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Undergraduate

BA (Hons) Film and Screen Studies

A silhouetted figure stands in front of a red and yellow screen.
Exhibition shot at LCC Screen School's Beyond 2001: New Horizons, photo credit Ana Escobar, London College of Communication, UAL.
College
London College of Communication
UCAS code
P303
Start date
September 2023
Course length
3 years

BA (Hons) Film and Screen Studies teaches the historical, theoretical, cultural and critical analysis of film and screen to the next generation of filmmakers and influencers in the commissioning, distribution, curation and exhibition of film and screen.

Apply to start in September 2023 

This course has places available. Read our Guide to applying for a course starting this September through UCAS Extra. For a full list of UAL courses open for 2023/24 entry, visit the Courses with places available page.

Why choose this course at London College of Communication

  • You'll be taught the knowledge and skills for the current, emerging and evolving screen industries.
  • The skills and practices taught include critical review, video essays, podcasting, distribution, curation and exhibition of film and screen. Please note: this course does not teach film-production nor the filmmaking roles through practical filmmaking exercises.
  • You will explore an extensive programme of films and a broad investigative analysis, underpinning the intellectual core of your studies.
  • The graduation project is a student-led film/screen festival. This offers you the opportunity to curate an outward, public-facing event.
  • The course promotes an inclusive approach to the distinct diverse voices from the UK and the international filmmaking community.
  • The course is modelled to generate graduates who are ethically aware, creative risk-takers, for film/screen distribution.
  • Investigation and critical analysis is informed by contextual studies, practice and the technologies of a breadth of screen disciplines.
  • Opportunities for furthering archival research around the Stanley Kubrick Archive and other film-based archives onsite at London College of Communication.
  • You'll develop a critical and analytical approach to the moving image and problem solving and will learn the transferable skills of project management, marketing and public relations.
  • The course is based in the heart of London – the centre of the UK’s film and TV industries. London College of Communication is located within easy reach of the IMAX, the BFI Southbank and the British Film Institute Library, as well as a large concentration of cinemas and venues in central London.

Open Days

The next Open Day for this course will be Friday 16 June. Book your place.

Explore life at LCC with our interactive Virtual Open Day.

Course overview

On BA (Hons) Film and Screen Studies you'll explore the rich global history of the moving image from the 20th Century, alongside contemporary immersive and interactive platforms.

Develop your critical thinking through an extensive programme of film screenings, delivered alongside contextual analysis. You'll explore film and screen narrative from the cinematic, historic, national, geographic, genre, ethnic and diversity perspective.

For your final graduation project, you will collaborate and curate a film or screen festival.

The course aims to generate graduates who are insightful, analytical, commercially minded and ethically aware.

What to expect

  • The course is taught through an extensive programme of screenings, lectures, and seminars.
  • You'll learn about moving image and screen practices through a combination of contextual theory units and practical workshops. This is not a film production course, but a course that uses practice to further your understanding of screen theories, histories and industries.
  • The course celebrates distinct identities and diverse voices. You’ll explore a range of debates within the screen industry which range from Black-British, Asian-British and decolonial perspectives to debates around gender, LGBTQA and disability.
  • You'll explore how innovative techniques and tools inform storytelling and interactivity on the screen.
  • You'll look at audience engagement and learn practical and critical skills for programming, curating, archiving or mounting an exhibition of the moving image for an audience.
  • You'll have a chance to collaborate with other programmes within LCC's Screen School.

Industry experience and opportunities

You will leave the course with:

  • An advanced understanding of how the British and International film and TV businesses work.
  • A developed understanding of how your personal identity connects to film narrative and how to promote that vision.
  • The experience of curating an outward-facing festival in a capital city.
  • A thorough understanding of film grammar and an overview of current and emerging film technologies.
  • A network of industry contacts.
  • A set of collaborative and transferable skills that can compete effectively in any employment market.

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) Film and Screen Studies runs for 93 weeks in full time mode. It is divided into 3 stages over 3 academic years. Each stage lasts 31 weeks.

Contact us

Register your interest to receive information and updates about studying at UAL.

Contact us to make an enquiry.

Course units

In common with all courses at the 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) Film and Screen Studies qualification, you need to accumulate a total of 360 credits.

Year 1

Introduction to Film and Screen Studies (20 credits)

This unit introduces key aspects of the course: methodologies and tools for successful research and written work, skills in visual and verbal pitching for academic papers, critical review and curatorial purposes.

Moving Image as an Art Form (40 credits)

This unit provides a grounding in the significance of the moving image as an art form through the 20th Century. Through screenings and lectures, students build an appreciation of film and screen, together with contextual knowledge of key texts.

Students interrogate, debate and reflect on the historic, national, geographic or genre perspectives including World Cinema, European Arthouse, Soviet, Chinese, Indian Hollywood and Experimental film and television. 

Innovation and Storytelling (40 credits)

This unit examines the historical and contemporary contexts of how innovation has influenced storytelling and interactivity on the screen.

The unit tracks the development of innovative screen practices - from silent early cinema and the introduction of synchronised sound to modern storytelling in contemporary areas including experimental film, visual art, online screen media, music videos, computer games and virtual reality. 

Creative Technologies for Storytelling (20 credits)

The unit introduces the tools and techniques for working with moving images and sound. The unit includes practical, studio-based activity to learn about the acquisition platforms of the Screen School, and includes the fundamentals of digital film production, animation, sound design, games design and virtual reality technologies.

Year 2

Distinctive Identities (40 credits)

In this unit students explore the history, critical theories, and the contemporary context and key debates in screen culture for LGBTQA, gender, feminist, race, ethnicity, disability and age issues. This includes studying British-Black and Asian-British screen media in a diasporic, decolonial and international context. 

Curating for the Screen (20 credits)

This unit introduces and examines the practical and critical skills for programming, curating, archiving or mounting an exhibition of the moving image for an audience. Study trips and internship options to film festivals and cultural organisations will enable students to demonstrate an awareness of industry and external practices.

Interrogating the Truth (40 credits)

This unit examines the documentary form through a historical framework, key debates and narrative structures. The context is a synthesis of traditional and contemporary documentary filmmaking, animation, virtual reality and fact-based computer games.

We will also look at innovations in digital technologies used in screen-based industries and contemporary art practice. 

Collaborative Project (20 credits)

This unit offers students an opportunity to develop acquired skills in curation and criticism, working on projects with other courses in the Screen School, or with external organisations.

Projects could include collaborating on a student film production, curating a project online, or applying to film festivals, so as to develop a deeper and/or wider understanding of aesthetic and creative roles in contemporary screen culture. 

Year 3

Dissertation (40 credits)

This unit is the culmination of the earlier contextual film and screen studies components of the course. During the unit, ‘The Emerging Future’ students will investigate and formulate a research question and will synthesise their knowledge, critical thinking and analytical skills related to the moving image in an extended piece of work.

The Emerging Future (20 credits)

The unit aims to consider the new films and moving image artefacts emerging through the festivals and exhibitions, cultural and critical debates, and digital screening platforms. Students will integrate investigative and contextual analysis and consider the future of the moving image and the screen. 

Major Project (60 credits)

In this unit students will curate and deliver a Screen School film/screen festival or series of events with a published catalogue. The curated theme could, for example, be a socially engaged project with an external cultural organisation.

This unit enables students to consolidate their knowledge about a subject of their choosing and to consider it in relation to issues of history, context and criticality, audience, community and decolonisation.

The planning work is to curate the programme, invite speakers, and publish and distribute an accompanying catalogue with critique as well as marketing and publicity material for the programme.

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) Film and Screen Studies (with Creative Computing).

Learning and teaching methods

  • Curated programme of screenings and artefacts with analytical and contextual lectures
  • Student-led seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Practical and technical workshops
  • Planned event delivery
  • Self-directed research
  • Study events

Online Open Day

(Recorded November 2022)

Course Leader, Kamila Kuc, gives an overview of what it's like to study BA (Hons) Film and Screen Studies at London College of Communication.

FASE | screenings and event programme

As part of their studies, BA (Hons) Film and Screen Studies students host screening events throughout their degree, culminating in a series of interlinked screen events in their final year. In this film, students and tutors speak about being part of FASE.

Arbaab Anwar

Arbaab talks through the process of curating a series of film screenings for BA (Hons) Film and Screen Studies.

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.

Fees and funding

Home fee

£9,250 per year

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 entry.

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

£25,970 per year

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 entry.

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:

112 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 B, B, C or above (preferred subjects include: English; History; Media; Business; Art and Design, or other subjects within Social Sciences).
  • Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4).
  • Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma (preferred subjects: Art and Design, Media, Music and Performing Arts).
  • Merit at UAL Extended Diploma.
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma (preferred subject: Digital and Creative Media, Film and Production, Humanities and Social Sciences).
  • OR equivalent EU/International qualifications, such as International Baccalaureate Diploma at 25 points minimum 

And 5 GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*-C)

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning

If you do not meet these entry requirements but your application demonstrates additional strengths and alternative relevant experience, you may still be considered. This could include:

  • 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. 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 taught in English. If English isn’t your first language, you will need to show evidence of your English language ability when you enrol. For further guidance, please check our English language requirements.

Selection criteria

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

  • Evidence of an informed interest in and appreciation of film and screen studies.
  • 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 for your potential career.

Apply now

Places available 2023/24 

This course has places available for 2023/24 entry. Applications for 2024/25 entry will open in Autumn 2023.

Apply for this course though Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), where you'll need the following information:

  • University code: U65
  • Course code: P303

London College of Communication courses are listed under University of the Arts London.

Application deadline

We recommend you apply by 18:00 GMT on 25 January 2023 for equal consideration. However this course will consider applications after that date, subject to places being available.

Personal statement advice

This is an important part of your application and should demonstrate to the team that you are interested in film and screen studies, and that you have thought carefully about why you want to study on this course.

You can demonstrate this through your previous work experience or study, personal experience and your ambitions for personal development as a student at LCC. State what you personally would bring to the course, explain what motivates you to learn, how and when you have shown initiative and your experience of group collaboration.

You should ensure it is written clearly, and free of any spelling mistakes. It is your chance to impress the team by demonstrating your appreciation of what the course can offer you and how you feel it will help you in the future.

Please note: This course does not require a portfolio as part of the application.

Deferring your place

This course accepts requests from offer holders to defer their place for one academic year. Deferral requests are granted on a first-come, first served basis until all deferral places are filled, or a deadline has been reached, whichever is sooner.

Read our Admissions Policy for details, and request your deferral by contacting us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

Transfers

If you are currently studying somewhere else on a course in an equivalent subject area and would like to transfer to this course, you can transfer to:

  • Year 2, if you’ve completed 120 credits in Year 1
  • Year 3, if you’ve completely 240 credits in Years 1 and 2

Apply via UCAS and choose Year 2 or 3 for your POE (Point of Entry)

Please check our Student Transfer Policy for more important information and be ready to provide us with your current course handbook and Year 1/Year 2 unit transcripts.

Referral to alternative UAL courses

The University operates a cross-referral system, where applicants can be considered for and offered a place on an alternative course, if the admissions tutor feels they are more suited to that course. If you wish to opt out of the cross-referral process you can do so at the application form stage.

Places available 2023/24 

This course has places available for 2023/24 entry. Applications for 2024/25 entry will open in Autumn 2023.

There are 2 ways international students can apply to an undergraduate course:

You must apply through UCAS, where you will need the following information:

  • University code – U65
  • UCAS course code – P303

London College of Communication courses are listed under University of the Arts London.

Read our immigration and visa information to find out if you need a visa to study at UAL.

You can only apply to the same course once per year. Any duplicate applications will be withdrawn. Read the UAL international application advice for further information on how to apply.

Immigration history check

You will be asked to complete an immigration history check to establish whether you are eligible to study at UAL. We will not be able to proceed with your application until you have submitted your completed Immigration History Form.

Application deadline

We recommend you apply by 18:00 GMT on 25 January 2023 for equal consideration. However this course will consider applications after that date, subject to places being available.

Personal statement advice

This is an important part of your application and should demonstrate to the team that you are interested in film and screen studies, and that you have thought carefully about why you want to study on this course.

You can demonstrate this through your previous work experience or study, personal experience and your ambitions for personal development as a student at LCC. State what you personally would bring to the course, explain what motivates you to learn, how and when you have shown initiative and your experience of group collaboration.

You should ensure it is written clearly, and free of any spelling mistakes. It is your chance to impress the team by demonstrating your appreciation of what the course can offer you and how you feel it will help you in the future.

Please note: This course does not require a portfolio as part of the application.

Deferring your place

This course accepts requests from offer holders to defer their place for one academic year. Deferral requests are granted on a first-come, first served basis until all deferral places are filled, or a deadline has been reached, whichever is sooner.

Read our Admissions Policy for details, and request your deferral by contacting us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

Transfers

If you are currently studying somewhere else on a course in an equivalent subject area and would like to transfer to this course, you can transfer to:

  • Year 2, if you’ve completed 120 credits in Year 1
  • Year 3, if you’ve completely 240 credits in Years 1 and 2

Apply via UCAS and choose Year 2 or 3 for your POE (Point of Entry)

Please check our Student Transfer Policy for more important information and be ready to provide us with your current course handbook and Year 1/Year 2 unit transcripts.

If you are an International applicant and studying outside the UK, please complete your Direct application and then contact us via your UAL Portal to ask to be considered for Year 2/Year 3.

Please be ready to provide an official document (translated into English) from your current university, explaining the learning outcomes of the units you have completed.

Referral to alternative UAL courses

The University operates a cross-referral system, where applicants can be considered for and offered a place on an alternative course, if the admissions tutor feels they are more suited to that course. If you wish to opt out of the cross-referral process you can do so at the application form stage.

Study abroad applicants

International undergraduate students can apply to join BA (Hons) Film and Screen Studies for a period of up to three terms as a Study Abroad student.

Visit the Study Abroad page for details of how to apply.

After you apply

Communicating with you

After you have successfully submitted your application, you will receive an email confirming we have successfully received your application and providing you with your login details for the UAL Portal. We will request any additional information from you, including inviting you to upload documents through the portal. You should check your UAL Portal regularly for any important updates and requests.

If you have achieved or expect to achieve the standard entry requirements we will consider you for a place on the course.

We make our offers based on the strength of the whole application, and therefore don’t routinely invite applicants to interview.

International applicants may be invited to an online interview. Interview details will be sent via the UAL Portal.

Please add @arts.ac.uk to your contacts to ensure that you do not miss any important updates re: your application to UAL.

What happens next

We will advise you of your application outcome through UCAS Hub. If you are an International applicant and have applied directly or through an agent, we will notify you through the UAL Portal.

We invite all offer holders to attend one of our online Offer Holder events. This is your opportunity to meet the academic team and fellow offer holders, find out more about the course, and get a taste of what it will be like to study here.

Requesting feedback

This course receives a high number of applications. Unfortunately, we can’t provide feedback to everyone who is unsuccessful. We can only provide feedback after you’ve had an interview. We are only able to provide feedback to you directly, or to someone you have told us in writing can receive it on your behalf. If you would like to request feedback  please contact us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

Successful applicants will be guided through the rest of our admissions stages and towards enrolment on the course.

Careers

Career opportunities

  • Curating for film festivals, screen events or gallery installations.
  • A range of employability skills either side of the traditional craft or production roles, with specific strengths in written or presentational work for commissioning editors, journalistic critical review, and marketing.
  • Film, screen and moving image production.
  • Working on archival or restoration projects.
  • Postgraduate study.

Work settings could include:

  • Film or screen festival
  • Cultural organisation
  • Film magazine or newspaper
  • Media production firm
  • Film archive or museum
  • Library or media gallery
  • Television or radio station
  • Motion picture company