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Media Communications

BA (Hons)

Undergraduate degree - single or combined honours

Award
BA (Hons) Media Communications
School/s
Bath School of Art, Film and Media
Campus or location
Newton Park and Locksbrook Campus
Course length
Three years full time, or four years full time with professional placement year. Part time available.
UCAS codes
Institution Code: B20
Course Code: P390 or S176
Campus Code: A,BSU

Entry requirements

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed under 'Typical offers' in the main column below. For combined courses, please check both subjects. If your qualification is not listed, please email admissions@bathspa.ac.uk with your specific details.

Revolutionise how media creators communicate to audiences with our Media Communications degree.

  • Learn the skills to succeed across the ever-growing communications industries.
  • Reimagine how you use media to communicate to audiences ethically and progressively.
  • Work alongside The Studio, the University’s new city-centre innovation hub for creative media technology.

#2 in the South West Overall

for Communication and Media Studies (Complete University Guide, 2024)

#12 in the UK

for Teaching Quality in Communication and Media Studies (Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2024)

UK top 20

for Satisfaction with Teaching in Media and Film Studies (Guardian University Guide, 2024)

#23 in the UK

for Student Satisfaction in Communication and Media Studies (Complete University Guide, 2024)

Throughout this Media Communications degree, you’ll develop your creative skills in marketing, social media management, journalism and creative strategy, and prepare for success across the thriving communications sector. You’ll gain experience working on cross-platform campaigns and communication strategies, activist political media making and investigative journalism, and learn to produce professional social media content and PR packs.

Taught by a team of researchers and creative media strategists and creators, you’ll learn how to rethink media communications for social change. You’ll study online influencers and diverse forms of screen representation, explore the ethics of social media platforms like TikTok and alternative approaches to journalism, emerging marketing practices for immersive experiences and beyond.

In your final year, you’ll join The Studio in Bath, the University’s new city-centre innovation hub for creative media technology. By collaborating with the region’s media and communications sector on cross-platform campaigns, feature articles and activist media, you’ll grow into a communications professional, realising your vision for a more inclusive media landscape. As fresh voices in these organisations, you’ll gain on the ground experience in the industry which will enable you to leap into a career in communications, marketing and social media.

See what we're creating on Instagram: @mediacommsbsu


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"Media Communications at Bath Spa is so much more than a course: it’s a community of students and staff coming together to develop new ways of communicating media to audiences. Students are given the creative freedom to build a powerful portfolio of communications, digital marketing, journalism and social media content. I found my passion in journalism, but also explored website building, crafting an Alternate Reality Game, photo and video editing, blog writing and social media - the skills from which I'll carry forward in both my personal and professional life."

Amber Wisteria, Media Communications Graduate, 2022

What you'll learn

Overview

You’ll develop practical skills in marketing, creative strategy, journalism and social media management through the lens of ethically engaged media activism, balancing creative and design work with research into online influencers and media ethics.

Throughout the degree, you’ll examine the role of immersive media, feminist activism, AI communications, exhibitions and public audiences and much more in shaping the future of media communications.

You’ll bring together your ability to rethink the media with your deep-rooted knowledge of the communications sectors, working on everything from short-form Instagram content to large-scale media campaigns with our industry partners.

Course structure

Year one: audiences, activism and access
Open your eyes to being a media activist. You’ll be introduced to analytical tools to critique contemporary media, such as gender and inequality. You’ll learn new graphic design and project development skills, as well as how to research media audiences.

Year two: industries, inclusivity and influencers
Understand the communications industry. You’ll learn marketing, influencer and branding practices, identifying opportunities to revolutionise how media creators communicate to audiences. You’ll learn web design skills, explore grassroots community media, practice cross-platform communication strategies, and increase your awareness of media ethics.

Year 3: emerging voices, technologies and opportunities
Become a communications professional and realise your vision for a more inclusive media landscape. You’ll work beyond the borders of the university, joining The Studio, our innovation hub for creative media technology, while collaborating with arts and cultural organisations. You’ll learn how immersive media, feminist activism, AI communications and public exhibitions can all shape the future of media.

How will I be assessed?

You’ll produce the kind of media content that defines our ‘communications for change’ ethos, working on creative media campaigns, marketing strategies, investigative journalism features, political media making, social media content and PR packs.

How will I be taught?

You’ll be taught by a team of world-leading researchers and creative media practitioners.

Lectures set out key practices and emerging trends in media communications, such as gender on social media, racial inequality in journalism, or how global media companies define their audiences. You’ll also learn via workshops devoted to skills including web design and media branding, and in project labs you’ll work with staff and students to co-design larger campaigns.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

Course modules

This course offers or includes the following modules. The modules you take will depend on your pathway or course combination (if applicable) as well as any optional or open modules chosen. Please check the programme document for more information.

Year one (Level 4) modules
  • Rethinking Media
  • Communications for Change
  • Your World Your Media
  • Audiences and Fans
  • Ephemeral Media
  • Writing for the Media
Year two (Level 5) modules
  • Global Communication Strategies
  • Promotional Media
  • Media Ethics
  • Participatory Media
  • Influencers and Contemporary Celebrity
  • Everyday Media Making
  • Digital Storytelling
  • International Journalism
  • Professional Placement Year
Year three (Level 6) modules
  • Media Communications Final Project
  • Immersive Media
  • Feminist Activism
  • Exhibitions and Public Audiences
  • AI Communications
  • Lifestyle nd Entertainment Journalism
  • The Magazine Business

Opportunities

Work placements, industry links and internships

All final-year students will join The Studio, Bath Spa University’s city-centre hub for creative media technology.

Our final-year modules are delivered in collaboration with industry partners, providing students with insight into - and hands-on experience with - some of the most innovative and culturally significant arts, media and communications organisations in the region.

Recently our students have produced articles, campaigns, strategy reports and social media content for the likes of:

Careers

Our Media Communications course is designed for those looking to succeed within and across the ever-growing communications industry, developing much sought-after skills in digital marketing, creative strategy, PR, journalism and social media management.

Our graduates are employed as advertising, branding and marketing leaders, campaign designers and researchers, social media creators and managers, web and graphic designers, creative strategists and media policy makers, as well as curation and events coordinators.

Media Communications graduates have gained employment in numerous media and marketing companies, charities and cultural organisations, such as Marvel Studios, ITV, Newbury Racecourse, Save the Children UK, Cognisses, Q Magazine, and Komedia.

Study abroad

As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.

Global Citizenship

If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.

You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.

Adobe Creative Campus

Develop a wealth of indispensable digital skills that you can take into your future career. One of only three Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, we provide all Bath Spa students with access to the full Adobe Creative Suite, giving you the tools to communicate creatively, whatever your course or chosen professional field.   

Professional placement year

Overview

This optional placement year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.

By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.

Preparation

Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.

How will I be assessed?

On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement.

Facilities and resources

Where the subject is taught

As a BA Media Communications student you’ll benefit from access to comprehensive digital workshops and specialist art and design facilities, including:

  • Our student service point at Locksbrook where you can purchase subsidised art and design materials, hire out equipment for free and collect Library resources
  • Access to our well-stocked Library at Newton Park
  • Access to specialist technical workshops across all of art and design
  • Access to studio space where you can work on projects and refine your practice
  • The Studio in Bath
  • Virtual Learning Environment
Resources

Media Communications students can make full use of Bath Spa University’s purpose-built media production and post-production facilities at Newton Park.

Media Communications students can hire out equipment using SISO, Bath Spa University’s free equipment loan service. We provide a huge variety of equipment and resources from multi-camera TV studios through to digital cameras and field recorders.

You'll also have access to a wide range of University resources:

  • Library collections directly relevant to the Media Communications course include more than 450 journal subscriptions, 18,000 books and 3,000 e-books. The Library’s extensive digital collections include Film and Television Literature Index, Rock's Backpages, and Box of Broadcasts, an archive of over two million off-air television broadcasts. Library resources for the course are underpinned by our Subject Librarian, who provides subject-specific support and a defined point of contact for research enquiries.
  • The Careers team have very close links with the media and creative industries in Bath and Bristol, and organise bespoke opportunities for you to engage with media employers, including networking sessions and bus tours visiting organisations.
  • (ASk) Academic Skills provides continuous support for your academic work, providing feedback on written drafts and running sessions on academic writing.

Fees

2024 entry
Student Annual tuition fee
UK full time £9,250
UK part time £4,625
International full time £16,905

Professional Placement Year

During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. This applies to UK and EU/International students.

  • UK: £1,850
  • International: £3,381

Interested in applying?

What we look for in potential students

We’re looking for enthusiastic students looking to succeed in the communications industry, with a particular eye on advertising, campaign design and research. We value creative thinking, but also place an emphasis on being socially conscious about issues like race, inequality and representation in the media. The ability to challenge the media and identify new ways of communicating to audiences are therefore important traits we look for in candidates.

Typical offers

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed below:

  • A Level – grades BBB-BCC preferred.
  • BTEC – Extended Diploma grades from Distinction Distinction Merit (DDM) to Distinction Merit Merit (DMM) accepted in any subject.
  • T Levels – grade Merit preferred.
  • International Baccalaureate – a minimum of 32 points are required.
  • Access to HE courses – typical offers for applicants with Access to HE will be the Access to HE Diploma or Access to HE Certificate (60 credits, 45 of which must be Level 3, at Merit or higher).

If you don’t meet the entry requirements above, we may be able to accept your prior learning or experience from outside of formal education. See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) page to learn more.

English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants

IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.

Course enquiries

For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.

How do I apply?

Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.

Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.

Three year course
With placement year

Website feedback to web@bathspa.ac.uk