This course is open for applications
Page last updated 15 November 2024
Gain practical experience, make valuable contacts and build the skills you need for an exciting career in the thriving film and television industry.
Film engages, informs and inspires around the globe. It influences the way we see the world, helps us understand ourselves and gives us insight into the experience of others.
Get to know the creative and cultural forces that shape cinema and its audiences, and understand the role of the arts in today's society.
BA(Hons) Film Studies enhances your understanding and enjoyment of cinema.
You'll study more than a century of American, British and world cinema, and learn about the social, cultural and economic factors that influence film.
Examine film criticism, marketing and festivals, and explore how film is produced and consumed.
Learn from leading academics. Explore different styles and forms of filmmaking, from contemporary blockbusters and indie movies, to documentaries, silent shorts and avant-garde experiments. Focus on the areas of film that most interest you.
Bristol is a creative hub for film and the arts, and our staff have strong relationships with local organisations, including the Watershed Media Centre, the Arnolfini and the Cube Microplex.
Take up volunteering, work experience and internship opportunities with collaborating arts organisations, pop-up events, and festivals such as Encounters Film Festival and the Bristol Radical Film Festival. There are also options to do summer work experience, or a sandwich year placement after year two.
Graduate with an impressive set of skills and portfolio of work.
Your expertise in communication, critical analysis, research and creative thinking will be needed in a variety of sectors.
You could go on to work on film festivals or events, create your own films or write about them. Or move into other sectors such as publishing, digital content creation or advertising.
You might also go onto postgraduate study.
Over the course of the first year, you'll be introduced to a number of key terms and concepts that will help you to analyse films in detail.
This will include the development of your close textual analysis skills, but will also focus on how films tell us different stories, how they construct realistic worlds and how they incorporate spectacle. You'll also learn about some of the key roles involved in the production of a film, about different audiences for different films and about the role of cinemas and other places of exhibition.
During the second year, you'll deepen your knowledge in a number of key areas. You'll study cinematic traditions, including Hollywood and British cinema, as well as other cinema industries around the world. You'll also explore the notion of film genre and look in detail at the representation of marginalised identities in film, focusing on diversity and inclusion both on screen and in the industry. In addition, you'll practice different forms of film writing, by producing professional examples of film criticism and completing a screenwriting project.
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. As a part of this, you'll complete a placement learning module.
Please see the Placements and Fees sections for more information.
Over the course of your final year, you'll complete a year-long independent project geared towards your specific interests – this may be a dissertation, but could also take the form of for example, an AV essay, a screenplay or portfolio of professional writing.
In addition to the project, you'll focus on contemporary cinema and the contours of the film industry today, as well as exploring other cinematic practices and gaining additional specialised knowledge. This may include a focus on cult cinema and fandom, on the relationship between film and music, on the role of affect in our cinematic experience, or on film stardom.
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, 2021 Film Studies graduate
Learn through a mix of lectures, screenings, seminars, workshops, individual and small-group tutorials, and technical instruction sessions.
You'll study independently and in groups, defining your own research questions and focusing on the issues and ideas that interest you most. You'll be guided and supported by a team of leading film scholars.
Learn to write about film in different contexts, and to present your ideas in various different formats, including audio-visual essays, magazine features, reviews and blogs, as well as traditional academic essays.
Become adept at using programs and platforms that will be valuable in your career, such as Powerpoint, Adobe Premiere, Wordpress and screenplay-writing software.
Take part in workshops to build your critical reading, writing and information gathering skills. Develop your expertise as a researcher. Learn to pitch ideas, develop proposals, write scripts, design blogs and plan festivals. Work with active researchers shaping new thinking in the field.
In your Final year, you can opt to write a traditional dissertation, screenplay or portfolio of reviews and critical writing. Or you can make an audio-visual essay, design a film festival, or develop a project based on your summer work experience.
See our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.
Look forward to plenty of opportunities to network, take part in projects, and collaborate in Bristol and beyond.
Set up your own social and creative enterprises, such as websites, blogs, zines and events. Post film reviews and write about film for UWE Bristol's magazines, newspapers and blogs. And indulge your love of the arts and help bring creative works to life at our Centre for Music.
UWE Bristol staff, students and graduates founded Bristol Radical Film Festival and Compass Presents. We also introduce films for South West Silents and The Bristol Bad Film Club, and help to organise Cary Grant Comes Home for the Weekend.
Join UWE Bristol's Anime, Bad Film and Filmmaking societies, enjoy free films at the campus SceneIT cinema, and participate in regular film festivals and events across the city.
You'll be assessed in a number of ways honing your critical, creative and practical skills. You'll be assessed through essays and exams, audio-visual essays, festival programming and different kinds of film writing - from publicity materials and reviews to features and blogs.
Students who get work experience tend to graduate with better degrees. Experience also hones your skills, industry knowledge and professional network, making you a sought after graduate.
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. There's also the option to do a 20-day summer placement before your final year.
You'll be encouraged to take up volunteering, work experience and internship opportunities with collaborating arts organisations, pop-up events, and festivals such as Encounters Film Festival and the Bristol Radical Film Festival.
Our award-winning careers and employability service will guide and support you to find placements.
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. Create presentations, blogs and audio-visual essays.
Develop skills in desktop publishing, digital content production and movie editing, using industry standard software (including Adobe Premiere).
Access lecture slides, core readings and assignment guidance on our Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Learn more about UWE Bristol's facilities and resources.
Take a personalised virtual tour of the Filmmaking, Animation and Photography facilities and experience what a typical day could look like here for you.
An excellent range of options for all of the Bristol campuses and the city centre.
A stunning city for student living with all the qualities to make you want to stay.
There is more to your experience here than study. Choose to make the most of it and try new things.
We provide support in the way you need it.
Discover our campuses and the wealth of facilities provided for our students.
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:
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.
*The UK Government recently proposed that tuition fees for Home students will increase by 3.1% to £9,535 from 1st August 2025. This increase is subject to Parliamentary approval and the vote is expected to take place later this year.
Any tuition fee which is impacted by this change will be updated following approval.
Please see GOV.UK for further 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.
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.
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.
For information on required Guided Learning Hours please see our minimum entry requirements page.
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.
Read more about undergraduate applications.
Read more about international applications and key international deadline dates.
UK applicants
Admissions@uwe.ac.uk
International/EU applicants
International@uwe.ac.uk
UK applicants
+44 (0)117 32 83333
International/EU applicants
+44 (0)117 32 86644