Do you have a passion for games design, film, digital media, communications, advertising, PR branding, creative writing or journalism, but you're not quite there yet with the qualifications to study at a degree level?
Are you eager to pursue a career in this exciting and ever-evolving media industry, but not sure where to start? Then look no further than this specialist one-year course.
Designed for students like you, this Foundation Year in Media will equip you with the essential skills and knowledge needed to succeed and get to the next level.
Our foundation year will give you a head start in building your confidence and equipping you with the skills you need to excel in your chosen field.
With strong links to London's media and gaming industries, you'll get unparalleled access to industry professionals and insider knowledge that will help you stand out from the crowd.
Plus, after completing our foundation year, you'll be well-prepared for your degree. So why wait? Take the first step towards your career today!
This comprehensive programme will equip you with the necessary skills you need to succeed, while also helping you clarify your future learning and career goals. With a strong emphasis on practical learning and hands-on experience, you'll gain a solid fundamental insight into theory and practice that will set you up for success.
And the best part? After completing the course, you'll be ready to take the next step in your media career and enrol in one of our outstanding three-year degrees. Whether you're interested in BSc/BA Games Design, BA Film, BA Digital Media and Communications, BA Advertising, PR and Branding, BA Creative Writing and Journalism. You'll be in the right space to make the right next choice.
At Middlesex, we know that building a strong community is key to success. That's why we offer more than just a foundation course - we offer a network of support that will help you thrive both academically and socially. As a media foundation year student, you'll have the opportunity to connect with former students who may now already be working in the industry and who understand exactly what it takes to succeed. Our regular meet-ups provide the perfect space to share your experiences, ask questions, and make new friends with similar interests. And with the Middlesex University community behind you, you'll have all the support and guidance you need to attain success.
The Foundation Year in Media is taught by the same lecturing staff and industry experts who teach our degree courses. You'll be taught in online seminars, webinars, lectures and use student interaction and co-creation to learn new material.
Collaborative online tools for creative media production are at the core of our teaching and you'll learn through carefully considered creative and academic content.
This course will allow you to develop transferable skills in media, communication and critical thinking. At the core of our approach to online learning and teaching is student interaction. In all of our programmes, you'll have the opportunity to interact with each other.
When you join us on this one-year foundation course, you'll be able to:
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You'll study four modules over the year. You'll start by studying the first three modules, and then, in the last few weeks of the year, develop your Media Portfolio Project and ShowCase your work.
The year is delivered through induction workshops, demonstrations, tutorials, lectures, critique sessions and portfolio review meetings. You'll also benefit from the visiting speakers, as well as visits to exhibitions, screenings and exclusive events.
This module explores and develops written and oral communication skills required for media subjects, through a range of media disciplines. From journalism to games design, you will acquire the basic principles of critical thinking and analysis to support your creative work and project development.
This module is structured to cover a wide range of digital production tools and resources. Short project briefs will enable key learning to be applied in manageable projects, some individual, some in groups. With introductions into camera, sound, post-production, digital imagery, 3D modelling and scripting, you will see the possibilities of the various media disciplines at undergraduate level, and make choices as to which specialism might best suit you.
This module allows further development of writing, presentation and organisation skills. Having begun to experience the potential of the resources at hand, in this module you experiment with your ideas, develop story worlds, write stories and/or features, prepare scripts, treatments, and/or scenes to plan your creative project work across a range of disciplines. The module is workshop based and will feed into your preparation for the portfolio projects.
Having experienced a range of opportunities in media, you then propose and develop your portfolio projects in the final weeks of the programme. You prepare your work for progression onto undergraduate programmes in this module. The programme team will support students to identify their strengths and facilitate your progression onto the most appropriate degree programme.
See the course specification for more information:
Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.
To find out more about this highly regarded course, please download the Foundation Year in Media specification (PDF).
The fees below are for the 2024/25 academic year:
Full-time: £9,250
Part-time: £77 per taught credit
Full-time students: £16,600
Part-time students: £138 per taught credit
The following study tools are included in your fees:
The following course-related costs are not included in the fees, and you will need to budget for these:
To help make uni affordable, we do everything we can to support you including our:
Find out more about undergraduate funding and all of our scholarships and bursaries.
1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.
Our employability service, MDXworks will launch you into the world of work from the beginning of your course, with placements, projects and networking opportunities through our 1000+ links with industry and big-name employers in London and globally.
Our dedicated lifetime career support, like our business start-up support programme and funding for entrepreneurs, has put us in the top 20 UK universities for business leaders and entrepreneurs – Business Money 2023 and a top 10 university for producing CEOs (Novuana, 2023).
Want to be your own boss? You'll have the chance to pitch your business to gain mentoring and grants of up to £15,000.
You’ll study with students from 122 countries who’ll hopefully become part of your global network. And after you graduate, we'll still support you through our alumni network to help you progress in your chosen career.
Our library is open 24 hours a day during the term and includes:
Free laptop loans, Wi-Fi and printing.
We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health and disability support.
We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.
Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.
Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.
You can apply for scholarships and bursaries and our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.
We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.