Film and Television Studies

Film and television studies is an academic discipline concerned with understanding moving image media as art, industry, cultural force, and social institution. It examines how films and television programmes are made, how they construct meaning through visual language, narrative, and genre, how they reflect and shape cultural attitudes and social realities, and how the industries that produce them are organised and evolving. Studying screen media seriously requires developing a sophisticated theoretical vocabulary alongside the analytical skills to apply it to specific texts and contexts.

This three-year, full-time programme at Brunel University London shares a common first year with the Film Production BA, which means you begin with both theoretical study and practical experience of video production before specialising in the analytical and critical dimensions of screen media. You will engage with film history and theory, television studies, genre, representation, national cinemas, and the contemporary media landscape, including streaming platforms and the transformation of the television and film industries by digital distribution. The programme includes a year abroad, which gives you the opportunity to engage with film and screen cultures in a different national context.

Graduates pursue careers in film and television criticism and journalism, arts and cultural organisations, broadcasting, film education, film programming and curation, and the cultural sector more broadly. The analytical skills developed by studying film and television at a high level are also applicable in communications, content strategy, and media-facing roles in organisations that need sophisticated thinkers about visual culture. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in film studies, media studies, or related disciplines, pursuing academic careers or specialist professional expertise in areas such as archiving, curation, or film education.