Media and Cultural Studies (Placement Year)

BA Hons

  • UCAS code LP64
  • Entry year 2026 or 2025
  • A level requirements ABB
  • Duration Full time 4 years
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We welcome applications from the United States of America

We've put together information and resources to guide your application journey as a student from the United States of America.

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • 2

    2nd for Communication & Media Studies

    The Complete University Guide (2025)

  • Joint 10th for graduate prospects (Communication and Media Studies) The Complete University Guide (2025)

  • Access to Digital Media Studio and specialist equipment

Media shapes who we are, what we think and what we value. At Lancaster, we are passionate about understanding media in all its complexity, exploring how media and culture shape our social realities. New forms of media are developing so quickly, you may be preparing for a career in the creative industries that does not yet exist! We will empower you with media literacy skills, theory and understanding that will equip you for a rewarding role in a wide range of industries.

Why Lancaster?

  • Learn from world-leading experts in the field, who shape conversation on everything from reality TV show regulations to the Royal Family
  • Take advantage of our digital media studio with the latest specialist equipment during your degree
  • Add to your creative portfolio out of class by getting involved in our student media societies such as Lancaster’s television station, newspaper, radio station and cinema
  • Tailor your programme to suit you, with assessments that range from written research to creative practice
  • Develop vital skills in both media practice and critical analysis, skills that future employers need

Bring your ideas to life

Media and Cultural Studies will provide you with a critical understanding of media industries, practices and productions. You will learn how digital media is both reinventing older media forms, like newspapers and television, and producing new digital cultures. You will develop awareness of the transnational differences that structure all our experiences of media in local, national and global contexts, as well as looking at how media is created and consumed to help you become a better creator.

As well as studying media’s social, economic and political power in everyday life, we will help you develop your critical thinking skills in relation to the issues that matter to you, reflecting on your own identity, life and media use. You will be encouraged to develop effective communication skills, think ethically about media power, politics and technologies, and enact positive social change in the world around you.

Your platform, your voice

Our research is world leading. You will be taught by experts on topics as diverse as fandom, media activism, gender and sexualities, artificial intelligence and algorithmic cultures. Our team influences real world conversations, for example, providing evidence to parliamentary enquiries, running podcast series, undertaking news media interviews and raising awareness on a range of issues, such as class, race and gender inequality.

As well as our own academics, you will have the opportunity to learn from influential guest speakers. In previous years we have welcomed guests such as, journalists from the BBC, and The Evolution of Horror podcast presenter, Mike Muncer.

When it comes to doing your final project, you will follow in their footsteps. You may write about research you have carried out during the course or produce a media piece (for example a podcast, journalistic interviews, or a social media campaign). We’ll encourage you to let your imagination run wild! Past students have created music albums, zines and even board games. You’ll be able to showcase your hard work at our Final Degree Show to celebrate the achievements of you and your peers.

Envisioning your future

Studying Media and Cultural Studies at Lancaster will give you a head start in preparing for your future career. We organise bespoke careers’ sessions on employment opportunities in the media and creative sectors, giving you the opportunity to explore potential career options that fit with your personal interests. In the past, this has included workshops with journalists, podcasting masterclasses, creative sessions with media activists, and visits to museums, all of which will help you build on your critical analysis, research, presentation and writing skills, which are valuable to employers across a range of sectors.

Your Placement Year

Sometimes known as a year in industry, your placement year will take place between your second and final year of study and this will extend your degree to four years.

Placements and Internships

Hear from students and employers on how Lancaster University could support you to gain real-world experience and bolster your CV with a placement or internship as part of your degree.

A student working on a piece of stained glass.

A placement year is an excellent way to...

  • try out a role that you may be interested in as a career path
  • start to build your professional network (some placement students are offered permanent roles to return to after they graduate)
  • develop skills, knowledge and experience to put you ahead of the field when you graduate

You'll spend your third year...

in a graduate-level position, where you’ll work for between nine and twelve months in the type of role that you might be considering for after you graduate. A very wide range of companies and organisations offer placements across all sectors.

As a full-time employee, you’ll have a job description with specific responsibilities and opportunities to access training and development, the same as other employees.

A whiteboard showing a diagram of 'how to create a CV'

Our Careers and Placements Team...

will help you to search and compete for a suitable placement with expert advice and resources, such as creating an effective CV, and tips for applications and interviews.

You will still be a Lancaster University student during your placement and we’ll keep in touch to check how you are getting on.

Students drinking coffee in a campus coffee bar

The university will...

use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all offer valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills.

If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year.

Careers

Career paths in the media and creative industries are shifting all the time. Roles like digital content creator didn’t exist a couple of decades ago, and platforms like Patreon and ChatGPT have changed the way we produce and consume media. What comes next is unknown, but you’ll have the skills you need to adapt to whatever challenges you face.

Our recent graduates have found rewarding careers in roles such as:

  • Journalists
  • Editorial assistant/Editors
  • Media coordinators/managers
  • Communication advisers/consultants
  • Digital Communication Associates
  • Strategic Communication Leads
  • Media researchers
  • Media buyers
  • TV/Film/video/Social Media producers
  • Script supervisors
  • Documentalists
  • Social media managers
  • Digital marketers and advertisers
  • Publishers
  • Content producers
  • Arts managers
  • Teachers

This course also provides a strong basis for diverse types of postgraduate study, including areas like television production or teaching, or our MA in Global Media & Society.

You’ll even have the foundation of knowledge you need to create your own media company.

Careers and employability support

Our degrees open up an extremely wide array of career pathways in businesses and organisations, large and small, in the UK and overseas.

We run a paid internship scheme specifically for our arts, humanities and social sciences students, supported by a specialist Employability Team. The team offer individual consultations and tailored application guidance, as well as careers events, development opportunities, and resources.

Whether you have a clear idea of your potential career path or need some help considering the options, our friendly team is on hand.

Lancaster is unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which recognises activities such as work experience, community engagement or volunteering and social development. A valuable addition to your CV!

Find out more about Lancaster’s careers events, extensive resources and personal support for Careers and Employability.

Careers

Find out about some of the careers our alumni have entered into after graduation.

Entry requirements

These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. You may need to have qualifications in relevant subjects. In some cases we may also ask you to attend an interview or submit a portfolio. You must also meet our English language requirements.

Find more about these qualifications and others not shown here

Learn about how we will assess your application

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Contact Admissions

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, please complete our enquiry form and one of our team will get back to you.

International foundation programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Contextual admissions

Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.

Course structure

Enhancing our curriculum

We continually review and enhance our curriculum to ensure we are delivering the best possible learning experience, and to make sure that the subject knowledge and transferable skills you develop will prepare you for your future.

We will publish more detailed information about the structure of this degree course for 2026-entry in June 2025, ahead of our summer undergraduate open days. This will include overviews of the core modules you will take and examples of optional modules which may be available to you.

Fees and funding

We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27 entry fees have not yet been set.

As a guide, our fees in 2025/26 were:

Home International
£9,535 £24,700

Fees and funding information

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Scholarships and bursaries

Details of our scholarships and bursaries for students starting in 2026 are not yet available.

You can use our scholarships for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.

Media and Cultural Studies at Lancaster

  • Studying Media and Cultural Studies

    Our degree helps you understand how changing media is affecting who we are, how we think and what we value.

  • Preparing for your career

    The pace of change in media industries and jobs means that preparing for your career is about being able to provide insights and unique combinations of experience that set you apart.

  • Developing practical skills

    Our degree exposes you to a variety of media practices that are central to how media industries are transforming today.

  • Digital Media Studio

    All Media and Culture students have access to our Digital Media Studio technology to help build and enhance their skills in (digital) media practices.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2026/2027 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.

Undergraduate open days 2025

Our summer and autumn open days will give you Lancaster University in a day. Visit campus and put yourself in the picture.

Undergraduate Open Days
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  • The city and beyond

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