Film Studies

Key facts
Location: Canterbury
Award: BA (Hons)
Type: Full-time
Further information
Download: Subject leaflet
Online: Department

For over 30 years, the University of Kent has been at the forefront of developing film studies as an academic subject. We are one of the three major universities in the UK for film studies, and one of the most highly regarded departments in Europe.

Film Studies at Kent engages with cinema’s rich scope and history, from silent classics and mainstream Hollywood, to world cinema and the avant-garde. We have a thriving film culture, with 10-20 films screened on our courses each week, the Gulbenkian Cinema (the regional arts cinema) based on campus, and a lively student film society.

Read about the programme modules...

Our modules cover the study of film theory, history and analysis, from the basics of history and style from both Hollywood and World Cinemas at Level One to exploring further aspects of film with topics including national cinemas, animation, cognition and emotion, fantasy and pulp film. The emphasis is on academic modules but these also combine with innovative and creative practical study, such as our module in Film Programming that includes a work placement.

Single honours students can choose modules in practical film-making, including documentary film-making, screenwriting, and moving image production. You can explore languages and processes developed though both avant-garde and documentary traditions, alongside approaches to narrative fiction.

Degree programmes

Single honours
Did you know…

Kent was rated 11th in the UK for Computer Science in the 2008 Guardian University Guide.

  • Film Studies (W610)
Joint honours

These are some of the more popular joint honours degrees. For other combinations, see the Honours Degree Quick Reference Guide.

Film Studies …

  • Classical & Archaeological Studies (QW86)
  • Comparative Literature (WQ62)
  • Computing (WG64)
  • Drama (WW46)
  • English, American and Postcolonial Literature (WQ63)
  • English and American Literature (QW36)
  • French (RW16)
  • Hispanic Studies (WR64)
  • History (VW16)
  • History & Philosophy of Art (VW36)
  • Italian (RW36)
  • Philosophy (VW56)

Core modules

Stage 1

You take two core film modules and a choice of options.

Core modules
  • Introduction to Narrative Cinema 1 (American Cinema)
  • Introduction to Narrative Cinema 2 (World Cinema)
Options

A wide range of options in the Faculty of Humanities including Exploring the Frame (single honours Film Studies students only).

Stage 2

At least one module from:

Core modules
  • British Cinema since the 1950s
  • History of British Cinema
  • Topics in American Cinema.
Options
  • Animated Worlds
  • Avant-garde and Experimental Cinema
  • Border Crossings in American Cinema
  • Cinema and Difference
  • Cinema in 1920s Berlin, Paris, Moscow
  • Cognition and Emotion in Film
  • Documentary Film
  • European Cinema: Realisms
  • The Fantastic Film
  • Film and Television Adaptation
  • Film Criticism (tbc)
  • Film Programming
  • Film Style, Interpretation and Evaluation
  • The Gothic in Film (tbc)
  • Introduction to Screenwriting (single honours students only)
  • National and Transnational Cinema (focus on East Asian Cinema) (tbc)
  • Pulp Film: The Avant-garde and Popular Cinema
  • Representing Actuality
  • Silent Cinema
  • Sound and Cinema
  • Special and Digital Effects: A Critical History
  • Storytelling and the Cinema
  • Study of the Work of a Single Film Director
  • Topics in American Cinema 1: Female Performance
Other options
  • The Photograph
  • Reading the Image
  • Science Fictions: Comparative Perspectives
  • Science Fictions: Comparative Perspectives: Selected Topics

Plus further options available from the Faculty of Humanities.

Stage 3
Core modules
  • Long Essay
Options

Drawn from the list available at Stage 2, with the exception of Introduction to Screenwriting and Representing Actuality. Single honours students can take Moving Image Production (provided they achieved at least 60% in Introduction to Screenwriting and Representing Actuality).

Teaching and assessment

All modules involve lectures and small group seminars and film screenings where relevant. On average, you have two lectures and three hours of seminars each week, plus film viewing.

Depending on the modules you select, assessment varies from 100% coursework (extended essays or dissertation), to a combination of examination and coursework, usually in the ratio 50:50.

Entry requirements

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Offer levels

Single honours: A/AS level 340 points (3.5 A level equivalents) including AB at A level, IB 36 points (16 at Higher)

Joint honours: A/AS level 280/300/320 points (3.5 A level equivalents) including BC/BB/AB at A level, IB 31/33/35 points (14/15/16 at Higher)

WW46: 320 AB from 3.5 A level equivalents

Pass Foundation Programme for International Student

Required subjects

A level Film Studies grade B if taken

WW46: A level Drama and/or Film Studies at grade B if taken

Careers

Film-making, film and television industries, arts organisations, university and school teaching, local government and business, postgraduate academic and practical film courses. In the last few years, students have gone on to take up positions such as film journalists, film/TV archivists and Promotions Director (BSkyB).