BA

Media and Theatre Studies

BA Media and Theatre Studies Code P3W4 Attend an Open Day Attend an Open Day

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Key Facts

P3W4

  • UCAS Tariff

    120 - 96

  • Course duration

    3 years

Further details on entry requirements

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If you are looking for an exciting, diverse and challenging programme combining theory and practice, then our Media and Theatre Studies degree at Aberystwyth University is for you. Our degree is designed to empower you to develop your skills and capacities as a theatre-maker and creative thinker, supported by internationally-recognised staff with a wide range of expertise. You will look beyond historic and established forms to explore what theatre and performance can be now and in the future.

Across the three years of the degree, we will engage you in a process of investigation and questioning that extends your critical and creative capacities and builds your practical skills. You will encounter and explore a wide range of contemporary theatre practices, from scripted drama to site-specific performance and from Shakespeare to experiments in new media.
The Media component of this degree will allow you to study in great detail the following: advertising, news analysis, website design, digital culture, surveillance society, gender and the media, media history and policy together with creative practice experience in multi -platform production and experimental media. Your three years of study will be dynamic, invigorating and stimulating.

Course Overview

Why study BA Media and Theatre Studies at Aberystwyth?  

The course 

• Taught by the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, you will have an opportunity to study in great detail the following: advertising, news analysis, website design, digital culture, surveillance society, gender and the media, media history and policy. 

• This course is an opportunity to study a unique combination of theory and practice.  

• Students on this course can take part in two performances or production projects each year of the course. 

• During the first year, there is three hours per week scheduled for dedicated performance training. 

 Facilities 

 • At Aberystwyth University, our students benefit from our strategic closeness to the National Library of Wales. This is a copyright library which houses every book that has been published in the United Kingdom. In addition, it also home to National Sound and Screen Archive in Wales which is a valuable resource to your research.  

• On the University campus, our facilities include the Hugh Owen Library which is open 24/7, the Students’ Union, the Sports Centre and the Arts Centre which has close and deep links with the departments of Theatre, Film and Television Studies. The multitude of facilities on Penglais campus ensures that your student experience is memorable and exceptional. 

• The Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies has strong links with external industry, these include the BBC Wales which houses it regional office in the heart of the Department, Boom Cymru, Avanti, Arad Goch and the Mid-Wales Arts Centre. The Department itself is modern, vibrant and has all the latest teaching facilities that media student requires, this includes a brand-new PC lab designed to assimilate the digital media industry, digital production and editing suits, a viewing cinema, television studies and modern learning spaces.

Our Staff

All academic staff at the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies are research active and/or involved in Knowledge Transfer projects and have either relevant academic qualifications at doctoral level or equivalent professional experience and expertise.

Modules September start - 2023

Please note: The modules listed below are those currently intended for delivery during the next academic year and may be subject to change. They are included here to give an indication of how the course is structured.

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Studying Communication FM10720 20
Studying Media FM10620 20
Theatre in Context 1 TP11020 20
Theatre in Context 2 TP11320 20

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Making Short Films 1 FM11520 20
Site-Specific Performance Project TP11420 20
Studio Theatre Project TP11120 20
Studying Television FM10220 20
Body, Voice, Expression. TP10220 20
Body, Voice, Perception TP10120 20

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Advertising FM21920 20
Creative Documentary FM26520 20
Creative Studio FM25420 20
Digital Culture FM25520 20
LGBT Screens FM20120 20
Media, Politics and Power FM22620 20
Stardom and Celebrity FM21520 20
Television Genre FM20620 20
Youth Cultures FM22320 20
Acting for Camera TP25920 20
Acting: Process and Performance TP21220 20
Devised Performance Project TP21620 20
Directors' Theatre TP21820 20
New Media Performance TP23820 20
Shakespeare in Performance TP23220 20
Theatre Design Project TP22620 20
Theatre Production Project TP24940 40
Theatre and Contemporary Society TP20820 20

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Contemporary Drama TP30020 20
Musical Theatre Dramaturgies TP39020 20
Performance and Architecture TP33420 20
Performance and Disability TP30320 20
Place, Space and Landscape TP32820 20
Theatre, Gender and Sexuality TP33120 20
Ensemble Performance Project TP35520 20
Independent Research Project TP36040 40
Playwriting TP33340 40
Contemporary TV Drama FM30320 20
Experimental Cinema FM34520 20
Experimental Media Production FM33540 40
Gender and the Media FM38320 20
Media Law FM36720 20
Media Semiotics FM34120 20
Television History FM32620 20
Videogame Theories FM38420 20

* Also available partially or entirely through the medium of Welsh

Careers

What opportunities are there for me?

Many of our graduates have found career paths which include:
• Broadcasting media;
• Floor managers;
• Camera operators;
• Producers and directors;
• Marketing;
• Media Planning;
• Education;
• Public relations.

What will I get from my degree?

Employability is at the heart of our teaching. We encourage our students by:
• Inviting guest speakers to our campus;

• Obtaining work experience with the BBC, Fiction Factory and Boom Pictures;

On completion of this degree, our students become:

• Effective communicators;
• Able to work independently and as part of a team;
• Experience in industrial equipment such as three camera high definition digital television studios, over 40 high definition digital video cameras and digital and video projection facilities.

What work experience opportunities exist whilst studying? 

Discover more about the various employment opportunities that our Aberystwyth University Careers team offer.

Enhance your employability prospects with GO Wales and YES (Year in Employment Scheme) managed by our Careers department. 

Teaching & Learning

What will I learn?

The breakdown below will provide you with an illustration of what you may study during the three-year degree scheme.

In your first year you may explore:

• Relationship between media forms, media institutions and society;
• The theory and principles surrounding the learner and the learning environment;
• Contemporary approaches to studio- based and site-based theatre-making;
• Key historical moment, practices and methods in theatre;
• The research relating to modes of communication between radio, press, advertising, mobile phone technologies and the internet;
• Key concepts and techniques of media production, directing, cinematography, editing.

In your second you may discover: 

• Specific histories, traditions and roles to each medium;
• Television production;
• Television history;
• Contemporary theatre-making through practical, historical and theoretical approaches;
• Full-scale theatre production;
• Experimental media production;
• Website design;
• Theatre and contemporary society;
• New media performance;
• Surveillance technologies;
• Journalism;
• Advertising;
• Scriptwriting.

In your final year you may have the opportunity to: 

• Produce, direct, edit a short video which can be experimental, documentary or narrative fiction;
• To create independent creative work;
• To undertake a major research project and engage in advanced theoretical study;
• To study specialist modules that may address space, place and landscape, performance and philosophy, performance, politics and protest, theatre, gender and sexuality, performance and architecture. The best work will be entered for the Royal Television Society Student Video Awards.

How will I be taught?

Our programme is taught by lecture- workshops allowing for the best interaction and active engagement. In addition, we deliver this programme through seminars, group-based project work, screenings and technical demonstrations

You will be assessed through:
• Group-devised productions;
• Individual film and video projects;
• Research projects;
• Practical analyses;
• Production diaries;
• Creative scriptwriting;
• Formal essays;
• Examinations.

Further information

You will be assigned a personal tutor throughout your degree course, who will help you with any problems or queries, whether these are academic-related or personal issues. You should feel free to contact them at any time for help and advice.

You will also have the opportunity to complete a Personal Development Plan (PDP) at Aberystwyth. This is a structured process of self-appraisal, reflection, and planning, which will enable you to chart your personal, academic and professional development throughout your time at university. By recording your academic performance and highlighting the skills you already have and those you will need for future employability, the PDP portfolio will equip you with the necessary tools to plan effectively, develop successful approaches to study, and consider your future career options and aspirations.

Typical Entry Requirements

UCAS Tariff 120 - 96

A Levels BBB-CCC

GCSE requirements (minimum grade C/4):
English or Welsh

BTEC National Diploma:
DDM-MMM

International Baccalaureate:
30-26

European Baccalaureate:
75%-65% overall

English Language Requirements:
See our Undergraduate English Language Requirements for this course. Pre-sessional English Programmes are also available for students who do not meet our English Language Requirements.

Country Specific Entry Requirements:
International students whose qualification is not listed on this page, can check our Country Specific Entry Requirements for further information.

The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma or T-level qualifications, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas or T-levels as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.
Our inclusive admissions policy values breadth as well as depth of study. Applicants are selected on their own individual merits and offers can vary. If you would like to check the eligibility of your qualifications before submitting an application, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for advice and guidance.

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