistic Skills for the Digital Age

Interactive Factual Narratives

Developing Ideas for Non-Fiction Film and Audio

Multimodal Anthropology

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Immersive Factual Storytelling.

Fieldwork

You will spend the summer term researching and creating your final graduate project, collaborating with other members of the cohort and beyond. In addition, you will research and write your critical evaluation, submitting in late August and early September.

The scope and nature of fieldwork is formulated in discussion with your appointed supervisor, and subject to departmental approval.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£20,500	£10,250
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£36,500	£18,250

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

While there are a small number of headsets we can loan students, you are encouraged to purchase your own head-mounted display (currently, we recommend the Meta Quest 3) for viewing virtual reality (VR) work.

All students will require two hard drives capable of securely storing their work. UCL will provide one of these in exchange for you purchasing your own head-mounted display, but you will need to buy a second.

All students will be provided with 360 editing software and 3D development tools. You will be expected to complete your coursework on campus as the computers on site are equipped to support premium packages.

As this programme is based at the UCL East campus in Stratford, students choosing to take an optional module only available at the Bloomsbury campus will need to fund their own travel between campuses. Tickets from zone 2 to zone 1 costs £8.50 for students or a travel card zone 1-4 for £15.90.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

UCL East Scholarship

The scholarship works to support the ambitions of east Londoners by funding the fees and living costs of eligible Master's programmes including this MA at UCL. For further details, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarships/ucl-east-london-scholarship.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

: Aziz Foundation Scholarships in Social and Historical Sciences

Value: Full tuition fees (equivalent to 1yr full-time) (1 year)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

UCL East London Scholarship

Deadline: 26 June 2025

Value: Tuition fees plus £16,000 stipend ()

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application, we would like to learn:

• why you want to study Immersive Factual Storytelling at graduate level
• why you want to study Immersive Factual Storytelling at UCL
• how your personal, academic and professional skills and experience inform your interest in, and will enable you to succeed on, this MA programme
• where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Please also include:

• a proposal for an immersive project (two sides of A4, typed and double-spaced max.) to include: an outline of what the experience is about; what will happen in the experience (the user journey); and other elements crucial to the narrative structure. You are not committed to this proposal for your final project.

Applicants with prior immersive experience should also submit a (linear) video portfolio of (up to 10 minutes) showcasing their work.

Applicants with no prior immersive experience should also submit a piece of creative work including (but not limited to) audio production, film or installation (up to 20 minutes), writing, painting, photography, music composition or theatre. For those with a performing arts background, evidence of productions e.g. photos and reviews can be submitted in place of a portfolio of work.

Please submit your portfolio by including a link to an external site of your choice at the end of your personal statement, or your photos and reviews by attaching a PDF to your application.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This programme only requires one reference in support of your application. Your reference should be academic unless you have been out of university education for more than four years. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.