Media

Indulge your passion for TV, radio, podcasts, film, and all things media. Explore an array of career options, from screenwriter and camera operator, to radio presenter, TV producer, or media commentator. Broadcast live on award-winning Spark Sunderland. Master your skills in state-of-the-art studios and graduate with a wealth of experience and industry contacts.

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Courses we offer

Our Film Production and Photography courses are 5th in the UK and our Media and Film Studies courses are 4th in the UK (Guardian University Guide, 2024). As well as this, we’re proud to be shortlisted for University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2024.

Media can be studied at a practical or theoretical level and you can choose from a range of courses across this spectrum. Create content with our production courses and choose your medium: TV, radio, and online; cinematic film and high-end TV; or animation. Get direct experience and insight into a leading production company and how it operates through acclaimed independent production company, Fulwell 73, who have a regional office in our Media Centre. If you want to balance production skills with a study of film or acting, look into BA (Hons) Film and Media or BA (Hons) Screen Performance. Prefer to immerse yourself in the exploration and study of media? BA (Hons) Media, Culture and Communications is for you.

Our media courses are designed to help you develop practical and theoretical skills that are highly sought after by employers in the industry. Take a look below to find the right course for you.

Undergraduate courses

A film camera in a TV studio
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Film Production

This is a distinctive course for students who love film and want to enter the film industry. Learn how to create content such as short films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials, and gain practical experience and instruction in film crew roles such as director, producer, cinematographer, editor, scriptwriter, and sound mixer. 

Find out more about Film Production
Film Production with IFY
Full-time

BA (Hons) Film Production with Integrated Foundation Year

This is a four-year version of BA (Hons) Film Production with an integrated foundation year. It's a distinctive course for students who love film and want to enter the film industry. Learn how to create content such as short films, documentaries, music videos and commercials, and gain practical experience and instruction in film crew roles such as Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Scriptwriter and Sound Mixer.

Find out more about BA (Hons) Film Production with Integrated Foundation Year
Film cameras in a TV studio pointing at a set with a sofa
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Media Production

Learn to deliver compelling TV and radio. Gain a technical understanding of the industry and real-life experience through placements. Enhance your employability by gaining industry accreditation. Graduate with a detailed portfolio, developed skills, and technical insight.

Find out more about Media Production
media
Full-time

BA (Hons) Media Production with Integrated Foundation Year

This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Media Production course, with an integrated foundation year. Learn to deliver compelling TV and radio. Gain a technical understanding of the industry and real-life experience through placements. Enhance your employability by gaining industry accreditation. Graduate with a detailed portfolio, developed skills and technical insight.

Find out more about BA (Hons) Media Production with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) Film and Media
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Film and Media

This distinctive course offers a rich and diverse range of exciting subjects. Study film and media theory alongside practical-based modules in film production. You'll cover the historical contexts and contemporary debates in film, media, and cultural studies, exploring and examining areas including film theory and analysis, screen genres, scriptwriting, the study of mass media, and cultural representation.

Find out more about Film and Media
Students using filming equipment
Full-time

BA (Hons) Film and Media with Integrated Foundation Year

This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Film and Media course, with an integrated foundation year. Core modules include Film Theory and Criticism, History of Cinema and Media Studies. You will also have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of optional and practical modules, such as Video Production and Screenwriting. In addition, you can undertake a work-based placement and gain hands-on practical experience which puts our graduates in high demand from employers.

Find out more about BA (Hons) Film and Media with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) Broadcast Journalism
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Media, Culture and Communication

Gain a strong understanding of media theory. Study core modules such as Media Studies, Cultural Theory and Digital Media Cultures. Choose from a broad selection of optional modules, including Popular Music Cultures and Media Production Skills.

Find out more about Media, Culture and Communication
Student sitting at a computer
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Social Media Management

Create great content from video to graphics. Understand analytics and develop tactics, social campaigns and strategies to reach and engage audiences, and build brand reputation. Get the skills and experience for your social media career.

Find out more about BA (Hons) Social Media Management
A student sitting at a computer looking at something on a mobile phone
Full-time

BA (Hons) Social Media Management with Integrated Foundation Year

This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Social Media Management course, with an integrated foundation year. Master social media platforms to engage online audiences. Develop cutting edge and highly transferable skills to meet a growing need for Social Media Managers and build your own following. Become an expert in existing social media platforms with the ability to create, curate and share content, and analyse and engage online audiences. Learn media law, with the opportunity to gain an additional qualification recognised by leading employers nationally.

Find out more about BA (Hons) Social Media Management with Integrated Foundation Year
animation
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Animation and Games Art

Do you want to make animation and games industries? Use digital software such as Maya, Toon Boom and After Effects as part of this degree. Learn the core principles of character-led animation. Showcase your creativity to a public audience in the final year Degree Show.

Find out more about BA (Hons) Animation and Games Art
Student using Maya software on computer
Full-time

BA (Hons) Animation and Games Art with Integrated Foundation Year

This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Animation and Games Art course, with an integrated foundation year. Get the opportunity to develop skills in traditional and digital animation and games art. Gain expertise in industry-standard digital software. Realise your dream of working on the next big animated movie or game.

Find out more about BA (Hons) Animation and Games Art with Integrated Foundation Year
Student on screen, live broadcast
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Screen Performance

Explore the practical, theoretical, and contextual aspects of the highly specialist areas of screen performance with this exciting course. You'll learn the insider skills and techniques for television, film, and radio, and master industry standards and conventions alongside practitioners and leading researchers. We’ll guide you through the different genres of screen performance such as drama, comedy, soap opera, and factual reportage.

Find out more about Screen Performance
A student sitting in front of a presentation screen displaying a slide about raising the drinking age
Full-time

BA (Hons) Screen Performance Integrated Foundation Year

This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Screen Performance course, with an integrated foundation year. You will learn the insider skills and techniques for Television, Film and Radio and master industry standards and conventions alongside practitioners and leading researchers. We’ll guide you through the different genres of screen performance such as drama, comedy, soap opera and factual reportage.

Find out more about BA (Hons) Screen Performance Integrated Foundation Year
communications
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Mass Communications (Top-Up)

Top-up your existing qualification to a full honours degree. Mix academic rigour with practical skills. Undertake a CV-enhancing work placement. Gain a comprehensive understanding of new media, cultural theory, and popular culture, and their increasing significance in contemporary culture and society. Acquire new skills using industry-standard equipment.

Find out more about Mass Communications (Top-Up)
BA (Hons) Media, Culture and Communication
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Media, Culture and Communication via Study Centres

Gain a strong understanding of media theory. Study core modules such as Media Studies, Cultural Theory and Film Studies. Choose from a broad selection of optional modules including Moving Camera, Television Studio Operations and Radio Broadcasting. In your final year, develop a showcase of your media skills to provide evidence of your achievements to media agents and employers.

Find out more about Media, Culture and Communication via Study Centres
communications
Full-time

BA (Hons) Mass Communications (Top-Up) via Study Centres

Top-up your existing qualification to a full honours degree. Mix academic rigour with practical skills. Undertake a CV-enhancing work placement. Gain a comprehensive understanding of new media, cultural theory, and popular culture, and their increasing significance in contemporary culture and society. Acquire new skills using industry-standard equipment.

Find out more about Mass Communications (Top-Up) via Study Centres
BA (Hons) Digital Film Production
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Film Production via Study Centres

This film production course is taught at our partner centre. This is a distinctive course for students who love film and want to enter the film industry. Learn how to create content such as short films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials, and gain practical experience and instruction in film crew roles such as director, producer, cinematographer, editor, scriptwriter, and sound mixer. 

Find out more about Film Production via Study Centres
Students sitting in a lecture theatre
Full-time/Part-time

Customised Awards Scheme

Pick and choose the modules you want to study to build a tailor-made course. Available at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, this course allows you to gain a qualification that closely matches your particular needs.

Find out more about Customised Awards Scheme

Postgraduate courses

MA Radio
Full-time/Part-time

MA Radio, Audio and Podcasting

Radio and podcast production is still a major growth area in the audio sector and this course offers great opportunities to master the skills required to stand out from the crowd. The course is integrated with our award-winning radio station, Spark Sunderland, and offers practical experience in radio production, presentation, and station management, alongside opportunities to create your own creative podcasts in addition to podcasts for external clients.

Find out more about Radio, Audio and Podcasting
Students watching computer screens
Full-time

MA Media Production (Film and TV)

Improve your knowledge, build your resume, and be involved in high-quality media content, with technical skills that are in demand across the TV and film industries. Cover areas of 360 commissioning, workflow, moving camera, advanced editing techniques, and production management.

Find out more about Media Production (Film and Television)
Student in the library
Full-time/Part-time

MPhil Master of Philosophy

Take your education to the next level. Choose the areas you want to study, and which questions you want to research. Take the initiative while we support you with advice, guidance and facilities.

Find out more about MPhil Master of Philosophy
Medicine
Full-time/Part-time

PhD Doctor of Philosophy

Refine your own agenda and do what you find interesting every day. Develop mastery of research methods that are appropriate to your chosen field. Discover things that no-one else has ever discovered.

Find out more about PhD Doctor of Philosophy
A book
Part-time

DProf Professional Doctorate

Study for a doctoral qualification based on your professional role. Reflect on contemporary issues in the workplace.

Find out more about DProf Professional Doctorate
A book
Part-time

PhD by Existing Published or Creative Work

Take the fastest route to a PhD. Convert your previous research outputs into a qualification which will increase your employability and open up new opportunities. Progress your academic career and add credibility in applications for research funding.

Find out more about PhD by Existing Published or Creative Work
A stack of books
Part-time

Higher Doctorate

Take your academic career to the highest level. Make a very significant and sustained contribution to your subject. Gain an elite qualification that will mark you out as an outstanding contributor to your field.

Find out more about Higher Doctorate

Research courses

Partner Centres

BA (Hons) Media, Culture and Communication
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Media, Culture and Communication via Study Centres

Gain a strong understanding of media theory. Study core modules such as Media Studies, Cultural Theory and Film Studies. Choose from a broad selection of optional modules including Moving Camera, Television Studio Operations and Radio Broadcasting. In your final year, develop a showcase of your media skills to provide evidence of your achievements to media agents and employers.

Find out more about Media, Culture and Communication via Study Centres
communications
Full-time

BA (Hons) Mass Communications (Top-Up) via Study Centres

Top-up your existing qualification to a full honours degree. Mix academic rigour with practical skills. Undertake a CV-enhancing work placement. Gain a comprehensive understanding of new media, cultural theory, and popular culture, and their increasing significance in contemporary culture and society. Acquire new skills using industry-standard equipment.

Find out more about Mass Communications (Top-Up) via Study Centres
BA (Hons) Digital Film Production
Full-time/Part-time

BA (Hons) Film Production via Study Centres

This film production course is taught at our partner centre. This is a distinctive course for students who love film and want to enter the film industry. Learn how to create content such as short films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials, and gain practical experience and instruction in film crew roles such as director, producer, cinematographer, editor, scriptwriter, and sound mixer. 

Find out more about Film Production via Study Centres

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Fulwell North

Acclaimed independent production company Fulwell 73 – makers of Netflix show ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’ – has launched a new regional office in our David Puttnam Media Centre. Fulwell North will be the base for the company’s activities in the north. It'll focus on developing new programming, nurturing local talent, and discovering new creators from diverse backgrounds, on and off screen. Fulwell 73’s new location aims to help address the skills gap for those starting out in the industry and to attract talent back to the region who have roots there. 

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Oscar-winning contacts and state-of-the-art facilities

With Oscar-winning contacts and supportive academics boasting a wealth of practical and theoretical expertise, Sunderland is the place to be for media. Lord David Puttnam, the BAFTA and Oscar-winning film producer, is one of many industry professionals to host regular masterclasses at the University, passing on his expert advice and offering insight into the film industry. You’ll be based at the David Puttnam Media Centre, giving you access to TV and radio studios complete with green rooms and control rooms. There are over 50 workstations with state-of-the-art HD edit systems, including Final Cut Pro, Avid, and Media Composer. We also have our own 200-seat cinema with full HD projection and a 7.1 surround sound facility. 

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