Course summary

The BA Film and Media with Screenwriting focuses on the script-based aspects of working in film and TV. In addition to teaching screenwriting skills and industry background, this course aims to equip you with an understanding of industry practice in script editing and project development, as well as techniques for managing a freelance career. This course is ideal for students who are interested in learning how scripts are written and trying out screenwriting skills for themselves. You may be thinking of becoming a screenwriter or using this BA to find work within the film and TV industries in areas such as producing, distribution, commissioning or marketing. Graduating with a BA Film and Media with Screenwriting will give you an advantage in applying for ‘gateway’ jobs in film and television, such as development assistant, researcher or trainee script editor, as well as providing a thorough grounding for those who mainly want to write. Our courses are taught by highly experienced tutors with links in key film and media organisations. This course is one of an undergraduate cluster of courses in Film and Media. If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. Highlights

• 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 the course, where most of our film classes take place. The cinema is equipped with 35mm and state-of-the-art digital projection, which offers you an opportunity to watch and study films in the best possible conditions. 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. The cinema is housed in a historic building that was a former home to key members of the Bloomsbury Group, including the author Virginia Woolf and the artist Vanessa Bell.

• In film, media and cultural studies, Birkbeck fosters an especially research-intensive environment. We offer an extensive portfolio of internationally respected courses that span a variety of academic disciplines and engage with the latest ideas and techniques in journalism, media and cultural theory, arts policy and management, film and television studies, creative marketing, digital culture and East Asian cultural studies.

• 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, which students on this course are encouraged to attend. You will have the opportunity to participate in and attend the Essay Film Festival, jointly run by BIMI and the ICA, with free admission to events hosted at Birkbeck.

• screenwriter

• programme researcher (broadcasting/film/video)

• museum/gallery curator

• arts administrator

• higher education lecturer.