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Digital Media and Communications BA Honours

There’s never been a better time to start your career in digital media
Code
P309
Start
September 2024
Duration
3 years full-time
Usually 5 years part-time
Attendance
Full-time
Part-time
Fees
£9,250 (UK)*
£16,600 (INT)*
Course leader
Dr Mita Lad

Please note: This course is not accepting first-year applications for 2024 but welcomes applications for direct entry into years 2 and 3.

Our digital media and communications course has been especially designed to meet the skills and demands of the fast-moving creative industries.

Why study for a BA Digital Media and Communications with us?

Combining theoretical knowledge and practical skills, you gain skills in areas such as new media, video production, website design, culture and more. Practice-based work includes video production (following Government safety guidelines), web design and HTML programming, data visualisation and smart environments. Great emphasis is also given to the management and analysis of social media platforms, with APIs and other sources used to present and assess social data.

You'll be taught by experienced technical tutors who know the industry inside out. They will guide through a series of modules like the compulsory Digital Media Practice module, which focuses on production methods: video, sound recording and mixing, advanced post-production, and many more. At the end of the module you'll produce a creative and adaptive piece of work that puts theory to practice.

Studies in digital media can lead to a range of exciting careers. You’ll find that graduates with a digital media and communications degree are highly sought after in the fields of social media, marketing, e-commerce and content production, to highlight just a few.

Practice your skills and get professional skills and experience

You'll apply the skills and theory learned using specialist software that is the latest industry standard. The Kit Hub houses a vast collection of art and media-based equipment that you can borrow to help with relevant modules. You’ll also have the opportunity to gain certifications in Apple, and Avid editing software alongside experience in API and analytics.

Your project outputs can include though are not limited to: live campaigns, viral videos, platforms, games, exhibitions, and more. We also give you the option of a work placement in London’s creative industries as part of the course, ensuring the skills you learn are put into practice.

Get the support you need

While you’re learning, you’ll be matched with a Personal Tutor directly related to your course. You’ll also get support from our Student Learning and Graduate Academic Assistants, who have experience in your subject area. You'll also be in touch with our technicians who work to support you in our specialised facilities on all your projects and coursework.

Whether your goal is to work in social media as an analyst or strategist, work in a creative agency as an account director, or work as a content curator, this is the course for you!



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What will you study on the BA Digital Media and Communications?

Theoretical topics of study include: Gender, identity and new media, spatiality and new media, blogging cultures, open and collaborative cultures, immersive and smart environments, social, locative and mobile media.

Practice-based work includes: Video production, website design, information design and editing using Abode Creative Suite, Avid and Apple software, visualisation and informatics, smart environments design.

Throughout the course emphasis is given to producing creative works of a professional, industry-standard and high-quality finish. Projects and briefs, tools and facilities provided meet these standards.

What will you gain?

You will acquire a broad range of creative skills during the degree, including:

  • Visual communication skills for print and online
  • The knowledge to deploy social media platforms appropriate to audiences
  • Adaptability to new technologies and software
  • HTML programming
  • Writing for screen and multiple online platforms
  • Understanding different ways of campaigning and promotion using social media platforms
  • Competence in media production
  • Content management, dissemination and campaigning
  • Storytelling on multiple platforms.

Course structure

Each year is made up of four 30-credit modules. In Year One students receive an introduction to Digital Media with four compulsory modules – two theoretical and two practical. In Year Two you can choose one optional module alongside three compulsory, with one of these options providing the chance to do an industry placement. During Year Three you will undertake an individual project and dissertation alongside two additional compulsory modules, with the fourth an optional module.

Modules

  • Year 1

    • Digital Media and Society (30 credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to introduce major theoretical concepts and debates, contemporary issues and discourses in digital media and sociocultural phenomena arising globally through the conceptualisation and application of existing and emergent digital technologies. Students will undertake critical engagement and understanding of the role of the digital and mediated relationships in complex processes of cultural change. They will evaluate developments that relate to industry and creative practices considering inclusivity equality, as well as wellbeing around ideas and processes of labour, power, lifestyles, the public and the private and social inequalities.

    • Content Strategy (30 credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to equip students with a range of digital practices, analytical approaches and tools by which to create, curate, direct and produce content required to deliver impactful communications achieving strategic objectives. Students will learn how to develop a ‘content strategy’ through the process of planning, assessing and selecting the best style, form and narrative organisation of that content, in order to achieve the desired communication and objectives with the intended audience. The module considers case studies and real-world challenges chosen from a range of contexts and ‘genres’ in order to build awareness as well as practical ability. In addition, this module will introduce students to the discipline of project planning, to equip them for career opportunities in the creative industries. This module will introduce and embed the use of Adobe InCopy, InDesign and Creative Cloud Express, Adobe’s unified task-based, web and mobile app, which enables students to produce rich multimedia content including social media posts and stories, invitations, and marketing materials like logos, flyers and banners.

    • Digital Design (30 credits) - Compulsory

      This module establishes the foundations and objectives of digital design, engages students with the creation of multimedia content for mobile and web. The module introduces students to digital image making, desktop publishing, digital filmmaking and motion design with industry-standard software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere and After Effects. It also introduces students to videography with DSLR cameras, microphones and lighting kit. Students will create a digital image & desktop publishing (DTP) portfolio and a creative group video project, accompanied by an annotated bibliography.

      Forms of media students may produce include:

      Short Form video, motion graphics, interactive social media assets, digital publications, photo manipulations, editorial illustrations and electronic documents.

    • Professional Communication in Creative Careers (30 credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to develop students' abilities in a range of professional communication tasks which are characterised by a high degree of rhetorical convention alongside individual creativity. In order to build awareness as well as practical ability, a range of linguistic approaches are used to illuminate discourse strategies appropriate to each given idiom and situation. In addition, this module aims to introduce students to the career opportunities in the creative industries and to enable them to plan, reflect on and collate evidence for their own personal and professional development.

  • Year 2

    • Immersive Storytelling (30 credits) - Compulsory

      This module enables students to produce immersive, critical, story-led, memory creating, and experience-driven content for social media and the Metaverse.

      • Term 1 teaches students to analyse, construct and critically reflect on interactive and immersive narratives and diverse modes, practices and applications of immersive storytelling in a multitude of contexts. It requires students to develop a critical case study response/group presentation, accompanied by an individual report.
      • In term 2, students will develop the technical and creative skills to produce experiential content that is purposefully designed for specific audiences. In groups, students will create an immersive experience by means of some combination of interactions, animations, embedded media, creative technologies, and storytelling.

      Forms of media students may produce include: Hypertext, interactive video, data visualisations, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), locative media, virtual reality (VR) and VR video, augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), extended reality (XR).

    • Digital Research and Creative Practice (30 credits) - Compulsory

      This module aims to provide students with key skills and knowledge of all aspects of research across various sectors associated with digital media, from how research is used in the industry (R&DI, KE) to its application towards regulation and its use in academia. The module will introduce students to a range of methods and techniques of research, and ways to analyse data and present them to different audiences whether they be industry figures and clients or academics. The module enables students to learn, evaluate and experiment with contemporary techniques and approaches in digital media research and apply this knowledge to the design of a research project. The module is specifically designed to teach students how to devise and develop independent research project within the framework of digital media and to train them to use the latest tools and programmes to do research on digital media. The module covers budgeting, basic project planning and management skills and calculation of expenditures, and will guide students across the learning of cutting edge techniques and methods for digital data analysis, such as data scraping and API extraction, data visualization, basic social network analysis, digital ethnography, social media content analysis, big data analytics, and how these interface with more traditional media research methods such as interviews, questionnaires and focus groups.

    • Video and Motion Design (30 credits) - Optional

      This module focuses on the design and production of motion graphics and digital video with Adobe Premiere, After Effects and Maxon Cinema 4D. Students will learn to produce engaging, sophisticated moving image material to a professional standard, gaining an advanced understanding of the conventions and practices of digital filmmaking and animation, and exploring history and context of their development in the arts and creative industries. The module introduces advanced DSLR videography & video editing techniques, and explores interdisciplinary and cross-platform workflows that allow students to make fluid use of a variety of expert software packages and state-of-the-art production methods.

    • UX/UI Design for Web and Mobile (30 credits) - Optional

      This module explores how user experience design (UX) and user interface design (UI) create deeper levels of engagement. Focussing on mobile to web, students will be introduced to the elements of UX design such as wireframing, prototyping and user journey mapping. Students will design user interfaces using design systems and learn to employ UX/UI patterns to create immersive mobile and web experiences for graphical user interfaces (GUIs), voice-controlled interfaces (VUIs), gesture-based interfaces using UI patterns, gamification and animations. The module builds upon the digital production skills obtained in the level 4 module DMC1002 Digital Design and focusses on interactive media production with Adobe XD and Dreamweaver primarily for web and mobile. Forms of media students may produce include: Websites and mobile phone apps. The module also covers interactive touchscreen installations for brands and product launches and information kiosks for museums.

      .

    • Global Communications (30 credits) - Optional

      This module aims to develop the critical and creative digital media skills that students will need to work within a global communicative paradigm. This module will provide students with an in-depth understanding about how to use digital mediums to tell stories that are truly global, communicate effectively, and reach a broad global audience. Storytelling by companies, charities, NGOs, and other stakeholders within the creative industries is increasingly reliant on global digital media. However, digital communication channels present challenges and issues that need to be critically examined. Global media cannot be divorced from issues such as a growth in misinformation, and companies cannot ignore issues that are attached to globalization, such as climate change and a growth in inequality. Therefore, this module will also teach ways to produce content that is culturally sensitive, ethical, and builds on a brand’s corporate social responsibility. All of the knowledge that is learned will be applied in practical ways that are relevant to industry.

    • Creative Industries Work Placement (30 credits) - Optional

      The nature and practices of work are constantly evolving and the creative industries are at the forefront of this evolution. The aim of this module is to establish a in-depth understanding of the creative industries and their specialist sectors. This module offers key employment and job seeking skills, including networking, personal branding (including portfolio, CV and online profile development) and interview training. It provides students with the opportunity to learn from the experience of recent graduates who have moved into full-time roles as well as network with seasoned professionals. It reviews theoretical frameworks and provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the nature of contemporary working practices. The module pays particular attention to the role of evolving online technologies in shaping and changing the world of work in the creative industries. This module requires students to complete a work-placement (100 hours) in a selected sector of the industry. The module runs in cooperation with MDXWorks. Students will evaluate their performance and their learning from their work experience – as well as reflect on the cultural role of the organisation and place in the industry in which the work experience took place. The work done in this module can feed into a number of third year modules.

  • Year 3

    • Independent Project (30 credits) - Compulsory

      This module aims to enable students to demonstrate research and creative skills developed in other parts of the programme to develop and carry out an independent project which involves one of:

      • An investigative research project and report
      • A practical, creative, industry-standard project relevant to the field of digital media and communications with a critical reflection detailing the process of development and execution and/or business plan.

      Students must identify and engage critically with relevant critical frameworks in the field of digital media and communications, apply this knowledge in the development of a theoretical and/or practical project, and demonstrate the relevant intellectual, professional and time management skills to bring the project to a successful completion.

    • Social Design (30 credits) - Optional

      This module focusses on design for social innovation, the role of citizen designers as changemakers, and examines the rise of academic debate in the areas of social design, sustainable design, inclusive design, ethical design and design futures. Students will explore the potential of digital media for social change, participation and empowerment, develop a range of creative and critical skills to address social issues, and learn to practice design in a socially responsible manner. The module requires the creative and critical application of digital media forms for the creation of a public-facing design project for social innovation and change, accompanied by a reflective design research report. Forms of media students may produce include: Social media campaigns, web-based projects, video and animation, community media, serious games, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), smart contracts, dApps and distributed ledger technologies, information screens, augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), extended reality (XR).

    • New Technologies and Innovation (30 credits) - Optional

      The module teaches students the creative and innovative application of digital technologies, frameworks and practical media production skills required to prepare students for a professional career in the field of creative technology. Coursework produced as part of the module requires students to approach and solve a problem by the creative application of a new or emerging technology. The module aims for a critical understanding of the role of new and emerging technologies in cultural production and builds on the broad set of technical and storytelling skills developed in DMC2001 Immersive Storytelling. Case studies focus on the design of applications of creative technologies such as: Interactive participatory environments; games, guides, tours, interactive maps and tools, smartphone applications and services.

    • Social Media Management (30 credits) - Optional

      The module aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the diverse social media networks and technologies used in the capture, design, production and management of digital content. Through professional case studies, students will be able to critically evaluate and apply appropriate technologies and tools of social media management in different contexts, a range of institutions, organisations and practices. Key legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks and a critical understanding of the types of social data utilised are vital to the module. Students taking the module will evaluate and develop social media management strategies and current trends, and by working to briefs will demonstrate the ability to understand and engage with metrics, analytical tools and different types of data.

    • Leadership in The Creative Industries (30 credits) - Optional

      This module aims to establish key skills in team leadership and an advanced understanding of the processes and phases of project management, and establishes an understanding of professional work ethics and and how its principles and values apply to people, project management and industry contexts. Students must seek business clients or calls, secure “live briefs”, procure industry standard projects, and learn to apply project management techniques including discovery and solutions improvement through the collaborative effort of self-organizing and cross-functional creative teams. The module requires students to develop a network and industry links, and an understanding of the digital agency structure. The module runs in cooperation with MDX Works, the University’s employability office. Continuing the development of employability skills embedded throughout the programme, MDX Works will contribute to meeting career objectives with workshops, lectures and CV writing and feedback. It will include workshops for career planning, LinkedIn profile creation and alumni support through University networks. Students need to promote their professional profile online, and the module also requires the production of a creative online self-promotion project focused on innovation in a chosen industry sector.

    • Culture, Consumption and Identity in the Digital Age (30 credits) - Optional

      This module explores key arguments and debates concerning subjectivity, consumer culture and digital media. The module aims to develop knowledge and understanding on the role of new media in shaping cultural identities and especially in relation to the development of global consumer culture. The module develops advanced skills in ethnographic research methods. Since the Enlightenment the way in which the self has been understood and experienced has been central to the development of consumer culture. In recent times it has been argued that it is consumption, rather than any other social factors, that shapes our identities. The purpose of this module is to examine digital media promotional practices under this premise and explore debates regarding the relationship between identity (collective and individual) and consumer culture.

More information about this course

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.

  1. Overview
  2. Teaching and learning
  3. Assessment and feedback
  1. Standard entry requirements
  2. International
  3. How to apply
  1. UK
  2. International
  3. Additional costs

How can the BA Digital Media support your career?

After completing the degree in Digital Media graduates will have a wide range of skills which make them suitable for various roles within the creative industries, such as:

  • Social Media Analyst, Social Media Strategist, Social Media Manager
  • Account Director, Accounts Creative
  • Marketing Officer, Content Marketing Officer
  • Curator
  • Digital Account Manager, Digital Community Manager, Digital Content Management, Digital Coordinator, Digital Director, Digital Loyalty, Digital Marketing
  • E-commerce Support, E-commerce Analyst
  • Events / Exhibitions Production Manager
  • Media Officer
  • Online Content Management, Web Content Developer
  • Production Manager
  • Search Engine Optimization Consulting
  • User Experience Analyst
  • Video and Blogging Community Management.

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.

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