About Media And Communications - BA (hons) in Cardiff Metropolitan University

Course Overview

​Embedded into our everyday lives, the media plays a powerful role within society. Consequently, the importance of studying and understanding the subject has never been more vital. 

This distinctive Media and Communications degree combines theoretical analysis of media, such as film, TV, gaming and music with practical skills in digital media, media writing and journalism. With Cardiff placed as the second largest media centre outside of London, the degree is ideally placed to embed employability skills, allowing you to combine theoretical perspectives with practical vocational skills. You will graduate with strong communication and analytical skills that are highly valued in today's employment market. 

This Media and Communications BA will enable you to not only develop your critical understanding, but to also gain professional knowledge of various media industries. You will be encouraged to follow your passion throughout the degree, focusing on a creative industry that interests you, such as fashion, film, gaming, marketing, music, PR, sport and TV. 

You will gain an understanding of how the media industry is organised from a local, national and global perspective, while the course will guide you on how to establish yourself as a media practitioner. Your own personal and professional development are at the core of the programme that will provide you with a foundation on which to build your career. 

Course Content

This BA (Hons) Media and Communications degree offers a module framework, which provides the fundamental underpinning knowledge, skills and understanding to be able to gain employment in a creative media industry. 

You will develop strong communication and media writing skills while focusing on specific industries, and gain confidence in writing various forms of journalism, PR and marketing for different media industries, such as film, sport, fashion and music. These skills are combined with multimedia production, allowing you to design, film and edit your own creative work. There is a strong focus on creativity, journalism, marketing, entrepreneurship and strategic thinking that offers the potential for you to define and develop your own ideas for media content. 

Year one introduces key theoretical and practice-based approaches to the study and creation of media at degree level. The year aims to promote critical reading of media texts while developing knowledge of a range of theoretical approaches taken towards media in terms of textual meaning, production and audience consumption. You are encouraged to engage with and examine a variety of audio-visual texts to develop understanding of the important relationship culture and society has with mass media. A foundation in media and journalistic writing also introduces students to key industry skills and techniques. We look at news writing, covering the journalistic basics of researching a story, interviewing sources, writing clearly and concisely, and structuring your story so that the essential information is highlighted. We then move onto feature writing, examining how this less structured form of journalism can bring in more descriptive and narrative qualities in writing, while still requiring the fundamentals set out in news writing. The basics of writing for PR and other communications based media are also covered this year. 

Employability & Careers

The Cardiff Met EDGE supports you to thrive in the modern world. Throughout your degree you will experience a range of opportunities to develop your Ethical, Digital, Global and Entrepreneurial competencies through problem-based learning and work-based learning placements. We will ensure that you get a range of opportunities to develop transferable skills such as communication, team work and leadership. 

We will also support you to seek opportunities to work or study abroad. Work placements can give you a critical EDGE in gaining professional employment on graduation. Students who have graduated from the BA (Hons) Media and Communications programme will be expected to go on to work in careers both within and beyond the Media, Journalism, PR, Marketing, Communications and Digital Media. 

Many students also pursue their own opportunities and set up businesses based on ideas that they have generated during their studies. There is on-going enterprise support available from the Centre for Entrepreneurship designed to help provide the best chance to create a successful enterprise. This includes business mentoring, funding advice, free office space and networking opportunities. 

Academic qualification equivalents

• Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, include one English, Grade 12 (ENG4C or ENG4U), minimum 60%

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS      :      6.0 overall* with no sub score lower than 5.5
• PTE         :      Overall - 52, Reading - 51, Speaking - 51,Listening - 51,Writing - 51

Cardiff Metropolitan University Highlights

Cardiff Metropolitan University Average Tuition Fees And Other Expenses

Personal requirements including books charge a different fee according to the course.