BA (Hons) Communication & Media (with Foundation Year option)

Core units

• Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be the opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services, and online resources. 
• Collaborative Communication Project: The unit focuses on the centrality of communication, both as a process and as a project. Through the collaborative development of a communication solution to a specific communication problem, the unit aims to promote the principles and practices of team-based iterative project work. 
• Media & Current Debates: You will be introduced to a) the important role and responsibilities of the news media within democratic societies and b) the varied nature of reporting of key events, issues, and debates within the contemporary 24/7 news cycle. You will gain an essential level of understanding of what constitutes news and what the work of journalists entails. You will also develop an awareness and appreciation of differing coverage of particular stories by a range of news organisations. 
• Media Work: You will become familiar with a range of profiles and career paths in the communication and media industries and be inspired to reflect on and develop your own professional identity. Through case studies of seminal campaigns, programmes, and artefacts, profiles of ground-breaking personalities, masterclasses from industry professionals, and guest talks from BU staff who have worked or currently work in marketing, PR, media production, journalism, and communications, you will encounter and interact with diverse role models, career trajectories, and types of professional practice. 

Core units

• Communication & Marketing: You'll discover marketing and branding theory, contextualising the marketing mix and the techniques of persuasion and research within the media and communications industries.
• Media & Society: This unit analyses the role of the media in society by examining the nature, history, structure, social and cultural roles of print, broadcast and digital media.
• Introduction to Communication Theory: You will explore and critically examine major theories of communication processes from different perspectives, and engage with relevant contemporary issues related to the study of communication.
• Adaptation: You'll discover the study of adaptation, focusing on key theoretical perspectives and debates, for example about fidelity and medium-specificity.
• Academic & Writing Skills: This unit supports students in their transition to undergraduate study by focusing on core academic and writing skills.
• Language Matters: You will examine the complexities and possibilities of language use in both oral and written communication, and across a wide range of media. You will be introduced to key theoretical and analytical tools to equip you to undertake textual analysis of a variety of discourses.

Core units

• Media & Marketing Research: You will be introduced to the aims, principles and techniques of social, media and marketing research and will be equipped with the skills needed to conduct primary research.
• Media: Messages & Meanings: This unit examines how messages are constructed, conveyed and received over a range of media and by different audiences.
• Web & Mobile Communication: This unit aims to give you a strategic overview and knowledge of the role played by web and mobile communication in contemporary society.
• Narrative Structures: Contemporary narrative texts will be analysed and evaluated, providing a theoretical overview of a variety of contemporary narrative texts from film, television, journalism, magazines, the internet and prose fiction.
• Writing for the Media: The unit aims to strengthen your professional journalistic skills and your creative writing skills. You'll also learn how to use industry-standard software and will lay out your writings in magazine format.

Option units (choose one)

• Popular Texts & Intertexts: Studying a variety of popular texts across the media including literary, cinematic, televisual and graphic, you'll encounter genres including detective, romance, horror, fantasy, children’s literature, chick lit/lad lit, fan fiction and online communities.
• Global Current Affairs: You will engage with current debates in international and multimedia journalism, while being introduced to major global developments and their impact on news reporting.

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

Every undergraduate course includes the opportunity to complete a placement – enabling you to gain experience, put your learning to use in a professional setting, and make contacts for the future. We believe this gives you the best chance of securing a great job to start your career.

You’ll also return to your studies with a clearer understanding of the industry you are looking to enter, and will be able to direct your learning to become the kind of professional you want to be in a much more informed way.

You can choose either a four-week placement on a three-year course, or an optional 30-week (minimum) placement on a four-year sandwich course.

Whether you choose the three- or four-year option, you will complete the following units in your final year: 

Core unit

• Dissertation: You'll undertake original and independent research to produce a dissertation on a topic or problem of your choice, using a communication, humanities or social science approach.
• Media Convergence: This unit will enable you to develop and hone your skills of the creation and promotion of cultural media artifacts on multiple platforms which engage with topics such as intersectionality, inclusivity, and the Sustainability Development Goals, while imitating industry practice to realistic deadlines.

Option units (choose four)

• Celebrity Culture: This unit will introduce you to celebrity as a site of cultural and political power, and equips you with the skills to evaluate the risks and opportunities that celebrity culture poses for contemporary media as a site for democratic debate
• Advertising: You'll discover how advertising can be used as a strategic marketing communications tool and will gain strategic and tactical skills in developing advertising campaigns and the evaluation techniques and measurements used to assess advertising success.
• Public Relations: This unit introduces the theory and practice of public relations.
• Media, Crisis & Conflict: Periods of crisis, such as war, conflict, civil unrest, epidemics, famines, and natural disasters, can alter the complex relationships between media, audiences and governments. This unit will analyse these relationships through four interrelating themes.
• Media & Trauma: This unit aims to explore critical and cultural responses to traumatic experience and death across a range of media or texts from print and broadcast journalism to filmic and literary representation. The unit will focus on how trauma is interpreted, recorded, represented, constructed and produced across a range of media and in a variety of social, professional and medical contexts.
• News & Journalism: This unit seeks to provide you with a critical perspective on journalistic outputs and the ability to report and produce news and other forms of journalism in a digital world.
• Writing, Editing & Publishing: A practical unit which combines study of publishing processes and practices with creative writing.
• Fact & Fiction: This unit explores the diverse panorama of non-fiction works produced in the realm of literary, or narrative, journalism. It will analyse ethical issues such as objectivity, accuracy, and the social and historical context of the genre over the centuries.
• New Media Narrative: You'll examine the evolution of narrative forms in relation to the development of new (digital) media, especially exploring non-linear and interactive narratives and make critical evaluations of theoretical, critical and creative texts.
• Community & Digital Engagement: This unit will help you develop a critical and practical understanding of community and digital engagement with a view to acquiring advocacy techniques that can engage citizens in local problem-solving.
• Space, Place & Environment: This unit focuses on critical representations of space, place and environment in literature and culture from industrialisation to the present. You will explore the significance of space and the environment in relation to diverse yet connected topics such as globalisation, personal, social and national identity, politics and policy, global transmission of literatures, literary tourism, conservation, biophilia and urban regeneration.
• Race, Media & Inequality: This unit will help you develop a critical understanding of historical and contemporary issues and debates on the dynamics of race, ethnicity and culture in media and communication practice and political discourse. You will explore the cultural competencies required to articulate the key issues and advance solutions for a specific industry.
• Social Media Management: This unit will teach you how to critically engage with the principles, frameworks and theories of relevance to social media management. You will formulate a range of different strategic options appropriate to the organisation and marketing environment whilst developing approaches to implementing and managing social media programmes across markets, regions and cultures at strategic and operational levels. 

Please note that option units require minimum numbers in order to run and may only be available on a semester by semester basis. They may also change from year to year.

Contact hours

This is a broad academic course with some vocational units and a strong emphasis on writing skills. The course is designed to help you develop analytical and evaluative skills through the study of literary and media texts, as well as enabling you to operate in dynamic environments such as the workplace and new media.

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, workshops and one-to-one tutorials. In addition, to these scheduled sessions, there will also be multimedia screenings, interactive exercises, media experiments and other innovative forms of learning & teaching, allowing you to develop a range of both transferable and subject-specific skills.

Year 1 – 16% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 177 hours
• Independent learning: 1023 hours

Year 2 – 17% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 190 hours
• Independent learning: 1010 hours

Final year – 15% of your time will be spent in timetabled learning & teaching activities

• Learning and teaching: 169 hours
• Independent learning: 1031 hours.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Assessment methods include essays, written and oral exams, case studies, portfolios of journalism, research and creative writing, pitches and presentations.

Other methods include a Dragons’ Den exercise, the development, delivery and evaluation of a Communication Skills Training programme and a poster display. The assessment methods for each unit can be found on the programme profile in the programme specification for your course.

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience.

Placements provide a great opportunity to make your first career steps and enhance your employability while you’re completing your studies. You’ll get the opportunity to:

• Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
• Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
• Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
• Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
• Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider
• Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

You will begin your placement after completion of your second year of study. At this point, you’ll either need to complete a four-week placement (on the three-year version of the course), or a minimum 30-week placement (on four-year version).

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Coordinator. 

They’ll help you plan your placement to make sure you get the right experience for you. That includes offering help and support if you need to move to another part of the UK – and even another country – to get the most out of your time.

We’ve also built close industry links over the years – so our network of employers that are keen to work with placement students is always growing. Or if you’d prefer to arrange your placement independently, we can offer advice on how to do that too.

• IBM
• Converse
• Nike
• Microsoft
• Ascot.

Our students have shared their experiences so you can discover what it's like to undertake a placement year:

• Micaela Sowerby - Back stage at the Brit Awards 

• Chrissie Bishop - Marketing, Events and Social Media intern at MM Company

• Jessica Simms - Communications Assistant at Waitrose

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website. 

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

Flexibility is a quality much sought after by employers. The BA (Hons) Communication & Media course produces flexible and versatile graduates who have developed transferable skills valuable in management, writing and communication industries.

Many students choose BA (Hons) Communication & Media because, while knowing they want to work in the general area of communication, they have not decided precisely which jobs to pursue. In years one and two all students study language, literature, writing, media and society, research methods and the psychology and behaviour of individuals and groups.

In year three, students choose options from professional and academic units. Graduates embark upon a variety of careers including journalism, public relations, publishing, management, training, research and authorship.

We therefore look for applicants who are committed to a career in communication and clear evidence of an interest in literature, communication and media in the personal statement.

IT Skills

Computers are an ever present feature of working life. The University has extensive open access computer facilities, from the library to the Internet cafe. Many of the computers have Internet access and each student has an e-mail address.

The main centres have computer staff to help students with their queries. Certainly familiarity with computers will help. But don't worry; our experience is that new students to BU soon become proficient in handling a PC or a Mac.

Visual and Internet Communication

On the course students have access to the School's Electronic Publishing Unit, and in the Writing, Editing and Publishing units students are taught how to use the electronic publishing programs for document creation and design. Students also use a statistical package to analyse research data. You may already possess a number of these skills, but if not, we will help you to develop them throughout the course.

Individual and teamwork

You will be expected to work hard both individually and in groups. Self-motivation and the ability to manage your time effectively are important requirements. You should enjoy reading widely. Individual work includes conducting research, writing in a variety of styles, completing assignments and preparing for seminar sessions. We develop your team working abilities on the course by requiring you to work on group presentations. Some of the group work is assessed.

Depending on the professional units selected in the third year you may be required to undertake the following: develop and evaluate a public relations programme; develop, execute and evaluate a training programme; analyse case studies; gather, write and process news articles; write a proposal for a radio or TV programme or a book.

Communication

You should enjoy writing and be prepared to learn how to write in different styles appropriate for different media, for example, news releases, articles, dialogue, short stories and poetry. You should also be interested in using information technology for design and graphics.

The course develops these abilities in the Writing Foundation Skills unit in year one and extends them in the Professional Writing unit in year two. Journalism and Writing, Editing and Publishing options in the final year offer an opportunity to develop these skills further. Verbal skills are important too for talking persuasively to groups and individuals.

Creative thinking and critical analysis

The course draws on perspectives from the humanities and social sciences enabling students to evaluate and practise the many aspects of communication and media. Therefore you need to enjoy analysing a wide range of verbal and visual texts, for example poems, novels, soap operas, news stories and advertisements.

You should be capable of creative and original thinking, with an ability to confidently express your own individual ideas, based on sound reasoning, and present informed opinions. You should develop an awareness of communication issues in the wider social context.

Curiosity and a willingness to evaluate different points of view are vital for undergraduate study, as well as your future career.

Students should, above all, be interested in people. BA (Hons) Communication & Media is about people and how they communicate, whether this is face to face or through the media and literature. Students should be avid readers and enjoy newspapers, television, films and books.

We select candidates for this course by looking at your application; there are usually no interviews or selection activities needed. For that reason, make sure your application really stands out from the crowd, and leave us in no doubt as to why you should be joining BU. You can find some handy hints about filling in your UCAS form on our how to apply web pages.

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

This course has compulsory elements involving practical production activities. When required, students must complete a health and safety risk assessment to take part in these activities, for their safety and that of others. As part of that assessment students provide information about any conditions or disabilities that might affect their ability to undertake these activities fully or safely. 

If you have such a condition or disability, please let us know as soon as possible. You can contact our Additional Learning Support (ALS) service about this before or after making an application. We will then work with you to identify any support or adjustments you would need. Our ALS team works with the Faculty to seek to put in place reasonable adjustments and health and safety plans.

Exceptionally, it may not be possible to arrange for a student to access these courses without either over-riding their core standards or competencies or creating unacceptable risks to health and safety. If that is the case we will help you explore alternative course choices.

The broad education this course provides across media means our graduates go on to a wide variety of positions. This includes roles such as:

• Account executive
• Assistant media executive
• Communications officer
• Concept manager
• Digital account executive
• Junior copywriter
• Marketing and communications coordinator
• PR executive.

The skills you learn stand you in good stead for your continuing professional development too – giving you more control over your career direction.

Once you have completed an undergraduate Honours degree, you can further develop your education by studying for a postgraduate degree. Please visit our Postgraduate section for further details about our range of Master’s degrees.

Research degrees

If you are a BU graduate you are eligible for a 20% ‘loyalty’ discount on the published fees for further programmes with us!  

Depending on your qualifications and experiences, you can choose to undertake a MRes or PhD level research degree. Bournemouth University has a strong communication & media research foundation within our Department of Communication & Journalism and our Department of Media Production and through a number of research centres, which explores theory, education and professional practice. 

Visit our postgraduate research courses for further details about research degree options with the Faculty of Media & Communication and the funding options available. 

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Our fees commitment means your tuition fees are fixed and your fee will be the same for each year of your course.
• Materials for laboratory and mandatory field-based teaching activity
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website 
• Travel costs for optional field trps, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (where applicable)
• Travel costs to and from the university campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased seperately
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Placement year funding information can be found on our website.
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study
• SportBU membership.

Whie all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribition is required,

If you need to repeat one or more units during your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

Once you are have enrolled as a student at BU, there is a wide range of help and support available, depending on your particular needs.

• Library & Learning support
• Additional Learning support
• Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)
• Transport and travel.

Megan has taught on BA (Hons) Communication and Media, and more broadly in the Faculty of Media and Communication, for several years. Her research focuses on narratives around politics, gender and identity in literature and popular culture, topics which also underpin much of her teaching. As Course Leader, Megan's primary aim is to create an environment which is supportive, engaging, challenging, and fun for the students in equal measure.

Gloria has taught in the higher education sector for several years at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Her research focuses on media and migrants, community radio, and digital storytelling. Her doctoral research explored the evolution of British Asian Radio in England. Gloria is a community radio practitioner; she hosts a weekly radio show on Southampton’s community radio station Unity101FM. She is an experienced print and broadcast journalist and has worked for international media. Gloria’s background underpins her teaching for this degree. As a Programme team member, Gloria is passionate about fostering a positive and diverse student experience.

Phil's passion and expertise lies in the intersection of technology and education. His current research projects involve working with disadvantaged communities to teach media and digital skills, and this work is something he is always keen to involve his students in. His teaching approach is one of transparency and approachability. Phil believes in the unique proposition of BA Communication and Media and always prioritizes the development of students who creative and adaptable thinkers.

Amy is a researcher in women in political leadership, gender stereotypes, feminism, and representation. Her PhD explored women's responses to women in political leadership and provided new insights into the gendered dimensions of leadership, political communication, and women’s representation in the political sphere. She is currently working on publications exploring responses to women political leaders at times of crisis, and the representation of American First Ladies in magazines. Amy is an experienced teacher and had taught units across a number of departments at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. She is passionate about student centred teaching and encourages discussion and debate in her classes.

Dan Hogan gained a degree in English Literature. After university he became a journalist and found Shakespeare’s revenge tragedies useful for being a reporter. He had to cover all aspects of human life—whether it be a train disaster, crossbow killer on the rampage, or an American football match. His happiest times in journalism were spent working as a freelance for TV, radio, and newspapers—ranging from The Guardian to The Sun. He specialised in writing intimate profiles of people and fun stories. These included:

• A project to build houses for otters
• A 90-year-old who swims in the sea 365 days a year—even during freezing mid-winter
• A teenager who ate a mattress in a protest at being put behind bars. The headline was: “Russ gets a taste for jail.”

Dan has a passion for creative writing. His post-graduate research has involved him visiting the second most remote island on the planet.

The table below indicates the latest changes to this course.

The table below indicates the latest changes to this course.