Film, Media and Cultural Studies (Placement Year)

BA Hons

  • UCAS code PL37
  • Entry year 2026 or 2025
  • A level requirements ABB
  • Duration Full time 4 years
Open days
Request a prospectus
Virtual tour

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)

  • 2

    2nd for Film (Communication and Media Studies)

    The Complete University Guide (2025)

  • Access to Digital Media Studio and specialist equipment

This programme explores how media and film shape identities, values, and perspectives. Blending theory with hands-on skills, we help you develop as a critical thinker and creative film-maker. Stand out from other graduates with your more diverse skill set - from film production techniques to a broad understanding of the media and creative industries. This degree prepares you to make an impact in the fast-paced creative industries and beyond.

Why Lancaster?

  • Deepen your understanding of global film history and media's role in the world, while gaining hands-on film-making and digital media experience
  • Enjoy 24/7 access to our editing suites and specialist equipment, including cinema-ready digital cameras and the latest digital media tools
  • Tailor your work to mix written research with film and media practice, developing essential skills in critical analysis, creative thinking, and problem-solving
  • Build a creative portfolio by participating in our student film and media societies, including a television station, newspaper, radio station, and cinema
  • Take advantage of Lancaster’s inspiring surroundings—cityscape, rural backdrop, and coastal charm—as an ideal setting for creative projects

Film and media from new perspectives

Combining the exciting practice of hands-on film-making with the study of media and culture, this diverse course offers the study of film from a new perspective.

You will have the opportunity to examine media history and how it has shaped all we consume today, from politics and power to subcultures and marginal cultures, the role of gender, race, disability and body image in the media, and media and social (in)justice. You will develop a strong understanding of the media’s social, economic, and political power in everyday life, as well as the historical and contemporary issues we see in the media and how these issues are portrayed through film.

Through practical workshops, you’ll develop skills in film and media production, gaining experience in areas such as film-making, editing, digital content creation, storytelling and scriptwriting, film technique and genre, and film theory.

Past students have completed projects such as:

First-class resources

Our top-of-the-line production facilities will support you in putting your ideas into action. Make use of our cinema-ready digital cameras with prime lenses, DSLR cameras, versatile set lighting, grip equipment and full access to Adobe Creative Cloud in our acoustic editing suites. Our specialist production facilities and purpose-built workshops offer everything you need to master the essentials of digital video and audio production, ensuring you can bring your ideas to life and build a portfolio that showcases your versatility.

Whenever you need support, you can turn to our skilled technicians who are on hand to support your studies.

Developing your voice and vision

At Lancaster, we will empower you to develop a unique voice. Our teachers are industry professionals and film makers, as well as leading experts who influence real-world conversations on topics such as gender and sexualities, race, artificial intelligence, and media ethics. You’ll be encouraged to follow in their footsteps, developing effective communication skills to enact positive social change in the world around you.

Get involved with student media societies such as our television station, newspaper, and radio to further hone your creative skills, as well as our student run cinema Take2 where you can show your films and bring your vision to life. You’ll also showcase your work at our annual Degree Show.

Strong industry connections

Studying at Lancaster will open doors to many opportunities that will support you in your future career. You’ll benefit from our strong industry connections with organisations such as The British Film Institute, The Bay International Film Festival and La1 Shorts Festival, as well as industry professionals such as working journalists and media activists.

These connections will give you access to masterclasses, community-based film productions, and trips to media hubs, enhancing your professional experience and networking opportunities. By blending theoretical knowledge with real-world application and connections, our programme ensures you’re well-equipped for impactful roles in your career.

Students at work

You’ll be developing your practical skills in our film production modules by experimenting with narrative films or documentaries. We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content.

Students filming in Morecambe Bay

Practical experience

You will have the opportunity to produce short films in all three years of your study.

Filming at the train station

Interesting surroundings

Make use of Lancaster’s stunning surroundings for the perfect film setting – cityscape, rural backdrop or coastal charm.

Film production

Gain practical film-making skills and an understanding of film production.

Production equipment

We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content. Enjoy 24/7 access to our editing suites and specialist equipment, including cinema-ready digital cameras.

Showcase your films

Every year our final year students showcase their films in a major degree show exhibition, that is open to the public.

Creative Arts Facilities at Lancaster University

Whatever creative arts subject you choose, you’ll find we have specialist spaces and equipment to inspire your studies.

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

By the end of your degree, you’ll be equipped with transferable skills that are valued by a wide variety of employers. You'll possess an impressive combination of critical thinking skills, advanced cultural awareness and practical skills in film-making and digital media.

Your skills in analytical thinking, research and writing, and creative production, will help you pursue an exciting career. Some of our graduates have gone on to production roles at independent film companies or at the BBC and ITV. Others have decided to follow a related profession such as marketing.

Our graduates find rewarding careers in roles such as:

  • Film and media producer
  • Advertising executive
  • Marketing executive
  • Broadcast and print journalist
  • Digital/strategic communication specialist
  • Media researcher
  • Script supervisor
  • Publisher
  • Content producer
  • Arts manager
  • Teacher

Some of our graduates have been accepted into the London Film School, the Met Film School, the National Film and Television School, as well as the New York Film Academy for further vocational training.

Our programme also acts as a good springboard for those wanting to continue their studies at postgraduate level and provides a route into our MA in Film Studies and our MA in Global Media & Society.

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

Qualifications and typical requirements accordion

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

Additional fees and funding information accordion

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.

We are partners with the British Film Institute (BFI)

All our students have free access to BFI Player with hundreds of British, world and classic films, plus workshops and masterclasses.

Find out more: British Film Institute (BFI)
British Film Institute logo

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
two students sitting and reading on some outdoor steps

  • Virtual tour

    Take five minutes and let us show you what Lancaster has to offer, from our beautiful green campus to our colleges, teaching and sports facilities.

  • Accommodation guide

    Most first-year undergraduate students choose to live on campus, where you’ll find accommodation to suit different preferences and budgets.

  • The city and beyond

    Our historic city is student-friendly and home to a diverse and welcoming community. Beyond the city you'll find a stunning coastline and the picturesque Lake District.