This course requires 104–120 UCAS tariff points including a minimum of 2 A-levels or equivalent. We are happy to consider a combination of qualifications and grades to meet the overall tariff, for example A-levels A*CC, ABC, BBB or BCC, BTECs DDM or DMM. You can use the UCAS calculator to see how your qualifications equate to UCAS tariff points.
If you do not meet these requirements, you may want to consider our foundation year, a one-year course that will prepare you for degree-level study.
If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in writing or reading and 5.5 in all other components, or equivalent.
Tailor your degree including options to study both creative or traditional units and discover the latest developments in digital media and new media storytelling.
Showcase your writing to industry professionals through BU's annual Fresher Writing Prize and New Media Writing Prize competitions
Put theory into practice during a four-week or 30-week placement with organisations such as Penguin Books, BBC, Pinewood Studios, Touch Press and the Football Foundation
Develop a range of subject-specific and transferable skills which can open the door to an exciting range of career possibilities or further study
Benefit from industry speakers sharing their writing experiences – previous guests include Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and Stella Wisdom from the British Library
This course received an impressive 96% satisfaction rating from our final year students.
For September 2022 entry: in order to take advantage of new approaches to learning and teaching, as well as developments in industry, to benefit our students we regularly review all of our courses. This course is currently going through this process and we will update this page to give you full information about what we will be offering once the review process has concluded.
Foundation year: We have a foundation year option for UK students who do not meet the entry requirements for the degree course. This additional year of study will give you a grounding in the media & communication skills required for this course, building your confidence, knowledge and skills for further study. After successful completion of the foundation year, you will progress to the full degree.
UCAS Code: Q300
With foundation year: Q301
More info: Click here
Foundation year
Core units
Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be the opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources.
Collaborative Communication Project: The unit focuses on the centrality of communicaiton, both as a process and as a project. Through the collaborative development of a communication solution to a specific communication problem, the unit aims to promote the principles and practices of team-based iterative project work.
Understanding Contemporary Britain: During this unit you will be introduced to key aspects of culture and society in Britain today. You will develop an understanding of the relationship between developments in culture, politics and society in the making of modern Britain and be able to identify a number of different critical perspectives on those developments.
Law & Government: You will trace a case study through the United Kingdom's political and legal system, following the case study from its inception in a political party's election manifesto, through the legislative process, to how the judiciary interprets its provisions within a court of law. Building out from this case study you will develop an understanding of practical and theoretical underpinnings of politics and law.
Year 1
Core units
Media & Society: This unit looks into the core mass communication media such as newspapers, radio, TV and the internet with particular emphasis on Public Service Broadcasting, regulation, globalisation and the relationship between politicians/government and the media.
Adaptation: Here you’ll focus on key theoretical perspectives and debates. Case studies will include adaptations from across a wide range of media, including film, television, comic books and the internet, and encompassing both classic and popular texts.
Academic & Writing Skills: Introducing you to the practical skills of academic study, ensuring you make a smooth transition to Higher Education. You will also begin to develop high level skills in academic writing, journalistic and creative writing, this unit emphasises the differences between audiences and appropriate types of writing.
Language Matters: This unit examines attitudes and approaches towards styles of English, and the various uses of language in everyday situations and contexts, across a range of media uses.
Forms & Contexts: Introducing you to the main literary forms of fiction, drama, and poetry, and associated critical perspectives. You will understand how literature is influenced by its historical, social, and cultural context.
Approaches to Literature: You will learn the different methods and critical approaches required for the study of literature at degree level. You will gain a thorough underpinning of the skills and attributes required when studying a greater range of literary texts throughout your three years.
Year 2
Core units
Modernism & Postmodernism: Through a selection of texts, you’ll explore two of the major literary and artistic movements in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as well as their historical and cultural perspectives and influences.
Gender & Sexuality: In this unit, representations of gender and sexuality will be considered in examples of novels, plays and other writing from the last 200 years.
Children’s Literature: This unit examines the relationship between narrative form and content, and the literary, social and cultural context in which children’s literature has been produced.
Narrative Structures: You’ll develop analysis and evaluations of a variety of contemporary narrative texts from sources such as film, television, journalism, magazines, the internet and prose fiction.
Writing for the Media: This unit aims to strengthen your professional writing abilities and to develop your understanding of the formats and conventions employed in writing for a range of media.
Option units (choose one)
Popular Texts & Intertexts: Texts from across popular media including literary, cinematic, televisual and graphic genres will be examined.
Media: Messages & Meanings: This unit examines how messages are constructed, conveyed and received over a range of media and by different audiences.
Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.
Placement year
You can choose either a four-week placement or optional 30-week placement (minimum), designed to develop your abilities and understanding of the workplace. It also provides a platform for successful entry into the workplace following graduation.
Final year
Core units
Dissertation: You’ll undertake original and independent research to produce a 10,000-word dissertation on a topic or problem of your choice, using a discursive approach.
Option units (choose four)
News & Journalism: This unit seeks to provide you with a critical perspective on journalistic outputs and the ability to report and produce news and other forms of journalism in a digital world.
Writing, Editing & Publishing: A practical unit which combines study of publishing processes and practices with creative writing.
Fact & Fiction: This unit explores the diverse panorama of non-fiction works produced in the realm of literary, or narrative, journalism. It will analyse ethical issues such as objectivity, accuracy, and the social and historical context of the genre over the centuries.
New Media Narrative: You’ll examine the evolution of narrative forms in relation to the development of digital media, especially exploring non-linear and interactive narratives.
Crime & Terror: Studying the development of crime and gothic literature over the last 200 years, this unit will explore the cultural and historical context of the genre with reference to a range of critical approaches.
Post-Colonial Texts: Exploring the ways in which the legacy of colonialism has impacted on writing and other cultural forms, the unit will consider key issues raised in postcolonial discourse while also interrogating some of the very terms on which those issues are debated.
Alternate Worlds: This unit considers the uses of alternate worlds as motifs and narrative strategies in the development of both classic and contemporary literature. Ancient literature, Jacobean drama, utopian and dystopian visions, science fiction and fantasy are among the genres discussed.
Transient Literature & Serial Storytelling: You will explore relationships between storytelling and the publishing formats and media used to deliver those stories. Through the study of key texts and critical perspectives you will consider how elements of materiality such as serialisation and format effectively coordinate with market, audience and content.
Space, Place & Environment: This unit focuses on critical representations of space, place and environment in literature and culture from industrialisation to the present. You will explore the significance of space and the environment in relation to diverse yet connected topics such as globalisation, personal, social and national identity, politics and policy, global transmission of literatures, literary tourism, conservation, biophilia and urban regeneration.
Media & Trauma: This unit aims to explore critical and cultural responses to traumatic experience and death across a range of media or texts from print and broadcast journalism to filmic and literary representation. The unit will focus on how trauma is interpreted, recorded, represented, constructed and produced across a range of media and in a variety of social, professional and medical contexts.
Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.
As this degree focuses on studying English in the context of the media, you will not only study literary texts, but will also have the chance to develop your own writing skills in both a factual and creative setting. The diverse nature of this course means you'll be in a position to work in a range of industries, and will be particularly well-suited to roles where communication is key.
90% of our students are working or studying 15 months after graduating, with 80% in professional/ managerial positions.
OSHC: 624 ($) GBP per year
