Media Skills BA (Hons) top-up
Why choose this course?
Kingston University is ranked No 1 in London for media and film studies (Guardian University Guide league tables 2020).
If you have a foundation degree in Media Skills, you can fast-track to a BA(Hons) degree with this course. In one year you will develop advanced practical skills, explore theoretical concepts and understand their application to media texts.
The focus of this course is to prepare you for a career in the creative sector and media production.
You will work on creative projects like creating social media strategies or video and website production for real world 'clients'. Recent examples include projects for charitable organisation SeeAbility and a stylist business Bowtique.
However, you will also develop transferable skills (eg writing, presenting, researching) relevant to a wide range of careers.
| Attendance | UCAS code | Year of entry |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year full time | P302 | 2020 (Clearing) 2021 |
| Location | Penrhyn Road |
Reasons to choose Kingston
- This course prepares you for a career in the creative sector and media production
- You'll develop transferable skills such as writing, presenting, researching, teamworking and communication relevant to a wide range of careers in media and beyond
- You'll have access to the latest digital equipment, such as specialist film and media labs, a film studio and audio recording facility.
What you will study
You can choose from a range of modules to suit your interests, including @Work in the Media Industries module which helps you understand what it is like to work in a professional environment.
You will be supported to find your own placement within a media organisation and gain practical hands-on experience. In other modules, you'll work as a team, learn practical, written and oral communication skills - all of which are key in the workplace.
Modules
The year is made up of four modules each worth 30 credit points. Typically a student must complete 120 credits.
Top-up year
Core modules
Media Research Project
30 credits
This module gives final year students the opportunity to work on a major piece of independent work, which consolidates and further develops the skills and knowledge they have acquired across the whole of their degree, in an area of applied practice; workplace problem solving, or dissertation research. You will organise an end of year exhibition and symposium event specifically to showcase your work. In doing so, you will develop your critical analytical and transferable employability skills. You will focus on one of the following: a dissertation; a Final Major Project (FMP) or, an Applied Research Problem Brief (ARPB). The main feature of the module is that work carried out in one of these three areas will lead to real and specific outputs. Where you choose to write a dissertation you will present your main findings at the symposium; those choosing a FMP will be able showcase their work online and at exhibition; those choosing an ARPB will implement their solutions in the field and have the potential to develop consultancy skills. You will enter into learning contracts and will work independently under the guidance of a supervisor.
Optional modules
Issues in Contemporary Media and Culture
30 credits
This module seeks to synthesise and draw together your understanding of theoretical and contextual approaches to the interpretation of media and culture, that you have learnt about in the first two years of the degree, and enable you to apply this in an analysis of contemporary issues, practices and debates. This heightened understanding of theory will, at the same time, enhance your analysis of the contemporary issues and concerns reviewed in the module.
Special Study: Art/Media Management and Production
30 credits
This special study examines art / media management and production in relation to opportunities and challenges posed in the current digital landscape. Students are able to familiarise themselves with how projects are managed; rights management issues, defining and understanding rights in the context of their own topical areas of interest; professional practice; and/or, production work. Looking at such rights as copyright, brand rights, image rights, privacy, freedom of expression and information, censorship, and regulation - students explore how these work in practice. They also develop knowledge and understanding of the use of agreements and of licensing, and relate these to art / media production and, professional practice. Students have a wide range of case studies to focus on: film, music, fashion, advertising, PR, publishing, and art; global media production and cultures of appropriation.
Special Study: Multi-Platform Political Communication
30 credits
This special study module is an introduction to political communication from the lens of hybrid media environments. It enables you to examine the new research agenda and the emerging practices in this field of study beyond the limits of the media effects approach applied to traditional or mass media. The topics covered on the module are partly linked with the research interests and projects of teaching staff and will enable you to benefit from research-informed teaching in your final year of study. You will undertake extensive exploration of the new challenges facing political communication in multi-platform contexts, drawing on pertinent theoretical debates and current media stories. You will deliver an assessed presentation, and produce an extended and focused practice-based or essay-based project on a particular topic negotiated with the module leader.
Professional Communication Skills
30 credits
This module covers a broad range of topics to engage students in different genres of communication to develop both spoken and written skills necessary for employability. The topics, drawn from sociolinguistics, stylistics and discourse analysis, include analysing interaction in the professional setting, copy-editing, writing to a specific brief and presenting a professional brief. Through interactive lectures, guest talks, personal tutorials, and a workplace option where students have the opportunity to experience working practices, students are encouraged to develop skills and reflect on their own practices as a way of gaining an understanding of communication matters in real life and work contexts. The module's focus on professional interactional and writing skills as well as its links to Kingston's KU Talent activities and events guides students in planning their careers and developing their employability skills.
Writing Television Drama
30 credits
This is the module that can make you rich! Television is allegedly the second highest paid industry in the country (working in oil is more lucrative - but very uncomfortable). A reliable route to creative success and untold wealth in television now is the drama series. Mainstay of both terrestrial and digital channels, the returning series is TV's holy grail – pulling audiences back for episode after episode, season after season, box set after box set. It can be a goldmine.
Taught by two highly experienced TV professionals, this module will consider how a returning drama series is conceived and constructed. You are introduced to concepts of dramatic structure and story-lining, using case studies of successful US and British models, together with practical exercises on serialisation and script writing. Working from concept to storyline to script, you will develop your own original drama series (or comedy), and undertake research into the current broadcasting landscape – its channels, schedules and market imperatives. The final assessment is an industry-standard pitch accompanied by a short script sample, aimed at UK television. You will demonstrate your research and a knowledge of social and commercial context in a supplementary market evaluation.
This module isn't just for would-be writers: it's for anyone keen to understand contemporary broadcasting, refine their communication skills, and learn how to present their work and themselves in a professional context. At the end of this stimulating and entertaining course, you will have created your own drama series and (potentially) your own industry calling card.
Television Production
30 credits
This is a practical module designed to enable students to experience and work in a professionally-focused industry environment, and develop television production skills such as multi-camera operation, sound, mixing and teleprompting. Students will learn how to work and operate a professional broadcast studio as well as developing TV production skills. In addition, students will build on and reinforce employability skills such as problem-solving, time management and dependability sought by employers looking to fill graduate positions. Students will be encouraged to reflect on their professional practice and critically evaluate their teaching and learning contributions.
The information above reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. Updates may be made on an annual basis and revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year. The regulations governing this course are available on our website. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this may not be offered.
Entry requirements
If you would like to join us through Clearing 2020, please call our Clearing hotline on 0800 0483 334 (or +44 020 8328 1149 if you are calling from outside the UK) and speak to our friendly and knowledgeable hotliners who will be able to provide information on available courses and will guide you through your options.
Please note the entry requirements listed below are for 2021 entry only.
Teaching and assessment
Our top-up programme recognises and enhances the practical nature of media skills (or equivalent) courses. As a top-up student you will be assigned a personal tutor to support the transition to our programme, and a diagnostic essay will be set in September and marked by the personal tutor to establish areas of strength and areas for development.
Who teaches this course?
Many of the teaching team are media practitioners and theorists who bring their professional and academic expertise into the classroom: they will help you to develop your skills, networks and gain access to industry contacts. Their expertise and knowledge is closely matched to the content of the modules on this course.
Academic teaching is supported by visiting speakers, industry professionals and guest lecturers who enhance your learning.
Course fees and funding
Facilities
The campus at Penrhyn Road is a hive of activity, housing the main student restaurant, the learning resources centre (LRC), and a host of teaching rooms and lecture theatres.
At the heart of the campus is the John Galsworthy building, a six-storey complex that brings together lecture theatres, flexible teaching space and information technology suites around a landscaped courtyard.
After you graduate
The focus of this course is to prepare you for a career in the creative sector and media production, however, you will also develop transferable skills (eg writing, presenting, researching) relevant to a wide range of careers.
Our graduates have followed careers in a wide range of sectors and media industries, working at local, national and international level (eg BBC, Discovery Channel).
Key information set
The scrolling banner(s) below display some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).
