Film & Media with Integrated Foundation Year

Film and media studies is the critical and analytical study of moving image culture and the media industries that produce and distribute it. It asks how films and media texts are constructed, what meanings they carry, how they reflect and shape the societies that make them, and how audiences engage with them. Alongside analytical work, it develops an understanding of the production, distribution and exhibition contexts in which film and media operate, making it both a critical and a practical discipline.

At the University of Sunderland, this four-year full-time programme includes an integrated foundation year, which provides a supported entry point for students who are returning to study, want to build confidence before progressing to degree-level work, or who are exploring whether the subject is the right fit. The foundation year gives you the academic and creative grounding you need before moving into the main degree. The programme also includes a year abroad, allowing you to experience film and media cultures in a different country, which enriches your comparative understanding of how cinema and media vary across national and cultural contexts.

You will study film theory and history, screen media, documentary, television, digital media and the analytical frameworks through which critics and scholars approach moving image texts. Practical work, creative projects and critical writing develop different kinds of skill and understanding throughout the programme.

Graduates go into careers in film and television production, media journalism and criticism, broadcasting, digital content creation, arts administration, marketing, communications and education. The critical thinking, analytical writing and creative problem-solving skills the subject develops are valued across many fields. Some go on to postgraduate study in film, media, cultural studies or related disciplines.