Film and Media (BA): 3-year, full-time

Film and media studies take cinema, television, digital platforms and screen culture as serious objects of intellectual inquiry, examining not only what stories they tell but how they tell them and what they reveal about the societies that produce and consume them. Film analysis draws on close reading of the image and sound, attention to genre, narrative and style, and engagement with the cultural, economic and political conditions in which films are made and seen. Adding media brings in broadcast journalism, advertising, digital platforms and contemporary screen culture, extending the field to encompass virtually all the moving-image forms that now shape daily life.

At Birkbeck College this three-year full-time programme builds on the institution's longstanding reputation in film and screen media. Birkbeck has a tradition of intellectually serious engagement with cinema that is well established, and the programme is aimed at students who want to develop both critical knowledge of film and media and the practical skills of content creation and screenwriting. You will study film and media from different periods and parts of the world, developing your ability to read moving-image texts carefully, to situate them historically and culturally, and to construct well-evidenced critical arguments.

Practical work in film and media content creation, alongside screenwriting, means you develop not only as a critic and analyst but as a creative practitioner.

The combination of theoretical and practical dimensions is central to Birkbeck's approach. You will think rigorously about the films you watch and also learn how to make and write for screen media, gaining experience on both sides of the critical and creative divide.

Graduates pursue careers in film and media production, screenwriting, journalism, broadcasting, digital content creation, arts programming and media management. Some move into education, cultural heritage or academic research. Postgraduate study in film studies, media production, screenwriting or critical theory is a common path for those who want to specialise further.

The degree is well suited to anyone who takes screen culture seriously as both an art form and a social force.