University of Sunderland

Our Students and Graduates

Preparing our students for employment is our passion.

We have a full-time Employment Engagement Officer, and an impressive array of contacts and colleagues in the creative industries. Our students get crucial work experience and jobs with the BBC, Sky, commercial television and radio, and a whole host of online producers.

We do our best to keep in touch with our graduates, some of whom are detailed below. If you're one of our graduates, then get in touch.

You can see what students on our media programmes get up to by watching our Media Centre Video. But don't just listen to us, hear it from our award-winning students...

Samantha France and Anthony Dugdale

BA (Hons) Digital Film Production
Winners of the Undergraduate Fiction award, Royal Television Society Student Television Awards 2010
Winners of Best Student Fiction Production, North East & The Border Centre's Awards for 2010
Full story

Anthony and Samantha said: "Just being nominated for a national award was an honour, so winning it was a momentous achievement for us and the rest of the team.

"This goes to show that hard work really does pay off. We just hope that winning the award will bring much deserved recognition to the university and the fantastic faculty that teaches there, this award is as much for them as it is for us."

View a trailer of Not Enough Time.

Rachel Kershaw, 26

Creative Writer/Producer, Metro Radio and Magic 1152
BA (Hons) Communication, Culture and Media Studies
MA Radio (Production and Management)

"I had a great time at Sunderland. I knew as soon as I arrived that I was going to be happy there, it just felt right.

"My course was really practical and I learned things that you simply can't get from a textbook. The University really prepared me for work - from how to use recording equipment to how to handle a microphone properly.

"Work experience is very important and I did that before and during my degree. I was lucky also that Sunderland has a student radio station. Working on Utopia FM was a brilliant learning experience, and I got to interview some great people - like my childhood heart-throb Mark Owen.

"I always found the staff to be really helpful, and not just the lecturers but also people like the technicians, finance and accommodation staff. The support from all departments really helped throughout my time at the University.

"I had such a good time, I still really miss it. I made some great friends for life and had loads of great experiences."

Our Graduates

• Phil Stocker, Producer for Fearne Cotton's show on BBC Radio 1
• Vicky Warham, Presenter, The Hits
• Chris Stevens, Deputy Group Programme Controller, GMG Radio    
• Karen Wight Presenter, Captial North East
• David Green, Programme Controller Minster FM
• Charlie Tilly, BBC North East and Cumbria
• Phil Smith, breakfast producer, BBC 6 Music
• Lisa Dawson, Sales Executive, GMG Radio
• Rory Auskerry, BBC 5 Live
• Victoria Green, Freelance voiceover artist
• Lee Wilson, Studio Manager, BBC Network Radio
• Paul Stevenson, Head of Commercial Production, Moray Firth Radio
• Rachel Kershaw, Head of Creative, Metro Radio/Magic 1152
• Gaynor Marshall, Producer of Night Owls, Metro Radio
• Sandra Hepple, Commercial Producer: Galaxy 105/6
• Ross Mitchell, Broadcast Assistant BBC Leeds
• Neil Reynolds, Head of Production, Amazing Radio
• Adam Smith, Station Sound Producer, BBC Radio Gloucestershire
• Rob Pobjoy, BBC Big Screens
• Jonathan Wood, creative writer, Global Radio
• Lee Sevenoaks, Producer, Capital North East Breakfast
• Rachael Devine, Producer, Amazing Radio