BA (Hons) Media Studies with a Foundation Year
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- UCAS Course Code
- P30F
- Typical Offer
- CCC
- Contextual Offer
- CDD
- Course Length
- 4 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2027
)
Chat to us on Unibuddy
Any questions? Chat online with current students, staff and experts. This is your chance to ask anything about UEA, university life, Norwich and more.
90%
Of graduates go on to work and/or study within 15 months after the course
Graduate Outcomes Survey 2022-23Course Overview
Why BA Media Studies with a Foundation Year at UEA?
Digital Storyteller? Content-creator? Ideas generator? Launch your future with UEA Media Studies at the heart of Norwich’s creative hub.
Why choose UEA?
- Open The Door to Your Future: Build strong creative and practical film making skills you need by working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment
- Learning by doing: Apply your understanding to real-life briefs and create multi-platform responses
- Professional creativity: Utilise Norwich’s creative community to energise your own media projects
What is BA Media Studies with a Foundation Year?
Your foundation year helps you shape your own goals as you progress. You’ll take the key ideas from the visual cultures to guide and develop your own creative media projects.
By studying visual and digital media through collaborative projects and tasks, you’ll challenge and expand your subject knowledge and video production. You’ll have access to all the opportunities and resources that UEA has to offer, including our brilliant industry-standard in-house media facilities, incorporating a television studio, so you can hone your technical and creative communication skills.
Careers
Career Pathways
After graduating from our BA Media Studies with a Foundation Year degree or a similar Arts and Humanities discipline, there are many roles you could progress onto as you launch your career. For instance:
- Production Coordinator: Utilise your problem-solving skills in a logistics, people-focused role to ensure film and television productions run smoothly
- Communications Officer: Manage communications and public messaging for organisations in the cultural, arts or public sectors
- News Reporter: Write, research, and report stories for a variety of media outlets
- Festival or Exhibition Curator: Combine your passion for film and culture with an understanding of what audiences want to engage with at events
- Teacher or Trainer: Share your love of media and work with children or adults to improve their communication, writing and analysis skills in a range of educational or corporate settings
Career Support
During your foundation year, you’ll start your journey towards your ideal future career. We’ll help you identify how your academic interests and burgeoning attributes can link to real career possibilities. You’ll have access to networking opportunities, workshops, and personalised one-to-one appointments. No matter what stage you’re at with deciding on your next steps, you’ll be supported throughout your degree and beyond by UEA’s award-winning careers service, which offers guidance on CV writing, applications, internships and professional development.
Discover more on our Careers webpages.
After the Course
After successful completion of your foundation year, you’ll progress straight onto BA Media Studies. Alternatively, you can request to transfer onto one of a selection of other undergraduate courses within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. This may be subject to taking certain required prerequisite modules. If you wish to move onto a degree with Creative Writing, you’ll need to submit a short portfolio of your writing for approval by the creative writing team. You’ll have an academic adviser who will offer you support and guidance through this process.
In your foundation year, you’ll discover your academic interests. This will prepare to progress onto the course that’s the fits you best. Think of your foundation year as a springboard to your future degree. Take control of your future studies in your hands.
Study and Modules
Structure
In your foundation year, you’ll have a mixture of compulsory and optional modules. So, you can tailor your studies to your interests and develop technical ability. By the end of the year, you’ll have essential subject knowledge to go through the rest of your degree.
You'll explore how original content is made. By bringing together your interest in film and video production, and wider learning from across the course, you’ll experiment with designing a collaborative project.
With support, you'll learn how to break a larger task into manageable stages. You'll gain hands-on experience in storyboarding, location scouting, planning, and problem solving. These core skills are at the heart of future creative project film-making projects and attributes, as such resourcefulness and adaptability can be applied more widely to a range of academic and professional settings. The step-by-step structure of understanding how to manage projects will boost your confidence and show how complex ideas can be visually presented as you follow a process and make connections. Working through each stage in this dynamic way will encourage your creativity, resilience, and teach you how to become a truly independent learner.
We also provide you with the space to practice necessary, core academic skills to build your confidence as you progress with your studies. For example, you’ll learn how to research, write, and properly reference your assignments, as well as how to make the most out of the amazing study and support resources that UEA has to offer.
Alongside hands-on and more analytical media modules, there are a range of subject-specific topics for you to choose from throughout your foundation year. You may choose to focus on history, literature, visual cultures or politics. Alternatively, you could opt to study a language. By combining disciplines, you’ll be able to investigate key areas of film and television media while gaining an interdisciplinary perspective. This is your opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills in subjects closely tied to the rest of your degree or even try something new.
For information on subsequent years, please see the full BA Media Studies course.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 20)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 20)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
We’ll provide a supportive and rewarding learning environment. You’ll study with dedicated lecturers from UEA’s Interdisciplinary Institute for the Humanities alongside colleagues with expertise in the creative, media-focused elements of your discipline. Together, they’ll help you shallow out the curve between your previous learning experiences and your future degree programme.
Modules are taught through innovative methods, with a range of study tasks to prepare you for the different types of learning and teaching you’ll meet later on.
Through seminars, interactive training sessions and supportive feedback, you’ll develop key skills in areas such as storyboarding, essay writing, research, visual analysis, video production, practical media-making and editing. Your Foundation Year will be taught by award-winning lecturers who are specialists in their fields. Our teaching is informed by cutting-edge subject research and a strong commitment to innovative and engaging teaching practice.
Your foundation year will be intensive. You’ll need to study independently or in small groups after lectures. You’ll be supported as you learn to study independently. Getting fully prepared for seminars, workshops, and assessments will be of great benefit to your learning. We’ll support you to make the most of the resources and facilities available to you at UEA.
Assessment
You’ll be assessed by your written work, presentations, or creative media projects. This way, you’ll be familiarised to different learning styles and expectations of degree-level assessments.
Our innovative methods enable you to learn within teamwork or seminars. You’ll build confidence in your strengths and become a more independent learner. The feedback you receive allows you to continue to improve your writing and academic skills.
One of the course lecturers will be supporting you as your adviser. Through tutorials and one-on-one meetings, they’ll make sure you’re achieving your full potential.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK fee-paying students only. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies(opens in a new window) page.
- Contextual Offers
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes(opens in a new window).
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
A Levels
CCC
Contextual offer: CDD
BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma: MMM
Contextual offer: MMP
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Humanities & Social Sciences pathway. Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
T Levels
Pass
- Further Examples of Typical Entry Requirements
We welcome applications from students with non-traditional academic backgrounds. If you have been out of study for the last three years and you do not have the entry grades for our three year degree, we will consider your educational and employment history, along with your personal statement and reference to gain a holistic view of your suitability for the course. You will still need to meet our GCSE English Language and Mathematics requirements.
International Baccalaureate
28 points overall
Irish Leaving Certificate
6 subjects at H4
Scottish Highers
BBCCC or above.
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
Scottish Advanced Highers
DDD or above.
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
-
IELTS: 6.0 overall (with a minimum 5.5 in all components)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies(opens in a new window) for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
-
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Progression
Once enrolled onto a course at UEA, your progression and continuation (which may include eligibility for study abroad, overseas experience, placement, or year in industry opportunities) is contingent on meeting the assessment requirements which are relevant to the course on which you are enrolled.
Progression from a Foundation Year may also be dependent on meeting the prerequisite module requirements of the course you wish to progress to. Please note subsequent changes to study or course can affect your tuition fee liability and the amount you are required to pay
)
Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2027/28 are:
-
UK Students: £10,050
-
International Students: £24,250
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships(opens in a new window) for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information: