BA (Hons) Media and Cultural Studies offers an opportunity to study the media in their social and cultural contexts, while also exploring the relationship between theories and practice of the media and culture. During your first year you will be introduced to the structures, policies and operations of the principle media institutions in Britain. You will explore the workings of images in photography, film and television. You will be introduced to issues concerning news and documentary coverage of social events, and you will be given an introduction to audience research. You will also be taught the variety of skills that you’ll need in order to write a university-standard academic essay. And there will be a focus on helping you to develop your presentation skills. During your second year you will undertake core subjects exploring the links between the media and the British political system, as well as theories of representation, identity and power. You will undertake a practical unit writing a radio drama script. In order to prepare you for your dissertation in Year 3, you will be taught the essential elements of academic media research, with the stress on developing your critical and analytical faculties. During your third year you will cover the media in Europe, and urban and global cultures. You will learn the basic principles of British media law and ethics. There is a choice of options ranging from the study of Third World cinema to British music organisations. You will also undertake a piece of independent work in the form of a 10,000-word dissertation. Graduates from this degree develop intellectual independence, a critical knowledge of practical work and a thorough understanding of the theoretical implications of the media and the culture we inhabit.

This course has a reputation for the high number of students gaining employment in a range of media industries, including the BBC, commercial television companies, independent film companies, local and national newspapers, advertising agencies, local radio, music publishing and photography agencies, and can equip you to do the same. This course can also help you secure a career in business, local government and voluntary organisations where the skills of analysis, clear communication and reasoned persuasion are valued. Recent graduates from this course have gone onto roles such as Marketing Executive, Office Assistant (radio) and Editorial Assistant. Upon graduation from this course you will be able to apply for further study at postgraduate level, including for a place on our full-time MA Creative Media Industries: Journalism, our part-time MA Creative Writing, our part-time MA Critical Arts Management, our part-time MA New Media, our part-time MA Cultural and Media Studies and our part-time MA Media Writing. LSBU is committed to supporting you develop your employability and succeed in getting a job after you have graduated. Your qualification will certainly help, but in a competitive market you also need to work on your employability, and on your career search. Our Employability Service will support you in developing your skills, finding a job, interview techniques, work experience or an internship, and will help you assess what you need to do to get the job you want at the end of your course. LSBU offers a comprehensive Employability Service, with a range of initiatives to complement your studies, including: direct engagement from employers who come in to interview and talk to students Job Shop and on-campus recruitment agencies to help your job search mentoring and work shadowing schemes.