Media BA
London, Stratford (UCL East)
Media BA (2024)
UCL's Media BA is aimed at ambitious future media professionals. This practice-based course combines the highest standards of academic and critical rigour with media production and state-of-the-art professional skills in film, games and interactive media. The programme provides the opportunity to follow a specialist pathway and to take up a work placement drawing on London's rich media environment in the second year.
Study mode
Duration
UK tuition fees (2024/25)
Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)
Programme starts
September 2025Application deadline
29 Jan 2025UCAS course code
Entry requirements
- Grades
- AAB
- Subjects
- An Arts and Humanities subject or Computer Science preferred.
- GCSEs
- English Language and Mathematics at grade C or 4.
Contextual offer information
-
Contextual offers are typically one to two grades lower than the standard offer. Grade and subject requirements for contextual offers for this programme will be published in Summer 2024.
- Points
- 36
- Subjects
- A total of 17 points in three higher level subjects, with no higher level score below 5.
Contextual offer
-
Contextual offers are typically one to two grade boundaries (equivalent to A levels) lower than the standard offer. IB Diploma grade and subject requirements for contextual offers for this programme will be published in Summer 2024.
UK applicants qualifications
For entry requirements with other UK qualifications accepted by UCL, choose your qualification from the list below:
Equivalent qualification
Pass in Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 30 credits at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit, all from Level 3 units.
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (QCF) or BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (RQF - teaching from 2016) with Distinction, Distinction, Distinction.
D3,D3,M1 in three Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects.
AAB at Advanced Highers (or AA at Advanced Higher and BBB at Higher).
Not acceptable for entrance to this programme.
UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production & Technology with overall mark of Distinction.
Successful completion of the WBQ Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate plus 2 GCE A levels at grades AAB.
International applications
Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
Access and widening participation
UCL is committed to widening access to higher education. If you are eligible for Access UCL you do not need to do anything in addition to the standard UCAS application. Your application will be automatically flagged when we receive it.Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates
The Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates (UPC) prepare international students for a UCL undergraduate degree who don’t have the qualifications to enter directly. These intensive one-year foundation courses are taught on our central London campus.
Typical UPC students will be high achievers in a 12-year school system which does not meet the standard required for direct entry to UCL.
For more information see: ucl.ac.uk/upc.
English language requirements
The English language level for this programme is: Level 2
-
Information about the evidence required, acceptable qualifications and test providers can be found on our English language requirements page.
A variety of English language programmes are offered at the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education.
Course overview
The programme begins, in year one, with introductory modules common to all students. This will include the theoretical approaches to media and the practical strands of film-making and games and interactive media. In the third term, you will undertake a practice-based project in which you can apply the new skills and knowledge you've learned.
In the second year, you will select from three pathways that guide you through the rest of the programme.
Pathway 1 is Critical Media with Film, exploring the history and cultures of media, and their use in people's everyday lives. You will also continue with the film-making practical strand, developing your skills through making documentary and fiction films.
Pathway 2 is Critical Media with Games/Interactive, similar to Pathway 1, except that the practical strand here will follow the games and interactive media, making narrative games and designing for VR/XR.
Pathway 3 is Media Practice, and follows both practical strands, allowing you to focus more strongly on production work in film and games, while also offering choices in theory-based modules.
In year two, you have the opportunity to take up a work placement. You will work with an organisation in the media industry, community sector, cultural sector or in education, gaining important experience of media in the workplace. Alternatively, you have the option to develop a main practical or research-based project instead.
Most of the third year will be taken up with your major degree project. This will either be a production project in which you develop a lab-based creative piece for the degree show; or a piece of research for the degree conference.
The final-year degree show and conference is the celebration of the students' achievements. The show will be open to the public and includes a preview for industry and UCL's media network.
What this course will give you
You will gain a broad understanding of the exhilarating possibilities of the digital era: how the media is made, how it is experienced, how it functions, how it offers you expressive opportunities. You will benefit from world-class research in the media field, and from our brand-new cutting-edge media studios at UCL East.
You will reach advanced level in at least one digital media form: either in film-making or in digital games and interactive media, two of the most important media forms for the UK economy. This will prepare you for a wide range of employment in the media landscape of the UK, and beyond.
The programme will prepare you to think in an entrepreneurial way about the design and uses of the media. You will have the opportunity to take up a workplace placement within an organisation in London, either in the media industries, in galleries and museums, in the community sector, or in education.
You will learn important practice-based research skills from world-class researchers across three UCL faculties: how to study, analyse and critically reflect on the media, whether through examining its history, or its composition, or how people engage with it in an increasingly digital society.
Please note that this course is dealing with the creative production of media (specifically film, games and interactive media), and it is not related to journalism, PR or advertising subject areas.
Teaching and learning
In each year of your degree you will take a number of individual modules, normally valued at 15 or 30 credits, adding up to a total of 120 credits for the year. Modules are assessed in the academic year in which they are taken. The balance of compulsory and optional modules varies from programme to programme and year to year. A 30-credit module is considered equivalent to 15 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
Upon successful completion of 360 credits, you will be awarded a BA (Hons) in Media.
Modules
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 is 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.
-
In year one, all students will take introductory compulsory modules including a practice-based research project. In year 2 students will take the compulsory module Digital Economy and Professional Practice - Media in the Real World I and select optional modules from three pathways: Critical Media with Film, Critical Media with Games/Interactive or Media Practice. Students also have the option to do a work placement. In year three students take one compulsory module, the practical modules relating to their chosen pathway and select from a range of interdisciplinary modules leading to the final year degree project and degree show.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Optional modules
Your learning
The BA Media is facilitated in state-of-the-art media labs, studios, lecture theatres and cinema. The programme includes a variety of lectures, seminars, workshops, specialist classes, tutorials and lab-based activities including practice-based project sessions. Students are encouraged to engage with self-directed and collaborative learning, and project development which will be supported by lecturers and lab and studio technicians.
The work placement option provides you with a real-world experience in an organisation that produces, enables or uses media: for example, a broadcaster, a games developer, a museum, a community, cultural or educational organisation. The placement will be for a minimum of 10 days. You will complete an assignment demonstrating what you have learned about the media-related workplace.
On theoretical modules, students will spend approximately 30% of their time in lectures and seminars and 70% on independent study.
On practical modules, around 50% of a student's time is spent in lectures, seminars and supervised lab work and the remainder on independent work and study.
Assessment
Assessment is through a variety of essays, reports, blogs, podcasts, oral presentations and portfolios. It also includes design presentations, prototyping and final creative projects. We will support you with informal feedback through the modules, and with clear feedback on assessed assignments to help you improve. The weight given to each assessment method varies across modules to ensure a manageable workload throughout the programme.
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 team.
Visit us
—
Online - Open day
Undergraduate Virtual Open Days
UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, voted University of the Year 2024 by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide. With students from over 150 different countries, UCL is a diverse global community of world leading academics and students. Join us at our Virtual Open Days and discover why UCL might be the place for you! Check out our Open Days webpages where you can find out about the programmes on offer, student services and book live Q&A sessions to get your questions answered.
The foundation of your career
The programme will equip you with a comprehensive understanding and skillset for creative industries and media research. It will prepare you for a range of careers in the industry or in the public sector such as creative producer, creative programmer, media designer, game artist, game designer, immersive media professional, film maker, film editor and compositor or media researcher.
Employability
- Creative production skills to advanced level in either film (documentary and fiction) or games and interactive media (VR/AR/XR), or both
- Experience with media entrepreneurship, creative industry workflows and collaborative practices
- Critical understanding of media and its role in society
- Media research skills: histories, ethnographies and audience/user research
- Practice-based research skills
Fees and funding
Fees for this course
| Fee description | Full-time |
|---|---|
| Tuition fees (2024/25) | £9,250 |
| Tuition fees (2024/25) | £37,500 |
The fees indicated are for undergraduate entry in the 2024/25 academic year. The UK fees shown are for the first year of the programme at UCL only. Fees for future years may be subject to an inflationary increase. The Overseas fees shown are the fees that will be charged to 2024/25 entrants for each year of study on the programme, unless otherwise indicated below.
Full details of UCL's tuition fees, tuition fee policy and potential increases to fees can be found on the UCL Students website.
Additional costs
Students undertaking the work placement module in year 2 will need to cover associated transport costs.
A guide including rough estimates for these and other living expenses is included on the UCL Fees and funding pages. If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc., please get in touch with the relevant departmental contact (details given on this page).
Funding your studies
Various funding options are available, including student loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students whose household income falls below a certain level may also be eligible for a non-repayable bursary or for certain scholarships. Please see the Fees and funding pages for more details.
Scholarships
The Scholarships and Funding website lists scholarships and funding schemes available to UCL students. These may be open to all students, or restricted to specific nationalities, regions or academic department.
Next steps
Your application
We are looking for applicants who:
- Like to engage and have a deep interest in skills of craftmanship, materials, aesthetics and the cultures of visual language.
- Have an interest in understanding the media's role in society.
- Enjoy articulating your creative process, motivations, and influences.
- Deeply reflect and are thoughtful regarding your engagement in media.
- Are motivated, committed and able to work independently and within a team.
How to apply
Application for admission should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Applicants currently at school or college will be provided with advice on the process; however, applicants who have left school or who are based outside the United Kingdom may obtain information directly from UCAS.
Selection
For further information on UCL's selection process see: How we assess your application.
BA Media portfolio
Your application will need to include a personal statement and an online portfolio of works you have created. After you submit your UCAS application, you'll be emailed with details of how to upload your portfolio. You submit your portfolio electronically.
In your personal statement you will need to demonstrate a strong interest in media, games, film and emerging technologies in relation to both theory and practice. Explain how you see yourself as a future media thinker and practitioner, and describe your potential future role in relation to your skills and aspirations.
A portfolio is a collection of work that showcases your skills, personality and creative potential. It should narrate your story, from what you've learnt and created so far to what you plan to do next. With initial sketches, contextual references and finished pieces, it is your chance to show us why you want to study on the BA Media course. We accept wide range of media including film and moving image, showreels conceptual drawings, storyboards, 3D works, game walkthroughs, prototypes, art and design works, animation, illustration, creative writing and scripts, photography etc. Portfolios will be assessed based on their quality of engagement with materials, concepts and creative expression, and the way they convey their ideas through a variety of media.
Why submit a portfolio?
We would like to get to know you as a creator. Although grades give a good indication that you understand a subject, we are also interested to know how you think through making, how do you express yourself through practice and what is your personal approach to creation.
What should I include?
Up to 12 items representing a variety of your work and approaches. These will need to be uploaded as a PDF file or provided as an online web site link. Media files can be uploaded on Vimeo, YouTube, Soundcloud, Google drive and provided as a link on your PDF document or embedded in your web site. Portfolio uploads should not be larger than 450MB.
Tips for portfolio
- Include pieces that show a wide range of skills and ability to work with different materials and techniques.
- Include some work in progress to show us how you research and develop your ideas.
- Explain your work, Include labels to guide us through your creative processes and vision.
- Show your unique approach, your personality, individuality and passion are your most powerful tools.
- Present your work in a consistent format that is readable and watchable, create your story through images and videos.
Got questions? Get in touch
UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.