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Postgraduate

MA Documentary Film

A child puts her fingers in her ears while her father shoots a gun on a boat.
Molly Adams, MA Documentary Film, London College of Communication, UAL.
College
London College of Communication
Start date
September 2024
Course length
1 year 3 months full time (45 weeks across a four-term model)

Learn the entire documentary film making process on this comprehensive course, which integrates theory with practical experience of making your own short films.

Applying for more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3. Find out more in the Apply Now section.

Why choose this course at London College of Communication

  • Practical skills: train using industry-standard equipment and facilities while making your first films throughout the course.
  • Critical skills: study documentary history and theory, learn to analyse films through group screenings and discussions, and receive feedback from industry professionals.
  • Industry skills: practice writing effective treatments, train in pitching ideas, search out work placements in production companies, meet well-known producers and directors doing special sessions.
  • Networking skills: be part of information-sharing about filming opportunities with former students, tutors, industry contacts.
  • BAFTA UK Scholarship Programme: UK applicants to MA Documentary Film can apply for the BAFTA scholarship. Each BAFTA Scholar receives between £5,000 to £12,000 towards their annual course fees as well as mentoring support and free access to BAFTA events around the UK. Find out more via the BAFTA website.

Open Evenings

The next Open Evening for this course will be announced soon.

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@MADocFilm

Course overview

MA Documentary Film is a leader in exploring the traditions of the documentary film genre and its modes of production. Integrating practice with theory, you’ll analyse filmmaking critically, historically and conceptually within a practical context.

Documentary has the power to investigate and inspire - to reveal the human experience, call the powerful to account and help effect lasting change.

As a student of documentary film, you’ll be naturally inquisitive and interested in the lives of others, committed to understanding the world that surrounds you, and keen to examine the most pressing issues of our time.

On this course, you’ll undertake the roles of producer, director, camera operator, sound-recordist and editor. You’ll learn how to self-shoot, to work in teams, and to direct and produce for broadcast, independent and web media.

For your Major Project, you’ll develop ideas in ways that suit your work best. From identifying characters, stories and locations to shooting and editing with a particular visual style, you can choose to be the author of your work or to collaborate with peers.

What to expect

  • You’ll become grounded in direction, camerawork and editing, and learn key artistic and technical skills alongside sustainable practice for a successful documentary filmmaker.
  • You’ll contextualise theoretical and ethical debates surrounding the documentary form to compliment and nourish your growing practical skills in documentary filmmaking.
  • You’ll introduce your work to the competitive British and international documentary filmmaking circuits.
  • You’ll enhance your career prospects, gaining valuable vision, opportunities and skills including guidance on pitching for funding and commissions.
  • In return, you’ll need to be committed to the practice, ready with strong ideas, and open to constructive and supportive criticism so that you can push boundaries in your thinking, writing and reflection alongside making films.

​Work experience and opportunities

You’ll collaborate with external partners for projects and live briefs. Previously, we’ve worked with a variety of partners, including a collaboration with the Independent Film Trust, collaborating on the Coldharbour Project, an oral documentary series and with the Fastnet Film Festival in Ireland, adjudicating a major documentary award in a human rights category.

We have a long, successful history of graduates finding freelance work as directors, self-shooters and editors with companies ranging from The Guardian, Century Films and True Vision, to the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

The Screen School also belongs to the BAFTA albert Education Partnership, which offers students the opportunity to learn about environmentally responsible working practices, their professional relevance, and their contribution to the transformation of the film and television industry. During your time on the course, you will be encouraged to engage with and achieve the albert graduate employability certificate.  

Mode of study

MA Documentary Film is in Full Time mode which runs for 45 weeks over 15 months. You will be expected to commit 40 hours per week to study.

Course units

In response to the Climate Emergency, UAL has embedded responsible practices within the curriculum. We shaped our courses around principles of social and racial justice, and environmental sustainability that ensure learning outcomes reflect the urgent need to equip you with the understanding, skills, and values for ethical practice and empower you to work towards an equitable future.

Each course is divided into units, which are credit-rated. The minimum unit size is 20 credits. The MA course structure involves 6 units, totalling 180 credits. Whether contextual or practice-based, all units on MA Documentary Film are mandatory.

The contextual lectures with screenings and seminars are timetabled to a regular weekly pattern. Throughout the terms, your production-based classes, as well as your individual and group assignments, will vary your timetable according to the nature of the production.

Autumn, term 1

Documentary Development (40 credits)

You’ll be introduced to documentary filmmaking and equipped with the core practice skills of documentary film production. You’ll be encouraged to research, develop and pitch a documentary idea which you’ll go on to produce as your Major Project film.

Documentary History and Theory (20 credits)

This unit positions documentary production within a historical and theoretical context.

Spring, term 2

Documentary Development (Continued)

Documentary Ethics and Methods (20 credits)

You’ll explore the relationship between filmmakers and their subjects, questions of representation, and the ethics and practices of documentary filmmakers.

Collaborative Unit (20 credits)

With a focus on student-driven collaboration, you’ll identify and develop collaborative working relationships with a range of possible partners, from postgraduate student colleagues on your course to external parties.

Major Project (60 credits)

This unit initiates the production and direction of an individually authored or co-authored documentary film of up to 20 minutes, which is accompanied by a portfolio of research, a proposal and a treatment.

Summer, term 3

Documentary: Contemporary Discourses (20 credits)

This unit weaves together analysis of present-day issues faced by the documentary film business and brings up-to-date examination of contemporary approaches to storytelling and the documentary form.

Major Project (continued)

Autumn, term 4

Your Major Project will resume, culminating with a critical and analytical report which contextualises your documentary film while articulating a promotional and impact strategy aligned to your future professional plans.

If you are unable to continue or decide to exit the course, there are two possible exit awards. A Postgraduate Certificate will be awarded on successful completion of the first 60 credits and a Postgraduate Diploma will be awarded on successful completion of the first 120 credits.

Learning and teaching methods

  • Workshops
  • Lectures
  • Screenings
  • Tutorials
  • Self-directed study
  • Unsupervised collaborative assignments
  • Peer review

Online Open Day

(Recorded February 2023)

Course Leader, Jeremy Williams, gives an overview of studying MA Documentary Film at London College of Communication.

Course showreels and trailers

2021 | Course showreel

2020 | Course showreel

Forced to adapt their initial documentary plans at short notice due to the global pandemic, this year’s work from MA Documentary Film graduates charts their resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges.

2019 | Course showreel

Watch the showreel for the students graduating in 2019.

Playlist | Film trailers 2019

View film trailers on our YouTube channel from graduating MA Documentary Film students.

Student voices

Laura Esteban

Student voices

Laura's film, 'Daughters of the Sea', centres on the lives of women in the fishing industry, in Galicia, northwest Spain.

Crescencio Ferreira

Student voices

Crescencio talks to us about his final year film The Priory which focuses on the life of a rapper from North London.

Course stories

Facilities

  • Red light indicating recording is taking place.
    Image © Vladimir Molico

    Lens-Based and Audio-Visual

    Find out about the workspaces and studios that support Lens-Based and Audio-Visual practice.

  • Student reading a book in between two bookshelves in the Library
    Students in the Digital Space. London College of Communication, UAL. Photograph: Alys Tomlinson

    The Digital Space

    The Digital Space is an open-plan, creative hub with computers set up with specialist software.

  • A close-up of a monitor in the TV studio.
    Image © Vladimir Molico

    Film and Television

    Find out about the resources on offer to Film and Television students.

Staff

Fees and funding

Home fee

£13,330

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£28,570

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

Scholarship search

Entry requirements

An applicant will normally be considered for admission if they have achieved an educational level equivalent to an honours degree.

Applicants should have a proven interest in documentary films and a keen desire to make documentary films. You should know what kinds of documentary interest you and why you have an ambition to deepen your involvement in documentary film study and production.

Successful applicants have generally made their own videos and have some experience of filming, but we can also consider candidates without a production background who demonstrate exceptional film ideas and directing potential. We often have applications from mid-career photographers or producers in related fields.

Your experience is assessed as a learning process and tutors will evaluate that experience for currency, validity, quality and sufficiency. Your educational level may be demonstrated by:

  • Honours degree;
  • Possession of equivalent qualifications;
  • Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required;
  • Or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

APEL (Accreditation of Prior Learning)

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

  • Related academic or work experience
  • The quality of the personal statement
  • A strong academic or other professional reference
  • OR a combination of these factors

Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

Language requirements

All classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language, we strongly recommend you let us know your English language test score in your application. If you have booked a test or are awaiting your results, please indicate this in your application. When asked to upload a CV as part of your application, please include any information about your English test score.

  • IELTS 7.0 (or equivalent) is required, with a minimum of 6.0 in each of the four skills.
  • If your first language is not English, you can check you have achieved the correct IELTS level in English on the Language Requirements page.

For further details regarding international admissions and advice please visit the International Applications page.

Selection criteria

Offers will be made based on the following selection criteria, which applicants are expected to demonstrate:

  • Evidence that you have knowledge and awareness of documentary film culture, practice, directors, films and debates
  • Evidence of an understanding of what goes into making a good documentary idea and a keen desire to make your own authored documentary films

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Digital portfolio and video task deadline

Round 1:

16 January 2024

Round 2:

16 April 2024

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Digital portfolio and video task deadline
16 January 2024
16 April 2024
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Digital portfolio and video task deadline

Round 1:

16 January 2024

Round 2:

16 April 2024

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Digital portfolio and video task deadline
16 January 2024
16 April 2024
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

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How to apply

Follow this step-by-step guide to apply for this course

Step 1: Initial application

You will need to submit an initial application including your personal statement and CV.

Personal statement advice

Your personal statement should be maximum 500 words and include:

  • your reasons for choosing the course
  • your current creative practice and how this course will help you achieve your future plans
  • any relevant education and experience, especially if you do not have any formal academic qualifications.

Visit our personal statement page for more advice.

CV advice

Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If you have any web projects or other media that you would like to share, please include links in your CV. If English is not your first language, please also include your most recent English language test score.

Step 2: Video task and digital portfolio

We will review your initial application. If you have met the standard entry requirements, we will ask you to submit a video task and digital portfolio.

You’ll need to submit these via PebblePad, our digital submission tool. Please submit your video task on the first page followed by your portfolio.

Video task advice

We’d like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you. When recording your task, please face the camera and speak in English.

What to include in your video task

  • Choose 1 project from your portfolio and explain how it challenged you and your understanding of documentary film.
  • Tell us how this experience inspired you to apply to MA Documentary Film at London College of Communication.

Read our guidance for how to submit your video task and which file types we accept.

Digital portfolio advice

Your portfolio should consist of recent work that reflects your creative strengths.

It should include:

  • a short excerpt (up to 5mins) of a documentary production with clear notes on your role.
  • a 1-page proposal for a 20-minute documentary.

For more support, see our Portfolio advice and PebblePad advice.

Step 3: Interview

You may be invited to an interview following our review of your application. All interviews are held online and last 15 to 20 minutes.

For top tips, see our Interview advice.

You also need to know

Communicating with you

Once you have submitted your initial application, we will email you with your login details for our Applicant portal.

Requests for supplementary documents like qualifications and English language tests will be made through the applicant portal. You can also use it to ask questions regarding your application. Visit our After you apply page for more information.

Applying to more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3 courses. You need to tailor your application, supporting documents and portfolio to each course, so applying for many different courses could risk the overall quality of your application. If you receive offers for multiple courses, you'll only be able to accept 1 offer. UAL doesn't accept repeat applications to the same course in the same academic year.

Visas and immigration history check

All non-UK nationals must complete an immigration history check. Your application may be considered by our course teams before this check takes place. This means that we may request your portfolio and/or video task before we identify any issues arising from your immigration history check. Sometimes your history may mean that we are not able to continue considering your application. Visit our Immigration and visas advice page for more information.

External student transfer policy

UAL accepts transfers from other institutions on a case-by-case basis. Read our Student transfer policy for more information.

Alternative offers

If your application is really strong, but we believe your strengths and skillset are better suited to a different course, we may make you an alternative offer. This means you will be offered a place on a different course or at a different UAL College.

Deferring your place

We do not accept any deferral requests for our postgraduate courses. This means that you must apply in the year that you plan to start your course and you will not be able to defer your place to start at a later date.

Application deadlines

For postgraduate courses at UAL there are 2 equal consideration deadlines to ensure fairness for all our applicants. If you apply ahead of either of these deadlines, your application will be considered on an equal basis with all other applications in that round. If there are places available after the second deadline, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Careers

Graduates go into a range of film-making options such as production and academic research. Alumni of this course have also gone on to associate producer roles and commissions in broadcast and independent sectors. Much depends on individual focus and aspiration.

Many former students are now building strong reputations for their work on the course. Alana McVerry is a producer at VICE after making documentaries for the BBC; Leila Hussain is making short documentary features all over the world for CNN; Anahi Aradas has made films for BBC World and Victoria Burns won a Mead Fellowship to make a one-hour observational documentary on the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre.

What are our graduates doing?