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Undergraduate

BA (Hons) Media Communications

Student working in the Studio. Image by Alys Tomlinson.
College
London College of Communication
UCAS code
P302
Start date
September 2024
Course length
3 years

BA (Hons) Media Communications is focused on the social and cultural impact of digital media forms and will help you develop a critical understanding of new communications technologies.

Why choose this course at London College of Communication

  • You will develop critical thinking and writing skills, and knowledge across: digital media, moving image, photography and podcasting.
  • Work collaboratively on project briefs set by industry professionals, enabling you to engage in project management, pitching of ideas, and furthering your personal and professional development.
  • The course covers a mix of media theory and creative practice ensuring that graduates are fully equipped to target careers in the media and communications industry.
  • You will explore the benefits of the culture of connectivity for individuals, community and brands, and its implications for social and political life.

Open Days

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

Explore life at LCC with our interactive Virtual Open Day.

Course overview

As we increasingly live our lives within media, BA (Hons) Media Communications explores the intersections of media technologies, content and industries to consider their impact on society and the self.

Responding to ongoing transformations in the field, this course will prepare you to live in media-saturated contexts and successfully work in or with the media and creative communications industries.

You’ll develop the creative and critical skills needed to evaluate and make sense of media, and to create dynamic and effective communications across a range of sectors.

What to expect

Throughout the course, you will:

  • gain an in-depth, critical understanding of the historical and contemporary development of communication industries and digital media in a global context
  • make choices to develop your subject interests across different option units
  • develop creative multimedia skills in audio, visual and digital communications across platforms and for a variety of audiences
  • recognise and assess the dynamics of social and technological change relating to complex media systems, platforms, industries and technologies in local and global contexts
  • interact with industry and academic leaders through lectures, seminars, workshops, field trips, and other teaching and learning activities
  • learn investigative techniques, tools and methods for high-quality, independent research and creative work
  • work collaboratively with peers on and outside your course
  • graduate with a portfolio of creative and critical work and an advanced understanding of the field, you’ll be prepared for professional life in or alongside the media and creative communications sectors.

Industry experience and opportunities

With employability embedded throughout the course, you’ll gain industry experience through opportunities to work on live briefs and connect with industry speakers, guests and alumni. You’ll also build skills in audio-visual and digital content creation, alongside advanced skills in media and creative communication.

In Year 2, the Professional Industry Practice unit will support you to apply for placements and collaborative opportunities through activities such as CV writing and interview workshops.

In Year 3, the Creative Futures unit will support you to develop your online professional profile, network with industry professionals, and develop strategies for working in the media and creative communications industries.

Previously, graduates from BA (Hons) Media Communications have secured roles in media and the creative industries with companies such as Freud Communications, Tate and KISS FM, as well as with a wide range of other media and creative communications organisations. Graduates of this course have also launched their own creative content and marketing consultancies or are pursuing freelance careers.

Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake the Diploma in Professional Studies or the UAL Diploma in Creative Computing between Years 2 and 3 to enhance your learning experience and employability skills.

Mode of study

BA (Hons) Media Communications runs for 93 weeks in full time mode. It is divided into 3 stages over 3 academic years. Each stage lasts 31 weeks.

Course units

We are committed to ensuring that your skills are set within an ethical framework and are embedding UAL’s Principles for Climate, Social and Racial Justice into this course.

In common with all courses at University of the Arts London, this course is credit rated. The course is 3 years, levels 4-6. Each year requires you to achieve 120 credit points. To be awarded the BA (Hons) Media Communication qualification, you need to accumulate a total of 360 credits.

Year 1

Introduction to Media Communications (20 credits) 

This unit will welcome you to your course and introduce you to our learning approaches. We’ll introduce the UAL Creative Attributes Framework as a tool for understanding your university journey and feature sessions on independent study, collaboration, academic writing and academic conduct. You’ll also be introduced to the key topics that will be developed throughout your course.

Media Life (20 credits)

You’ll explore the interconnected and multi-faceted role of media in our daily lives. Underpinned by case studies, this unit will introduce you to the culture of connectivity by interrogating the environment of emerging media landscapes, along with their social and cultural fit.

Creative Foundations (20 credits)

Through a series of creative and technical workshops, this unit will provide a foundation for understanding and engaging with the creative process: from the early stages of creative thinking and skills development to realising and finalising creative outputs.

Media, Communications and Culture (20 credits)

This unit will introduce you to the broad field of communication studies by mapping and applying key theories and approaches. 

You’ll explore ways of thinking about the formation, transformation, and influence of the communications industries, and contextualise contemporary debates about related practices, texts and users. 

Platforms and Social Media (20 credits)

Providing an important foundation for understanding different platforms and social media from a range of socio-cultural perspectives, this unit applies project-based learning to not only examine their complexity, but also to consider how they can be used for promotional and creative communication.

Transmedia Storytelling (20 credits)  

This practice-based unit will introduce you to transmedia storytelling as both a flow of narrative from an original ‘text’ to other platforms and - more importantly - as the expansion of a narrative to fit the unique characteristics of different media platforms.

Year 2

Creator Culture (20 credits)

This unit focuses on the shift towards creator-based models within media networks to generate new kinds of content and emerging industries. You’ll consider longer-term developments in both cultural consumption and production, as evident in the evolution of audiences in increasingly overlapping systems of content distribution.

Professional Industry Practice (20 credits) 

Supporting you to prepare for a career in advertising and creative communications, within the creative media industries, this unit will introduce different modes of working in the professional landscape.

You'll be encouraged to reflect on your own interests and creative skills in relation to employability, and to explore industry-based experiences such as placements, internships, live briefs, and freelance working.

Global Media Businesses, Practices and Cultures (20 credits)

You’ll examine the changing ways in which global communications are organised, the connections between business and cultural aspects of the media and creative communications industries, and their relationship to wider processes of economic, political, social and cultural change.

You’ll also consider different work practices in the creative and cultural industries, and identify the competencies and behaviours required to work successfully within them.

Media and the Environment (20 credits)  

In this unit, you’ll investigate the impact of media on cultural and societal structures, as well as on the environment itself. By studying media ecologies, geology and sustainability, you’ll make connections between media and the environment in creative ways, and make sense of the connections between media and socio-environmental justice through a series of local and global case studies.

Communication Research Methods (20 credits)

You’ll be introduced to the research process by learning methods for data gathering and data analysis. With a focus on research outcomes, you’ll be supported to then apply these techniques to your written work as well as your creative practice, and to propose a research project in your final year.

Level 5 Option Unit (20 credits)

This unit will enable you to choose an option that supports the further development of your creative production skills. Recent units offered have included:

  • Content Creation: Digital and Web
  • Content Creation: Film and Video
  • Content Creation: Podcasting and Audio
  • Professional Skills: Building Brands
  • Professional Skills: Data and Social Media Analysis
  • Professional Skills: Influencer Marketing Communications

Year 3

Research Project (40 credits)

In this unit, you’ll undertake an independent research project in an area of contemporary media communications that you’re particularly interested in, which can be accompanied by an incorporated creative project.

Final Major Project (40 credits)

In this unit, you’ll consolidate and further advance your creative skillset along with your professional development by engaging in a live project with an external industry partner.

Creative Futures (20 credits)

In this unit, you‘ll explore potential career options and postgraduate opportunities to prepare for life after graduation.

Reflecting on your journey throughout the course, you’ll identify your skills, strengths and aptitudes alongside your aims and ambitions for the future before producing a 12- to 18-month action plan to help you consider your next steps.

Level 6 Option Units (20 credits)

You’ll have the opportunity to choose from a range of research-based options and specialist topics to develop your interests across media and communications.

The following units will be offered each year:

  • Critical Sound Cultures
  • Futures Thinking
  • Information Warfares: Misinformation, Conspiracy and Extremism
  • Love in a Digital Age
  • Special Topics*

*Your selection of special topics may potentially include:

  • Comedy and Satire in Media and Communications
  • Community Management
  • Digital Humanitarianism
  • Food Cultures
  • Global and Indigenous Media
  • Rhetoric, Media and Political Communication

Optional Diploma between Years 2 and 3

Between Years 2 and 3 of the course, you’ll also have the opportunity to undertake one of the following additional UAL qualifications:

Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) (Optional)

An optional, year-long learning opportunity which enables you to develop your professional skills by undertaking time out for industry experience. Supported throughout the year by academics, you’ll build on the knowledge gained on your course in a range of national or international locations, and graduate with an additional qualification of Diploma in Professional Studies.

Diploma in Creative Computing (Optional)

Between Years 2 and 3, you can undertake the year-long Diploma in Creative Computing. This will develop your skills in creative computing alongside your degree. After successfully completing the diploma and your undergraduate degree, you’ll graduate with an enhanced degree: BA (Hons) Media Communications (with Creative Computing).

Learning and teaching methods

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Workshops
  • Project work
  • Individual and group work
  • Self-directed learning
  • Industry guest speakers
  • Study trips and visits (as appropriate)
  • Assessed assignments
  • Online learning
  • Peer learning

Online Open Day

(Recorded November 2022)

Acting Course Leader, Dr Jonathan Wright, gives an overview of what it's like to study BA (Hons) Media Communications at London College of Communication.

Graduate showcase

Explore work by our recent students on the UAL Showcase

  • Struggles and Successes Of Rural Women In India
    Struggles and Successes Of Rural Women In India, Tanvi shah, 2023 BA (Hons) Media Communications, London College of Communication, UAL
  • The Physical to Digital
    The Physical to Digital, Anna Deignan, 2023 BA (Hons) Media Communications, London College of Communication, UAL
  • Deeper Than Our Roots
    Deeper Than Our Roots, Mariam Sesay, 2021 BA (Hons) Media Communications, London College of Communication, UAL
  • HOLLYWOOD: THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
    HOLLYWOOD: THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY, Imogen Clarke-Cox, 2021 BA (Hons) Media Communications, London College of Communication, UAL
  • The Hate We Receive
    The Hate We Receive, Simran Sokhi, 2021 BA (Hons) Media Communications, London College of Communication, UAL

Student work

All Talk: Billy No Dates

This podcast explores why UAL Students are most right swiped on dating app Badoo and features an interview with Olivia Petter from The Independent's Millennial Love podcast.

Work by Emily Carr, Erinna Donohoe and Franki Collard

Listen now

Destigmatise

This podcast series focuses on mental health and the stigma around it. In this episode, Ifan and Jiliane focus on bipolar disorder and interview Bipolar Barbie and others who suffer with the mental health condition.

Work by Ifan Barber and Jilliane Lee

Listen now

UALunzipped

In this podcast Mahima, Mariam, Tyler and Cecile discuss the pressures surrounding fashion culture at University of the Arts London.

Work by Tyler Love, Mahima Kasham, Mariam Sesay and Cecilie Lauridsen

Listen now

Price of a Ticket

This podcast series explores a range of issues faced in the creative industries. This episode focuses on mental health within the performing arts sector.

Work by Armani Sutherland, Prachee Mashru and Solomon Thomas-Lea

Listen now

This Town

The North-East's collapse economically and politically has left many of their regional towns in abandonment by the government and has formed a misrepresentation by the British media.

This Town is a short poetic film about the North-East Town of Darlington and serves to create an empowering message of hope and community spirit.

Work by Kate Hardy

The Liverpool Equinox

This auto-ethnographic film studies the norms and values of the community of Liverpool. It considers the boycott of The Sun newspaper in and around Merseyside after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster as an expression of communal solidarity.

Work by Amy Jackson

Student voices

Tanvi Shah

Tanvi's project is all about the struggles and  successes of rural women in India.

Simran Sokhi

Simran’s documentary The Hate We Received incorporates screengrabs and recordings to investigate racism in British tabloid papers.

Prachee Mashru

Prachee's final major project looks at the relationship between misogyny and hip-hop.

Stories

Facilties

  • 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.

  • A close-up of the moveable type available in the Letterpress area.
    Image © Lewis Bush

    Printing and Finishing

    Discover our printing techniques, from Lithographic Printing to Print Finishing and Bookbinding.

  • 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.

Staff

Course Tutors

The course is delivered by experienced media academics and practitioners who come from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. Course team members are research active - their teaching is informed by their own research practice - and maintain vital links with the various sectors of the culture and creative industries to keep the course content fresh and up-to-date.

Fees and funding

Home fee

£9,250 per year

This fee is correct for entry in autumn 2024 and is subject to change for entry in autumn 2025.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£28,570 per year

This fee is correct for entry in autumn 2024 and is subject to change for entry in autumn 2025.

Tuition fees for international students may increase by up to 5% in each future year of your course.

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

The course team welcomes applicants from a broad range of backgrounds from all over the world. The course attracts students who apply direct from A-level (or equivalent) or from Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, or other art or design courses, as well as mature students who may have previously worked in industry.

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

96 UCAS tariff points which can be made up of one or a combination of the following accepted full level 3 qualifications:

  • A Levels at grade C or above (preferred subjects include: English; History; Media; Business; Art and Design, or other subjects within Social Sciences).
  • Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4).
  • Merit, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma (preferred subjects: Creative Media and Journalism, Business/ Business Studies, IT & Computing, Media).
  • Merit at UAL Extended Diploma.
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma (preferred subject: Journalism, Digital and Creative Media, Marketing, Humanities and Social Sciences).
  • OR equivalent EU/International qualifications, such as International Baccalaureate Diploma at 24 points minimum

And 3 GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*-C).

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) 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;
  • A combination of these factors.

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

English language requirements

  • IELTS level 6.0 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking. 

All classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language you will be asked to provide evidence of your English language ability when you enrol. Please check the English language requirements page for more information.

Selection criteria

The details on your UCAS application (including the academic reference and your personal statement) will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • A demonstrable interest in the discipline of media communications;
  • An understanding of the need for a critical and analytical approach (through research and practice) to this area of study;
  • Commitment to the study and development of your own creative practice and subsequent career opportunities.

Apply now

Application deadline

31 January 2024 at 18:00 (UK time)

If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Apply to UAL

Home students can apply to this course through UCAS with the following codes:

University code:

U65

UCAS code:

P302

Start your application

Apply now

Application deadline

31 January 2024 at 18:00 (UK time)

If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Apply to UAL

International students can apply to this course through UCAS with the following codes:

University code:

U65

UCAS code:

P302

Start your application
or

Apply with a UAL Representative

Based across the world, our local UAL representatives can support you with your application from your home country. Check to see if there is a representative available in your country currently.

Find your representative

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.

Personal statement advice

Your personal statement should be maximum 4,000 characters and cover the following:

  • Why have you chosen this course? What excites you about the subject?
  • How does your previous or current study relate to the course?
  • Have you got any work experience that might help you?
  • Have any life experiences influenced your decision to apply for this course?
  • What skills do you have that make you perfect for this course?
  • What plans and ambitions do you have for your future career?

Visit the UCAS advice page and our personal statement advice page for more support.

Step 2: 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.

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

You must apply in the year that you intend to start your course. If you are made an offer and your circumstances change, you can submit a deferral request to defer your place by 1 academic year. You must have met your conditions by 31 August 2024. If you need an English language test in order to meet the entry requirements, the test must be valid on the deferred start date of your course. If not, you will need to reapply. Requests are granted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Contextual Admissions

This course is part of the Contextual Admissions scheme.

This scheme helps us better understand your personal circumstances so that we can assess your application fairly and in context. This ensures that your individual merit and creative potential can shine through, no matter what opportunities and experiences you have received.

Careers

The course will provide you with a thorough understanding of identified key skills necessary for a successful career in media or to progress further with your education.

Graduates of this course would be suited to pursue careers in marketing communications, branding consultancy, market research and consumer analysis, news media, TV production, or work as digital media practitioners and social media editors.

This is a new course delivered across the School of Media and the School of Design. Alumni of the two Schools are currently working in as diverse sectors of the media and creative industries as arts institutions, film production and news organisations, both in the UK and abroad.