Media and Cultural Studies BA (Hons)

Media & Cultural Studies at the University of Worcester

In three years on our degree course, you will have the opportunity to study everything from newspapers to television, music to advertising, film to the internet.

The course will be taught by experts in areas that range across television advertising, popular culture, pornography, gender, war reporting, children and the media, and environmentalism. With their help you will get to consider the pivotal role played by media and culture in shaping both your identity and our understanding of national and global events.

Studied as either Single Honours or jointly with another subject, Media & Cultural Studies at Worcester is an academic rather than a practical degree. As such, the broad knowledge you will gain will offer enhanced employment opportunities across the media and cultural industries. Furthermore, in a ‘media society’, where an understanding of how to communicate is all-important, graduates of media and cultural studies courses now work in a wide range of other industries, and are involved in designing websites, writing publicity and press material, and running media training. With employment sectors including marketing, public relations, event management, teaching, business, and the public sector, it is perhaps unsurprising that 'Media Studies' is now identified as one of the top ten degree subjects for producing employable graduates.

You can take the course as a Single Honours subject, or combine it with, for example, Journalism or a practical course such as Graphic Desing & Multimedia.

Media Studies at the University of Worcester has been given a good rating by The Guardian - 2011 Guardian University Guide.

All our staff in Media and Cultural Studies are research active and this strengthens our teaching considerably. (For example, see this article in the Independent).

Visit Dr Barbara Mitra's blog and the Media & Cultural Studies blog.

Factfile
Entry requirements
Course content
Student views
Graduate views

UCAS code

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry onto full-time undergraduate courses in Higher Education in the UK. For a complete list of combinations and UCAS codes visit www.ucas.com

Media & Cultural Studies BA (Hons) (Single Honours) P392 BA/MCS

It is also possible to study this degree in combination with another course.

Study options

Study media from the perspective of its production and its audience reception as well as focus on a range of media texts from news coverage of war to soaps
An excellent subject to combine with others including English, Journalism, Film, Politics, Sociology and Graphic Design & Multimedia

Top-up Degree

You may be eligible to enter directly onto the Media & Cultural Studies course in Year 2 if you have an appropriate HND in Media.

Joint honours

It is also possible to study Media and Cultural Studies as a joint degree with another subject.

The combination subjects available are: Art and Design, English Language Studies, English Literary Studies, Film Studies, Graphic Design and Multimedia, Journalism, Politics: People and Power and Sociology.

The University of Worcester’s degree combinations add breadth to your studies and enhance your employability.

Get in touch

Admissions Office
01905 855111
admissions@worc.ac.uk

Barbara Mitra
Subject Leader:
01905 542366
b.mitra@worc.ac.uk

Research website: http://www.barbaramitra.co.uk/

240-300 UCAS Tariff points

Modules

Year 1
Studying Media and Culture
Introduction to Gender and Representation
Introduction to Television
Introduction to New Media
History of Media and Cultural Studies
Introduction To Film
On TV And On Line: The Small Screen And The Active Audience
Democracy: People, Politics, Media and Ideas
Popular Music and Cultural Change

Year 2
Popular Cultures
Research in Media, Culture and Journalism
Gender and Popular Fiction
Work Project Module
American Popular Television
Media and Social Change
Radio and Television Drama
The Metropolis And Cultural Production 1885 - 1925
Gender Sexuality and Representation in Film
(Re)Presenting The Past: History In Film
Journalism and Society
Consuming Lives

Year 3
Independent Study (over 1 semester)
Independent Study (over 2 semesters)
Gender, Feminism and Popular Culture
TV Times
War, Democracy and the Media
Green Media
Contemporary Television Drama
Hollywood Goes to War
Propaganda and Politics in the 20th Century
Pornography and Modern Culture
Body and Society

Assessment

A range of traditional and innovative methods including essays, presentations, research projects, blogs and journals and creative writing.

Most of the theoretically-focused modules will include a lecture designed to stimulate and motivate students and to guide them through subsequent general reading. Students can expect also to engage with structured and general reading, screenings, observation and experiential learning. There will be additional involvement in interactive learning through, for example, seminar discussions, team presentations and simulation exercises.

Modules shared with the Art and Design Field, e.g. multimedia, particularly promote independence and autonomy and students are required to join learning teams and maintain a learning journal.

Assessment tends to focus mostly on essays and reports. A few modules require an oral presentation but there are no formal examinations (one optional module has an in class assignment based on a short film screening). This makes the course interesting and we give you all help you need while you are learning how to do these tasks.

Bogdan Raileanu

Student, Media & Cultural Studies BA (Hons) and Journalism BA (Hons)

"The course has really helped me develop my communications skills. The Media & Cultural Studies course has given me a better understanding of people. I find my course entertaining, interactive and useful – I definitely made the right decision by choosing University of Worcester."

Academic department

Institute of Humanities & Creative Arts

“We are a lively community of scholars, researchers and creative practitioners, intent on supporting and encouraging students to expand their intellectual horizons, grow their creative and professional ambitions, and achieve their potential.”
Professor Antonia Payne, Head of Institute

Employability

Graduates of media and cultural studies work in a wide range of careers where communication skills are central, including marketing and public relations, publishing, media and journalism, business and industry, charities and public administration.

The course also provides a sound basis for postgraduate study.

Media and Cultural Studies is a good foundation for working in the media and media related industries. Students have found employment in the following areas:

Radio presenting, both local and national
Media research
Journalism
Event organising
Media planning
Television
Theatre
Marketing
Public Relations
Campaigns
Teaching

Skills gained:
Practical experience
Working in a team
Working independently
Communicating with others
Writing effectively
Clear & Logical thinking
Finding information
Evaluating ideas
Showing initiative
Advance planning and working to deadlines
Organisation

Reetta Haverinen

"Studying Media and Cultural studies has been the most eye opening experience for me. I have never actually realised the power that the media has on the lives of people on regular basis. During my years of studying Media and Cultural studies I have developed a much deeper understanding of the many different meanings that the media actually have. I have also learnt to evaluate different media forums as sources of information and have become critical about different theories often related to particular media phenomenon.

"What I appreciated most is the way that Media and Cultural studies has been planned and organised at the University of Worcester and the way different modules emphasise different aspects of Media and Culture. There are modules that concentrate on gender representations in the media and modules that teach the students to gain a deeper understanding of the way we view things - for example, television in our everyday life and what kind of impact it has on our decisions and values. Altogether I can honestly say that I will never view the world around us in the same way as I have before."

Jodie-Marie Preddy

"After graduating from Worcester, I am now studying for my Masters in Gender, Sexuality and Culture. It was during my time at Worcester, I began to explore issues of gender and sexuality, and I am now hoping to take these interests further and develop them into a career. I really enjoyed my time on the Media and Cultural Studies course."

Laurie-Anne Heath

"Studying Media and Cultural Studies has been extremely interesting throughout my three years on the course. It has taught me much about the mediated culture which we live in. The media and gender classes have been extremely enjoyable as they opened up discussion, and I always went away wanting to understand more about the topic.

"Being able to look at a wide range of media kept me interested and made the media classes my most enjoyable classes from all my three years studying at the University."

Ashley Boyd

"Studying Media and Cultural Studies provided me with a great deal of possibilities in choosing what I wanted to study; ranging from theoretical to practical topics. The University environment encourages individual growth and you don’t just feel like another student. The lecturers are engaging and are always available to help you. I would recommend the course to anyone with an interest in the media and the desire to explore it in greater depth."