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Film and Screen Media at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2024 - 20252025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

Our MA Film and Screen Media explores the history, development and interaction of film, television and other screen media. The course encourages you to explore a wide variety of screen media in historical, sociological, aesthetic and anthropological terms and in a variety of cultural and national contexts. You can personalise your MA studies and specialise in areas of film and screen media that match your intellectual interests and career goals, while a work placement option allows you to gain practical experience that may enhance your career prospects. The course is unique in its combination of world-class, rigorous postgraduate study with creative and practical opportunities. Some of the option modules, including the two-month work placement module, can help you stand out in a competitive job market and further your career in the media, creative and cultural industries. The course will also prepare you for advanced research at MPhil/PhD level if you wish to continue studying. This course has three other pathways: MA Film and Screen Media (with Study Abroad), MA Film and Screen Media (with Television) and MA Film and Screen Media with Film Programming and Curating. Highlights

  • Teaching and supervision are delivered by leading film and media academics, including Drs Mike Allen, Janet McCabe, Silke Arnold-de Simine, Dorota Ostrowska, Emma Sandon and Michael Temple, and Professors Laura Mulvey and Ian Christie. The research expertise of our academics is in cinema history, exhibition cultures, programming and curating, film aesthetics, television industry and form, and contemporary and future new media opportunities inform every aspect of the course.
  • Birkbeck was ranked as one of the top four universities in the UK for its Art and Design research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
  • The award-winning Birkbeck Cinema is central to this course. The 70-seat cinema is equipped with 35mm and state-of-the-art DVD projection. The Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image (BIMI) runs a busy, intellectually stimulating programme of events, including conferences, screenings and film-related events of all kinds. You will have the opportunity to participate in and attend the Essay Film Festival, jointly run by BIMI and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), with free admission to events hosted at Birkbeck. There are practical film-making opportunities offered through the Derek Jarman Lab.
  • Located in central London, in the heart of historic Bloomsbury, Birkbeck is within easy reach of cinemas and galleries, as well as facilities such as the British Film Institute and the British Library.
  • We offer a number of bursaries for postgraduate students.
Careers and employability Graduates can pursue career paths in film and television companies, museums and galleries, arts administration, education, publishing and film criticism. Possible professions include:
  • arts administrator
  • museum or gallery curator
  • teacher
  • programme researcher
  • television/film/video producer.
It is also possible to continue on to a PhD which offers employment opportunities in academia and other areas. Jobs gained by some of our MA and PhD graduates include:
  • Deputy Editor, Sight & Sound
  • freelance editor
  • independent film producer
  • Temporary Exhibitions Curator, Science Museum
  • Curator of Public Programmes, British Film Institute
  • Associate Lecturer, University of Surrey
  • Reader, King’s College London
  • Academic Publishing Sales Manager, Taylor & Francis Group.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

Essay assignments and a placement/research report of approximately 5000 words each, and a dissertation of 15,000 words due in September of the final year.

How to apply

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Entry requirements

A second-class honours degree (2:2 or above). You are required to complete a 700-1000-word written exercise by choosing a film or television programme which you have recently seen and explaining why you found it innovative. Your completed exercise should be returned directly to [email protected], or alternatively uploaded to the Applicant Portal, either as a Word document or a PDF. Please ensure that you include your reference number and name on each page of the document. Successful candidates will be invited to attend an interview. Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. Some courses may require higher scores, particularly in the following subject areas: arts management cultural studies development studies English literature film and media geography history history of art law organizational psychology psychology. Please carefully check the Course-Specific Entry Requirements on your chosen programme for details of higher English language entry requirements. If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses, foundation programmes and language support services to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £11070 Year 1
Northern Ireland £11070 Year 1
Scotland £11070 Year 1
Wales £11070 Year 1
International £20340 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases.
Film and Screen Media at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS