BA Media and Cultural Studies Degree

Overview & facilities

This comprehensive and in-depth course enables you to take a critical look at culture and the mass media. BA Media and Cultural Studies degree with honours looks at how media products are produced and circulated, and puts this in the context of the wider society we live in and the different cultures we belong to. You will learn about film, television, photography, newspapers and the internet, and also how these relate to broader issues like globalisation, consumer culture and new technology.

The BA Media and Cultural Studies degree is ideal for people with an interest in how the media works and its influence on society. It attracts people who are interested in learning about media production (how media goods are researched and made) but also those interested in social and political issues.

Content & modules

Modules

• Year 1

  Introduction to Media and Cultural Studies (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This course introduces students to the history of media and cultural studies as an academic discipline. Students will learn about a range of themes and ideas including representation, identity, consumption, production and regulation. The course will also introduce some of the theoretical, critical and practical skills involved in conducting media and cultural studies research in an academic context. Students develop a variety of basic media and cultural studies research skills - particularly how to initiate, devise, plan, carry out and present a research project and work effectively as part of a group.

  Issues in Media, Politics and Culture (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  The course will complement the theoretical learning on MCS1100 by providing students with the knowledge and skills to investigate, discuss and critically evaluate contemporary issues in media, politics and culture. Students will learn about current social issues, and how these are mediated through press and broadcasting, and in culture. The course will provide a foundation in cognitive and practical skills relevant to the MCS programme, and provide students with transferable graduate skills.

  Screen-based Media (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  To develop critical appreciation of similarities and differences in the visual languages of film, television and new media, and the different ways in which spectators and audiences are constructed and addressed; To understand the context for the dissemination of both traditional and new forms of screen-based media. To develop a critical understanding of key themes in the study of audiences, publics viewers of screen-based media, including a substantial introduction to theories of media audiences

• Year 2

  Body, Identity Society (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This course will develop the cultural theory introduced in MCS1100. It will analyse how we use culture to make our identities and how the cultural meanings of race, gender and class shape this process. It will explore our experience of identity using autobiographical writing. The purpose of this approach is to link together individual daily life experience with the theoretical ideas and concepts of Media and Cultural Studies. In the second part of the course, learning will focus on the social construction of the body using theoretical analyses to address key contemporary debates about the nature of identity and the body. The course will also help prepare students for their third year dissertation.

  Media and Cultural Industries (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This course develops the work in MCS1200 and introduces a number of approaches to the study of the media and cultural industries, from early Marxist critical theories to more recent accounts of the relationship between the media and new international economic structures. It looks at the difference between mainstream and alternative media and the rise of a global media industry. This module also acts as a preparation for students undertaking work experience in MCS3300, and aims to help students identify and conduct research into particular aspects of the media and cultural industries that interest them. In the process it will help prepare students for their third year dissertation.

  Media, Image, Power (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  The course introduces key debates in media and cultural theory which enable the interrogation of the power of media images from a variety of angles. It will develop an understanding of media images as a form of communication and focus on contemporary developments in society and culture which shape our experience of media images. In the process the course will theorise the changing forms of power relations involved, enabling students to produce a specific analysis of a particular instance of the work of media images.

  Writing and Publishing Online and Electronic Media (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  To introduce students to a variety of disciplinary methodologies through which to develop a critical approach to both desktop and online publishing; Provide a critical and practical framework within which students can engage with the study of editorial design, content creation and creative implementations for the digital network and print media; and the application of this to the production of practical projects.

• Year 3

  Culture, Consumption and Identity (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This module develops the theoretical work begun in MCS2100. It looks at the relationship between personal or collective identity and wider social forces such as the media and consumer culture. It raises questions about which forces have historically been most important in shaping our sense of ourselves and our relationships to others. The course builds on this work to explore and analyse how our sense of identity has changed as a result of the development of a global consumer culture.

  Cultures of Work (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  Developing the theoretical knowledge and skills in MCS2400, the course will develop students ability to theorise the nature of contemporary working lives. Integral to this theoretical work is the undertaking of work experience. The aim of the course is to extend students abilities to integrate their experiential and theoretical understanding of what work means and to position themselves reflexively within the context of contemporary work.

  Dissertation (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  The dissertation is the culmination of the learning and teaching in the MCS programme. It tests both the knowledge students have gained and understood and the practical and cognitive skills they have grasped. Its emphasis on self-directed learning and independent research tests students self-confidence in their intellectual abilities and capacity to organise their time. The aim of the course is to provide students with an opportunity to think in depth over a period of time about one specific issue; to read critical theory and to apply it in order to achieve a greater understanding of the subject under inquiry.

  Media practices (30 Credits) - Compulsory

  This course critically develops and extends work done in MCS1100, MCS2300 and MCS2400. Media practice is linked to economic, industrial, political, technological and ideological processes. In the economic sphere, media concentration, deregulation and globalisation are influential factors on media practice. Politically, questions of power, ownership and control affect media content and programming. Technological developments have also impacted on the way media institutions are organised, and on the way media forms, organisations and products are circulated, distributed, publicised, advertised and marketed.

Entry & applying

We normally make offers on a minimum 200-240 UCAS tariff points or overseas equivalent.

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Qualifications accepted

For a comprehensive list of qualifications accepted by Middlesex, see further information under entry requirements

English language requirements

You must have competence in English language and we normally require Grade C GCSE or an equivalent qualification. The most common English Language requirements for international students are IELTS 6.0 (with minimum 5.5 in all four components) or TOEFL internet based 72 (with at least 17 in listening & writing, 20 in speaking and 18 in reading).

Middlesex also offers an Intensive Academic English course (Pre-Sessional) that ranges from 5-17 weeks depending on your level of English. Successful completion of this course would meet English language entry requirements. For more information on applying for the pre-sessional please email english@mdx.ac.uk.

Entry into year two or three (transfer students)

If you have achieved a qualification such as a foundation degree or HND, or have gained credit at another university, you may be able to enter a Middlesex course in year two or three. For full details of how this works see transfer students

UK/EU applicants with existing higher education qualifications

If you have already been awarded a qualification at the same level as the course you are applying for, you may not be eligible for a tuition fee loan, see fees and funding for more information.

Applying

Applications for UK and EU students should be made to UCAS – the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. The institution code for Middlesex is M80, and the code name is MIDDX. You also need the code for the course you wish to apply for – this is found in the 'at a glance' box above.

International students from outside the EU can make a direct application.  We have a network of regional offices across the world to assist you with your application.  They have worked with people from your region coming to Middlesex before and can help. Read more on international applications

Fees & funding

The tuition fee for the 2012/2013 academic year for UK/EU students is £9,000.
The tuition fee for the 2012/2013 academic year for International students is £10,400.

Click here to find out more about fees, funding and our scholarships in 2012.

Careers & placements

Choose this course if you're looking to study a wide range of different types of media and culture in an in-depth way, and if you want a degree that will prepare you for a wide range of career options.

Placements

Work placements are proven to increase your success in the job market – as well as being a fantastic experience. Media is a highly competitive field so we encourage as many students as possible to grasp this opportunity. As part of your third year you will have the opportunity to carry out a short placement of a minimum of 15 days.  This will provide you with first-hand experience of a media organisation. We have a Placement Office which will support you through the placement process.