BA Film & Television Studies and Media & Communications

From day one, you’ll dive straight into the tools, archives, and production spaces that media professionals actually use. The programme is designed so that theory and practice go hand in hand—whether you’re analysing a film through archival collections, experimenting in a lab on new media, or collaborating on a media project with your peers. Exeter supports you with dedicated spaces, specialist equipment, and opportunities to engage with real-world industry settings.

Here’s what you can expect in concrete terms:

• You’ll regularly work with The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, a world-class resource on film and popular culture, giving you access to rare archives and visual collections that directly connect to your coursework.

• Exeter’s Digital Humanities Lab is there to help you explore and create digital media projects, letting you experiment with editing, visualization, and computational tools in a scholarly yet hands-on environment.

• Many modules involve group-based media projects, like producing a short film, a video essay, or a digital media campaign. These projects give you real experience in planning, collaborating, executing, and critiquing work—helping you build practical and professional skills across communications and media.

• You’ll be encouraged, and sometimes required, to take work placements or internships—especially if you choose variants like “with Employment Experience.” These placements give you the chance to build industry contacts and test out roles before you graduate.

• Some versions of the course offer study abroad options, letting you experience media production and communication cultures in another country.

• Exeter’s libraries and special collections are a huge support: they house major archives tied to literature and film, providing primary materials to research and inspire your creative work.

• The Communications, Drama, and Film department maintains state-of-the-art technical facilities, managed by a skilled technical team, so you’ll have access to professional equipment for audio, video, editing, and digital content production.

• You can also get involved in student-run media outlets, like Xpression FM, the campus radio station, where you can practice content creation, broadcasting, and media operations in a real-world context.

With these immersive opportunities—hands-on lab work, archive-based research, production projects, or placements—you won’t just study media and film; you’ll experience it firsthand.

The BA Film and Television Studies and Media and Communications at the University of Exeter prepares graduates with creative, analytical, research, and communication skills that are highly valued across the media and creative sectors. By combining knowledge of film, television, digital media, and communication practices, the programme supports graduates in pursuing careers such as Digital Media Assistant, Editor, Filmmaker, Marketing Executive, Production Assistant, Public Relations Consultant, Television Production Professional, and Communications Officer.

The programme helps students build career confidence and gain industry-relevant experience through a combination of employability support, practical opportunities, and transferable skills:

• Access the University of Exeter’s Careers Service, which provides personalised careers advice, employer events, mentoring opportunities, skills workshops, and resources to help students explore career pathways and prepare for employment.

• Participate in employability development opportunities such as the Exeter Award and Exeter Leaders Award, which help students build workplace skills through workshops, volunteering, leadership activities, and professional development experiences.

• Develop employer-focused skills including creative thinking, critical analysis, research, communication, teamwork, project management, digital confidence, and the ability to present ideas effectively to different audiences.

• Gain professional experience through the Employment Experience pathway, where students can complete a year-long work placement in the UK or abroad, allowing them to apply their film, television, media, and communication knowledge in a real workplace environment.

• Build connections with the creative sector through opportunities to engage with events involving writers, actors, filmmakers, and other industry professionals.

• Explore career opportunities across industries including film production, television, digital media, journalism, advertising, marketing, public relations, communications, events management, publishing, and creative organisations.

• Use specialist facilities such as the Digital Humanities Lab, which supports creative and digital projects through resources including interactive display technology, photography equipment, audio-visual recording facilities, sound-editing resources, and a MakerSpace with 3D scanning and printing tools.

• Gain long-term career value from a degree that combines academic understanding with practical knowledge of media industries, helping graduates adapt to evolving opportunities in creative and communication-focused careers.

• Benefit from strong graduate outcomes, with Film and Television Studies graduates progressing into roles across areas such as television production, film industries, publishing, education, marketing, communications, and cultural organisations.

Further Academic Progression:

After completing the BA Film and Television Studies and Media and Communications, graduates can continue their studies through postgraduate programmes in areas such as film studies, media studies, creative industries, journalism, cultural studies, and related humanities subjects. Further study options may include MA Film Studies, MA International Film Business, MA Creative Writing, MA Cultural Studies, MA Journalism, and research-based postgraduate programmes, allowing students to develop specialist knowledge for academic research or advanced professional careers.