BA(Hons) Film Studies
This course is open for applications
About
On our BA(Hons) Film Studies degree, you'll explore global cinema, storytelling, and the cultural power of film. Develop industry-ready skills through writing, research, and hands-on projects, while connecting with Bristol's thriving creative hub, preparing you for careers in film and beyond.
Why study film?
Film captivates, informs, and connects audiences worldwide. It shapes how we see the world, deepens our understanding of ourselves, and offers us insight into others' experiences.
By studying film, you'll explore the creative and cultural forces behind cinematic storytelling and audience perception. You'll examine the vital role of the arts today - how film reflects, critiques, and transforms our world.
Why UWE Bristol?
BA(Hons) Film Studies deepens your understanding of cinema and the film industry. Explore over a century of global filmmaking and the cultural, social, and economic forces that shape it.
Our Film Studies degree is part of the innovative new humanities group - an exciting, contemporary approach to the arts and humanities. Join a dynamic academic community where you'll learn from experts in their field and benefit from globally recognised research in topics including science fiction and fan/audience studies.
BA(Hons) Film Studies builds transferable skills for your career in the cultural industries and beyond. Write about film across formats including blogs, reviews, features, essays, and audio-visual work. Gain hands-on experience with tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, and refine your critical reading, writing, and research in workshops.
Learn to pitch ideas, write scripts, design blogs, and plan festivals. Study film criticism, marketing, and exhibition, and discover diverse styles - from blockbusters and indie films to documentaries and avant-garde shorts.
Bristol is a thriving, industry-leading creative hub. Tap into connections at Watershed Media Centre, Arnolfini and the Cube Microplex.
Expand your network through placements, internships, and volunteering. Attend pop-up screenings and join festivals like the Bristol Radical Film Festival, Cinema Rediscovered, Forbidden Worlds, Encounters, Cary Comes Home, and Film Noir Fest.
Where can it take me?
BA(Hons) Film Studies builds versatile, transferable skills to launch your career. You'll sharpen communication, analysis, research, and creative thinking valued across industries from education and journalism to media and events.
Graduates thrive in roles from film festivals, content creation, criticism, publishing, advertising, and film production. Postgraduate study or research is also an option.
Graduate with industry-ready skills and a portfolio that showcases your creative edge.
Watch: Welcome to the School of Arts at UWE Bristol
Entry
Typical offers
You will need to meet the following Level 2 requirements:
- GCSE: Grade C/4 in English, or equivalent.
In addition to the above Level 2 qualifications, you'll need to achieve the published tariff points from your Level 3 studies prior to entry. Below is an indicative list of the main qualification types. However, we will consider any Level 3 qualifications towards meeting our entry requirements.
- Tariff points: 112
- Contextual tariff: See our contextual offers page.
- English Language Requirement:
International and EU applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Please visit our English language requirements page.
- A-level subjects: No specific subjects required.
- EDEXCEL (BTEC) Diploma: No specific subjects required.
For information on required Guided Learning Hours please see our minimum entry requirements page.
- Access: No specific subjects required.
- Baccalaureate IB: No specific subjects required. We accept the IB Career-related Programme in conjunction with other Level 3 qualifications.
- Irish Highers: No specific subjects required.
- T Levels: No specific subjects required.
Entry requirements
International applicants
For country specific entry requirements please find your country on the country information pages. If you are an international student and do not meet the academic requirements to study this course, you can qualify by completing preparatory study at our International College.
If you are applying to study at UWE Bristol and require additional support to meet our English language requirements, you may be able to attend one of our pre-sessional English courses. Read more about our Pre-Sessional English Programme.
Read more about entry requirements.
How to apply
Read more about undergraduate applications.
Read more about international applications and key international deadline dates.
For further information
- Email:
UK applicants
Admissions@uwe.ac.ukInternational/EU applicants
International@uwe.ac.uk - Telephone:
UK applicants
+44 (0)117 32 83333International/EU applicants
+44 (0)117 32 86644
Structure
Content
Year one
You'll study:
- The Movie Experience: Audiences, Culture and Taste
- Film Style and Meaning
- Human Stories
- Realism, Spectacle, Narrative.
Year two
You'll study:
- Screenwriting: Creative and Critical Practice
- Global Cinemas
- Professional Writing About Film
- Human Futures.
Placement year (if applicable)
If you study on the four year (sandwich) course, you'll spend a year away from the University on a work placement after Year two.
You'll complete the Professional Development on Placement module.
See the Placements and Fees sections for more information.
Final year
You'll study:
- Humanities Research Project
- Contemporary Cinema.
Plus, optional modules (the amount depending on credit requirement)* from:
- American Independent and Global Cult Cinemas
- Stardom and Representation: Identity and Diversity in Global Cinema
- Sensing Cinema: Perception, Style and Affect.
*The number of these modules that you take depends on whether you complete the sandwich placement year. If you do complete it, you'll study one of them. If you don't, then you'll study two.
This structure is for full-time students only. Part-time students study the same modules but the delivery pattern will be different.
The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved, we'll inform you.
"The knowledge I gained has led me to host film Q&As, participate in industry functions and receive writing commissions. I've also built my skills and confidence for my creative freelance career and as a result, my work has been shown at film festivals and cultural events." Malaika, Film Studies graduate
Learning and Teaching
Learn through a mix of lectures, screenings, seminars, workshops, tutorials, and technical instruction sessions.
Take part in workshops to build your reading, writing and research skills. Learn to pitch ideas, write scripts, design blogs, and plan festivals. Collaborate with researchers driving fresh thinking in film.
Learn to write about film in different contexts and present your ideas in formats including audio-visual essays, magazine features, reviews, blogs, and academic essays.
Become adept at using career-relevant tools such as PowerPoint, Adobe Premiere, WordPress, and screenplay software.
In your final year, choose to write a dissertation, screenplay or portfolio of reviews and critical writing. Or create an audio-visual essay, design a film festival, or develop a project inspired by your summer work experience.
See our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.
Study time
You can study this course on a full or part-time basis.
Full-time course hours: In a typical week, you'll have around 12 hours of scheduled teaching, plus an additional 18 hours of independent study for practice and assessment tasks. Contact time is usually spread across three to four days, Monday to Friday.
Part-time course hours: In a typical week, you'll have around 6 hours of scheduled teaching, plus an additional 9 hours of independent study for practice and assessment tasks. Contact time is usually spread across one to two days, Monday to Friday.
Assessment
You'll be assessed in a variety of ways, honing your critical, creative, and practical skills. This includes essays, presentations, audio-visual essays, festival programming, and a range of film writing - from publicity materials and reviews to features and blogs.
Fees
Full-time, sandwich course
Part time course
Supplementary fee information
Your overall entitlement to funding is based on how long the course is that you're registered on. Standard funding is allocated based on the standard number of years that your course lasts, plus one additional year.
You'll apply for funding each year that you study and Student Finance will take into account how long the course is in each year that you apply. So if you register for the four year course and then transfer to the three year course, the number of years you can apply for funding will change. Student Finance will reassess your funding based on how many years you have been in study, not just those years for which you received student finance.
Always seek advice before taking any action that may have implications for your funding.
Additional costs
This refers to items you could need during your studies that aren't covered by the standard tuition fee. These could be materials, textbooks, travel, clothing, software or printing.
Features
Placements
If you study the four-year, sandwich course, you'll spend a year away from the University on a work placement after Year two. There's also the option to complete a 20-day summer placement before your final year.
Students with work experience often graduate with stronger degrees. It also sharpens your skills, deepens industry knowledge, and builds a professional network - making you a standout graduate.
You'll be encouraged to take up volunteering, internships and work experience with partner organisations, pop-up events, and festivals such as the Encounters Film Festival and the Bristol Radical Film Festival.
Find out more about our work experience and placements.
Study facilities
Frenchay Campus provides extensive study facilities. Watch films in viewing rooms with full blackout, Blu-ray and multi-region DVD players, digital projection and 5.1 sound.
Develop skills in desktop publishing, digital content production, and movie editing, using industry standard software (including Adobe Premiere). Create presentations, blogs, and audio-visual essays.
Access lecture slides, core readings, and assignment guidance on our Blackboard Ultra Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Learn more about UWE Bristol's facilities and resources.
Take a personalised virtual tour of the history, film and culture facilities and experience what a typical day could look like here for you.
Personalised virtual tour
There's no need to visit us in person to explore our facilities and campuses. Take a personalised virtual tour and discover it all for yourself from wherever you are.
Take a virtual tourCareers
Careers / Further study
You'll be ready for a broad range of careers as well as postgraduate study. Tailoring what and how you study, you can shape the course towards the aspect of film, or career, you want to move into.
Our graduates go on to work in a variety of professions across the creative, cultural, media and heritage industries. These include:
- publishing
- editing
- digital content creation
- festival and cultural event management
- teaching
- marketing
- advertising.
Get inspired
Our award-winning careers service will develop your employment potential through career coaching and help find you graduate jobs, placements and global opportunities.
We can also help find local volunteering and community opportunities, provide support for entrepreneurial activity, and get you access to employer events.
Visit our employability pages to learn more about careers, employers and what our students are doing six months after graduating.
Learn more about our graduate destinations.
Start your dream career at UWE Bristol
Life
Accommodation
An excellent range of options for all of the Bristol campuses and the city centre.
Bristol
A stunning city for student living with all the qualities to make you want to stay.
Sports, societies and activities
There is more to your experience here than study. Choose to make the most of it and try new things.
Health and Wellbeing
We provide support in the way you need it.
Campus and facilities
Discover our campuses and the wealth of facilities provided for our students.