BA (Hons) Film and Television with Foundation Year

Program Overview

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BA (Hons) Film and Television (with integrated foundation year)

Course Overview

The practical nature of our film and television degree ensures you will develop a complete range of production skills covering all aspects of the film and TV making process, from idea to finished product. This will help prepare you to become a filmmaker, scriptwriter or TV producer.

Key Details

• Recruiting to: UK / RoI / Settled in UK, EU / EEA / International
• Course Location: Carlisle - Brampton Road
• Institute: Institute of Education, Arts and Society
• UCAS Code: P314
• Delivery Style: In-Person
• Course Duration: Full-time: 4 Years
• Course Start Point: September
• Award: BA (Hons)

Minimum Entry Requirements

• 48 UCAS Tariff points

Tuition Fees

• £9,535 - UK (2025-2026)
• £14,900 - International (2025-2026)

Course Structure

What you will learn

This full-time 4-year degree in film and TV production has been designed to ensure that you not only graduate with writing, shooting, and editing technical skills, but also as a creative practitioner with your own unique voice. Each year will build on the skills you developed in the previous year as you take on more challenging projects of bigger scale.

Year one

• Media in Context: Explore key theoretical frameworks and debates relating to modern media texts and media-based practice.
• Professional Practices: Develop an understanding of the structures applicable to a range of media organisations, fully exploring their diversity and viability.
• Media Narratives: Explore approaches to fiction and non-fiction narratives in reference to a variety of media forms.
• Published Media Products: Develop conceptual, practical and technical awareness, at an introductory level, of the production phases for print and online material.
• TV and Film Production: An introduction to the basic technologies and production processes involved in television and digital film production.
• Student Initiated Photographic Project: An introduction into, and the experience of, using traditional and contemporary technical photographic processes.

Year two

• Media Craft Skills: Develop an understanding and working knowledge of a range of key technical skills in the media production making process.
• Lens and Edit Craft: Introduction to projects and tasks that give you a focused working knowledge of key technical skills in film and TV, and professional photographic production, postproduction, and disciplinary practices and processes.
• Cultural Contexts: Introduction to the cultural, historical, and social contexts in which creative work from a range of disciplines will be discussed, examined, and analysed.
• Applied Storytelling: Introduction to the technologies and production processes involved in Film and Television production, promoting an understanding of the research techniques underpinning dramatic scripted fictional and non-scripted factual productions.
• Collaborative Practice: Explore professional scenarios through problem-solving and project-based learning.

Year three

• On Set: Work on a series of full Film & TV productions to study single and multi-camera work.
• Scene Craft: Tackle creative and professional challenges with space for experimentation and production of visual work, narrative, ideas, and concepts.
• Script and Narrative: Introduction you to the concepts and techniques employed in writing for a variety of media forms.
• Unscripted TV Idea and Concept: Explore the creative and professional challenges in designing ideas, presentations, and pitches for unscripted television, factual programming, documentary films and digital production commissions.
• Professional Development: Explore career attributes, ambitions, and trajectory within the context of an evolving ‘professional development portfolio’.

Year four

• Research Portfolio
• Promotion and Pitch: Prepare to engage with creative industries and external audiences through the promotion of media professionalism, self-confidence, collaboration, and team strategies.
• Graduate Project: Consolidate the practical and conceptual skills developed throughout the course into one final project.
• Festival and Exhibition: Perfect the skills necessary to identify and successfully engage with media industries post-graduation.

Teaching & Assessment

How you will learn

To succeed in the creative professions, individuals need to be highly skilled, competitive, and independent. As well as developing the knowledge and skills necessary to enter their chosen discipline, the programme seeks, from day one, to inculcate a strong professional ethos and values which make University of Cumbria graduates stand out in the workplace.

How you will be assessed

The range of assessment modes used by Film and Television include:

• critical reflection
• group work
• individual presentations
• practical productions
• essays
• graduate project
• research portfolios
• reflection of creative actions

Entry Requirements

• A-levels: A
• T-levels: P (D or E) All subjects are accepted for entry to this course.
• Access to HE: 45 Credits at Pass.
• CACHE Technical Level 3 and Level 3 Extended Diploma: D
• OCR Cambridge Technical & Edexcel/Pearson BTEC Level 3 (National) Extended Diploma: PPP
• Scottish Highers: 48 UCAS Tariff Points.
• Irish LC Highers: 48 UCAS Tariff Points.
• Other experience: Pearson Level 3 National Diploma MP.

Fair Admissions

When you apply, our Admissions specialists will review your whole application. We are looking for your potential to succeed so will assess your qualifications, any relevant work experience, your personal statement, and references.

Selection Criteria

As part of the application and selection process, we are looking for your commitment to this programme. In your personal statement, you should demonstrate your motivation for choosing this course and reflect upon any experience you have gained.

Contextual Admissions

Going to higher education can transform a person’s life. We use contextual admissions to make sure that we are accessible to everyone who has the potential to succeed. Qualifications and grades are important, but they are considered alongside other information that helps universities to identify potential and widen access to university level study.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees

• £9,535 - UK (2025-2026)
• £14,900 - International (2025-2026)

International Finance

At the University of Cumbria, we offer affordable tuition fees for international and EU students looking to study at one of our main four campuses. No matter your choice of course or career path, our International Team is here to support you.

Funding

Fees for foundation year studies are as stated. Standard student finance for years 2-4.

Additional Costs

There will be some additional costs. For example, all students will need to purchase stationery and may wish to purchase some text books. Extra costs may also be applicable to cover field trips, membership fees etc. although such features are usually options within the course.

• Books: Most core text books are available via the University's library, however students may wish to buy copies of any texts used to support your learning on your course. This could cost between £50 - £100 per year.
• Stationery: Students should budget for stationery and consumables for your own personal use. This should include notebooks, pens and pencils for taking notes in class and/or in the field. Students should also budget for the purchase of USB pen drives, as well as occasional printing and photocopying costs incurred in the preparation or submission of coursework. Whilst you will choose how much you need, expect to pay around £30 - £40 per year for these items.