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Learn the language of film and discover its rich history at Kent, one of the three major universities for film in the UK. Study film from its silent beginnings through to 3D CGI blockbusters, taking in avant-garde and international cinemas on your way, and find your own voice as a critic and a filmmaker.
Overview
For over 30 years, Kent has been at the forefront of developing film as an academic subject. Our expertise means that you have a wide choice of areas to explore.
Media and Film Studies at Kent was ranked 3rd in The Guardian University Guide 2017.
Our degree programme
Our degree is flexible: you study film theory but you also have the option to explore film practice – for example, through developing the skills of a film critic or getting involved in creative film production.
In the first year, you cover the language of film (framing, sound, editing, performance, lighting), learn about the theory and the history of film, and can take a practical filmmaking module.
In your second and final years, you have a huge range of modules to choose from, covering everything from avant-garde to animation, with a variety of practice modules too, including screenwriting and documentary film.
Study facilities
Facilities to support film theory include:
- our own cinema within the School, which screens ten to 15 films a week.
- 8,000 DVDs and videos in the library
- individual and group viewing facilities in the library
- an extensive library collection of books and journals, including online resources.
Our film production facilities are industry-standard and include the following:
- sound-proofed production studio with projection, chroma-key green screen and black serge cycloramas
- extensive lighting grid
- sound dubbing studio
- individual edit suites equipped with Final Cut Pro
- digital studio with post-production software.
Creative community
The School of Arts is a creative and academic hub for students in film, drama, media studies and art history. Special events within the School include symposia, seminars, conferences and exhibitions, as well as visits by filmmakers and critics.
You may also want to take part in film-related societies and activities:
- The Film Society at Kent is run by students and gives you a chance to get involved in film production, film journalism, educational activities and a film festival.
- Kent Media Centre, run by student volunteers, produces KTV (Kent Television) – a TV station dedicated to student news and events across campus.
The Gulbenkian Cinema shows arthouse, independent, foreign language and blockbuster films. In Canterbury city centre, there is also an Odeon and the Curzon arts cinema.
Our professional network
You become part of a wide professional network thanks to our excellent links with other film bodies:
- Arts Council England
- British Film Institute (BFI)
- Independent Cinema Office
- Screen Archive South East
- Kent Film.
Your options
Many film students choose to take a placement year or a year abroad. You don’t have to make a decision before you enrol at Kent but certain conditions apply: see Film with a Year Abroad or Film with a Placement Year for details.
And don’t forget – at Kent you can always enhance your degree studies by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.
Independent rankings
Media and Film Studies at Kent was ranked 3rd in The Guardian University Guide 2017. In the National Student Survey 2016, Cinematics and Photography at Kent was ranked 11th for the quality of teaching.
For graduate prospects, Media and Film Studies at Kent was ranked 5th in The Guardian University Guide 2017.
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
In addition to the traditional Stage 1 modules listed below, you may also be able to select from:
Teaching and assessment
All modules involve lectures, small group seminars and film screenings (where relevant). On average, you have two lectures and three hours of seminars each week, plus four to six hours film viewing.
Depending on the modules you select, assessment varies from 100% coursework (extended essays or dissertation), to a combination of examination and coursework.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- produce graduates with an informed, critical, analytical and creative approach to understanding film as cultural and aesthetic expressive media
- develop students' creative, intellectual, analytical and research skills
- develop existing and new areas of teaching in response to the advance of research and scholarship within the subject as well as new developments in film
- widen participation in higher education among a diverse body of students
- develop students' knowledge and skills in film studies
- encourage students' critical, analytical and creative skills in relation to film study and, where undertaken, in relation to screen production
- develop students' ability to think independently and flexibly
- enhance awareness of, and sensitivity to, the contexts of production and consumption of film
- develop students' interpersonal skills and interaction and their reflexiveness in individual and group work.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- the different genres and the diversity of film forms
- the historical evolution of particular genres, aesthetic traditions and film forms
- the ways in which critical and cultural theories and concepts have developed within particular contexts
- the cultural and social contexts which affect the meaning of film works
- aesthetic judgement
- conceptualisations of pleasure and identification in film
- narrative processes in film
- modes of representation at work in film
- film conventions
- the ways in which different social groups may relate to, engage with and interact with film works.
Intellectual skills
You gain the following intellectual abilities:
- engage critically with major thinkers, debates, intellectual paradigms, and scholarly literature within the field
- understand forms of film as they have emerged historically
- examine the historical, social and cultural contexts of such forms
- analyse closely, interpret, and undertake critical evaluation
- critically reflect upon your own work
- carry out various forms of research for essays, projects, creative productions or dissertations involving sustained independent enquiry
- formulate apposite research questions and employ appropriate methods and resources to explore them
- evaluate and draw upon the range of sources and the conceptual frameworks appropriate to research in a chosen area
- draw and reflect upon the relevance and impact of your own cultural assumptions to the practice of research.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in the following:
- analyse and interpret sounds and images in time and space
- draw upon understanding and knowledge of narrative and stylistic forms and structures in film and television
- bring together ideas from various sources of knowledge and different academic disciplines
- articulate understanding of visual and oral media in a written medium
- effectively deploy terms and concepts specific to the study of film and television
- where practice modules are undertaken: produce work which demonstrates the effective manipulation of sound, image, performance and, where appropriate, the written word
- utilise effectively relevant technical concepts and theories
- produce work showing competence in the operational skills of screen production and post-production technologies
- initiate, develop and realise distinctive and creative work through group collaboration
- manage time, personnel and resources effectively
- demonstrate an understanding of communicative strategies specific to film
- produce work informed by, and contextualised within, relevant theoretical debates you have studied within the programme as a whole.
Transferable skills
You gain transferable skills in the following:
- work in flexible, creative and independent ways, showing self-discipline, including time-management and self-direction, sustain focus and apply attention to detail
- organise and manage supervised, self-directed projects and research and evaluate sources in the process of carrying out independent study
- communicate effectively and appropriately orally and in writing and, where undertaken, in other media
- identify issues and questions and gather, organise and deploy knowledge and ideas to formulate cogent analysis and arguments, make subtle and discriminating comparisons and apply interpretive skills in diverse situations and contexts
- work productively in a group, and display an ability, at different times to listen, contribute and lead effectively
- show insight in, and understanding of, the social and ethical issues surrounding contemporary communications, media, culture and society
- information technology, such as word-processing, using the internet and, where undertaken, digital technology in relation to practice.
Careers
As well as gaining skills and knowledge in your subject area, you also learn the key transferable skills that are essential for all graduates. These include the ability to:
- think critically
- communicate your ideas and opinions
- work independently.
Graduate destinations
Recent graduates have gone on to work in areas such as:
- film and TV production
- arts organisations
- media outlets (as film journalists)
- film and TV archives
- film marketing and distribution
- university and school teaching
- local government
- business.
Our alumni include:
- bestselling author and filmmaker, Leon McCarron
- feature film scriptwriter, Mike Waldon
- film director, Simon Savory.
Help looking for a job
Kent School of Arts has an excellent reputation and many links to professional practices. This network is very useful to students when looking for work.
The University also has a friendly Careers and Employability Service which can give you advice on how to:
- apply for jobs
- write a good CV
- perform well in interviews.
Independent rankings
For graduate prospects, Media and Film Studies at Kent was ranked 5th in The Guardian University Guide 2017.
According to Which? University 2017, the average starting salary for graduates of this degree is £15,000.
What our graduates say
“The unique modes of expression I learned on the course laid the foundations for my career as a screenwriter.”
Mike Walden
Film graduate
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
---|---|
A level | ABB |
Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 16 points at HL |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
UK/EU | Overseas | |
---|---|---|
Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.