Film Studies

Film studies takes one of the most significant cultural and artistic forms of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries as its subject, examining cinema not merely as entertainment but as a medium that has shaped how modern societies see themselves, construct memory, and imagine the future. It draws on a variety of critical, theoretical, and historical approaches to understand global film cultures, from the silent era and the classical Hollywood system to European new waves, postcolonial cinemas, and contemporary digital production.

At the University of St Andrews, the MA (Hons) in Film Studies offers a comprehensive engagement with these questions across four years of full-time study. You will develop skills in close textual analysis, film theory, and historical research, learning to write about film with precision and depth. You will engage with the major theoretical traditions in film studies, from formalism and auteur theory to psychoanalytic, feminist, and postcolonial approaches, understanding these as tools for generating different kinds of insight about the same works.

The year abroad is an integral part of the programme, placing you within a different film culture and academic tradition, which deepens your comparative perspective on global cinema and on how film is studied internationally.

Graduates from film studies programmes go on to careers in arts journalism, film criticism, documentary and film production, broadcasting, cultural policy, teaching, and academia. Many also work in museums and archives, arts administration, and the broader cultural and creative industries. The close reading, analytical writing, and critical thinking skills that film studies develops are genuinely valued across many professional contexts.

Further study options include postgraduate degrees in film studies, cultural studies, media, and related fields.