Communication Arts BA (Hons)

Bachelor's degree

In Leicester

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    Leicester

Reasons to study Communication Arts at De Montfort University (DMU): Develop a highly employable and diverse skill-set in media and cultural subjects Such as social media, film, radio, journalism, public relations and music. Benefit from our strong links with local media partners Including BBC Radio Leicester, community media organisations and Leicester’s independent arts and cinema complex, Phoenix Cinema; providing opportunities for work placement experience and cultural connections.. Our Community media specialism creates a strong civic element by offering opportunities for work-based learning Including with local organisations such as DMU Square Mile. Enhance your skills by joining relevant groups and societies Including the Media and Communication Society, Film Society, Media Discourse Group and reading groups. Take part in the award-winning Demon Media group, including; The Demon magazine, Demon FM radio station, Demon TV and The Demon website. Multi-million pound facilities Enhance your practical skills in our Creative Technology studios, featuring a host of audio recording suites, radio production studios and management systems; alongside film and television studios equipped with multi-cameras, blue and green screen

Facilities

Location

Start date

Leicester (Leicestershire)
See map
The Gateway, LE1 9BH

Start date

On request

About this course

Graduate Careers

There are many career opportunities in the creative industries for graduates with good communication and technical skills. Within the wider communications industries, our students are finding employment in the digital sector where their ability to communicate effectively on a variety of platforms is valued. There is also potential to work in charity and the community media sector.

Graduates are likely to pursue careers in both the public and private sector and go on to work in advertising, TV production, journalism, independent media, film, sales, teaching and public relations.

#DMUglobal

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through #DMUglobal, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

Our #DMUglobal High Flyers Award offers students a discount of up to £1,000 towards a #DMUglobal opportunity (terms and conditions apply).

Placements

Students have taken part in work experience placements at a number of local and national companies over the past three years, including; IBM (UK) Ltd, Microsoft, Jagex Games Studios, Intel, PayPoint Ltd, Netready Ltd, Proactive, Accenture, Tours Ltd and Exel Computer Systems plc.

You can improve your CV, become highly employable and put the skills you learn on your course into practice by taking a work placement as part of your studies.
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Technology's dedicated Placement Team provides support to all of our students looking to integrate a placement within their university career on both undergraduate degrees and postgraduate masters programmes

Five GCSEs at grade C or above, including English or equivalent, plus one of the following:
Normally 104 UCAS points from at least two A-levels or equivalent or
BTEC National Diploma/ Extended Diploma at DMM or
Pass in the QAA accredited Access to HE course. English GCSE required as a separate qualification as equivalency is not accepted within the Access qualification. We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course or
International Baccalaureate: 24+ points

Portfolio Required : No

Interview Required: No
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Reviews

This centre's achievements

2021

All courses are up to date

The average rating is higher than 3.7

More than 50 reviews in the last 12 months

This centre has featured on Emagister for 15 years

Subjects

  • Project
  • International
  • Materials
  • Post Production
  • Politics
  • IT
  • Installation
  • Performance
  • Public Relations
  • Marketing
  • Film and Television
  • Radio
  • Art
  • Cinema
  • Public
  • Technology
  • Industry
  • Writing
  • Social Media
  • Communication Training
  • Broadcast
  • Media
  • Music
  • IT Development
  • Skills and Training
  • Production

Course programme

First year

Communication Practice 1
This module examines the understanding and application of technology and the aesthetics and effects of being creative and communicative with new and emerging technology.

Introduction to Community Media
This module introduces learners to the principles and practices of community media, giving learners the opportunity to experience and develop skills as practitioners of community and collaborative media.

Core Concepts in Media and Communication
This module will introduce students to the broad range of key concepts, debates and skills necessary to undertake further study in Media and Communication.

Media Capture and Processing
This module introduces you to photography, audio and video acquisition, digitisation, compression and storage.

Second year

Core modules

Communication Practice 2
This module will identify and evaluate the means and purposes of creative communication and the value of working in groups as a condition of the new participatory and collaborative nature of media communication under the processes of digitisation.

Community Media Production
This module critically examines community media ideas and concepts, while giving learners the chance to be practitioners of community and collaborative media through engagement with active community media organisations.

Optional modules

Media, Gender and Identity
This module will consider the role the media play in our understanding of ourselves and others as individuals and as social beings.

Political Communication
This module investigates the interdependent and sometimes fractious relationship between politics and the media. It begins by introducing the key components of the political communication system (political actors, the media and citizens) and considering how different theoretical perspectives (such as the public sphere) can be used to analyse the media’s coverage of politics.

Video and Imaging Techniques
This module explores the process of still and moving digital image production from the initial capture, through editing to display and distribution.

Radio Production
This module gives you the opportunity to develop audio recordings for radio, while learning about the principles, techniques and practices of radio production. You will use our broadcast-standard radio production studios and get involved with Demon FM, our student run community radio station.

Social Media Production
This module explores the role of social media technology, using keywords and concepts to critically evaluate and create social media.

Journalism 1
This module introduces students to the skills and competencies needed by the working journalist; equips them with a basic knowledge of the law as it impacts on that work and engages with some of the key theoretical issues of journalism.

Public Relations 1
Students will be introduced to the theory and practice of public relations as well as learning and applying industry-relevant skills.

From Script to Screen
This module develops your skills as a filmmaker further, pushing you into new creative territory. In the first term, you will work with professional scriptwriters to produce your own script – in the second term you will film it.

Television Studies
This module introduces students to the practices of the television industry with a special emphasis on the relationship between television schedules and the types of programmes that fill them.

Contemporary British Cinema
This module explores key aspects of British cinema, the contemporary British film industry and the critical and contextual debates around them. We focus mainly on the period since 1990, but also look back to the longer history of UK genre trends, film culture, reception, critique and policy to help us understand the contexts and forces shaping more recent developments.

Disney
This module focuses on one defining media institution – the Disney Corporation – and traces its development from a small-scale animation producer to the largest provider of family trans-media entertainment in the world. You will combine the study of the animated film with a focus on family audiences and Disney’s various media activities.

Marketing, Film and Material Culture
This module engages with the multitude of contemporary and historical marketing materials that surround films rather than films themselves. Students are encouraged to access and scrutinise their own primary materials, which may include, but are not limited to press books, lobby cards, posters, tie-ups, discussion of ballyhoo and showmanship, online and transnational campaigns, trailers, fan magazines, reviews and radio adaptations.

Ideas in Music and Sonic Art
This module will study aesthetic concerns in music made with technology and will provide a critical examination of music composition using technology from the second half of the 20th century.

Performing with Technology
This module seeks to explore how technology can create new performance paradigms, as well as develop existing musical performance models. You will be asked to interpret a prescribed repertoire or approach, as well as realising an additional performance using material of your own choice.

Final year

Core modules

Technology Project
This module gives you the opportunity to undertake a self-managed project building on knowledge, experience and skills acquired during the course, with tutorial support.

Community Media Leadership
This module will critically examine the national and trans-national policy discourse of international community media development, looking at the international context, and how the management and organisational structures within community media can be used to promote responsive social gain objectives.

Optional modules

Identities
This module will consider the production and representation of “identities” across a range of media platforms – from those produced by large corporations, to those created with a grass-roots ‘DIY’ ethos.

Global Advertising
This module devoted to the study of one of the central institutions of the contemporary world. The module will interrogate the basic marketing concepts and promotional strategies associated with advertising as a commercial and creative practice, introduced from an academic perspective and informed by critical theory, and delivered through assignments that bring together a mix of practical and theoretical enquiry.

Post-production for Video and Film
This module examines a range of techniques and issues associated with modern post-production, including digital compositing, incorporating computer-generated imagery (CGI), special effects, motion graphics and titles, and sound.

Advanced Radio Production
In this module you will study the theory and practice of radio studio operation, the management of studio resources, the use and deployment of radio studio technologies, and the regulatory and legal framework related to the broadcast industry.

Advanced Social Media Production
In this module you will develop social media production skills through designing and creating products for use in a range of social media contexts.

Broadcast Journalism
This module draws on the practical skills and theories of Journalism 1; develops higher levels of competencies and explores ways of building on those skills.

Public Relations 2
Building upon your understanding of public relations developed in Public Relations 1, this module explores in greater depth key academic debates and issues surrounding the theory and practice of public relations.

Writing for the Screen
This module aims to offer you the opportunity to receive professional training and practical guidance from an industry practitioner on techniques of creative scriptwriting for television and film.

Cult Film
The Cult Film module focuses in detail on challenging, obscure and intense films which have developed cult followings over the years. On this course, you will be exposed to stimulating underground films, and you will develop a clear understanding of cult film culture.

Music, Media and Community Arts
This module offers both theoretical and practical study of the role and development of music technology in the community and outside more formal settings, such as the concert hall. The module traces the history of community arts and provides practical exercises on workshop skills to develop an understanding of the role of music technology in the local community. Practical experience is offered through a placement that has to be successfully negotiated, researched and critically evaluated.

Installation Art
The module will focus on the development of skills relevant to the musician producing installation work using electroacoustic media in a variety of contexts from gallery to public space. Critical areas to be covered include issues surrounding the history and conceptual evolution of the installation, site specificity, public art, sounding space, acoustic properties of structures, interactivity, intervention, sculpture and multimedia.

Creative Entrepreneurship
This module gives you the opportunity to develop business and management skills as a producer of media content for the broadcast and online media industries

Music Industry Management
The overall aim of this module is to increase general understanding of the music industry and to develop personal confidence in it as a possible source of employment. The module provides an overview, tracking the emergence of the global system that we have today and considering key developments and influences in its history. It examines both the commercial and subsidised sectors and the role of Government and other national bodies, exploring their different roles and how they work together.

Media Industry Management
The module provides discussion of the history of the media industry in UK and information on current policy and trends. It provides discussion of management structures and techniques and how they can relate to the media industry. The module also provides practical learning to support understanding of how to develop a career in the media.

First year

Communication Practice 1
This module examines the understanding and application of technology and the aesthetics and effects of being creative and communicative with new and emerging technology.

Introduction to Community Media
This module introduces learners to the principles and practices of community media, giving learners the opportunity to experience and develop skills as practitioners of community and collaborative media.

Core Concepts in Media and Communication
This module will introduce students to the broad range of key concepts, debates and skills necessary to undertake further study in Media and Communication.

Media Capture and Processing
This module introduces you to photography, audio and video acquisition, digitisation, compression and storage.

Second year

Core modules

Communication Practice 2
This module will identify and evaluate the means and purposes of creative communication and the value of working in groups as a condition of the new participatory and collaborative nature of media communication under the processes of digitisation.

Community Media Production
This module critically examines community media ideas and concepts, while giving learners the chance to be practitioners of community and collaborative media through engagement with active community media organisations.

Optional modules

Media, Gender and Identity
This module will consider the role the media play in our understanding of ourselves and others as individuals and as social beings.

Political Communication
This module investigates the interdependent and sometimes fractious relationship between politics and the media. It begins by introducing the key components of the political communication system (political actors, the media and citizens) and considering how different theoretical perspectives (such as the public sphere) can be used to analyse the media’s coverage of politics.

Video and Imaging Techniques
This module explores the process of still and moving digital image production from the initial capture, through editing to display and distribution.

Radio Production
This module gives you the opportunity to develop audio recordings for radio, while learning about the principles, techniques and practices of radio production. You will use our broadcast-standard radio production studios and get involved with Demon FM, our student run community radio station.

Social Media Production
This module explores the role of social media technology, using keywords and concepts to critically evaluate and create social media.

Journalism 1
This module introduces students to the skills and competencies needed by the working journalist; equips them with a basic knowledge of the law as it impacts on that work and engages with some of the key theoretical issues of journalism.

Public Relations 1
Students will be introduced to the theory and practice of public relations as well as learning and applying industry-relevant skills.

From Script to Screen
This module develops your skills as a filmmaker further, pushing you into new creative territory. In the first term, you will work with professional scriptwriters to produce your own script – in the second term you will film it.

Television Studies
This module introduces students to the practices of the television industry with a special emphasis on the relationship between television schedules and the types of programmes that fill them.

Contemporary British Cinema
This module explores key aspects of British cinema, the contemporary British film industry and the critical and contextual debates around them. We focus mainly on the period since 1990, but also look back to the longer history of UK genre trends, film culture, reception, critique and policy to help us understand the contexts and forces shaping more recent developments.

Disney
This module focuses on one defining media institution – the Disney Corporation – and traces its development from a small-scale animation producer to the largest provider of family trans-media entertainment in the world. You will combine the study of the animated film with a focus on family audiences and Disney’s various media activities.

Marketing, Film and Material Culture
This module engages with the multitude of contemporary and historical marketing materials that surround films rather than films themselves. Students are encouraged to access and scrutinise their own primary materials, which may include, but are not limited to press books, lobby cards, posters, tie-ups, discussion of ballyhoo and showmanship, online and transnational campaigns, trailers, fan magazines, reviews and radio adaptations.

Ideas in Music and Sonic Art
This module will study aesthetic concerns in music made with technology and will provide a critical examination of music composition using technology from the second half of the 20th century.

Performing with Technology
This module seeks to explore how technology can create new performance paradigms, as well as develop existing musical performance models. You will be asked to interpret a prescribed repertoire or approach, as well as realising an additional performance using material of your own choice.

Final year

Core modules

Technology Project
This module gives you the opportunity to undertake a self-managed project building on knowledge, experience and skills acquired during the course, with tutorial support.

Community Media Leadership
This module will critically examine the national and trans-national policy discourse of international community media development, looking at the international context, and how the management and organisational structures within community media can be used to promote responsive social gain objectives.

Optional modules

Identities
This module will consider the production and representation of “identities” across a range of media platforms – from those produced by large corporations, to those created with a grass-roots ‘DIY’ ethos.

Global Advertising
This module devoted to the study of one of the central institutions of the contemporary world. The module will interrogate the basic marketing concepts and promotional strategies associated with advertising as a commercial and creative practice, introduced from an academic perspective and informed by critical theory, and delivered through assignments that bring together a mix of practical and theoretical enquiry.

Post-production for Video and Film
This module examines a range of techniques and issues associated with modern post-production, including digital compositing, incorporating computer-generated imagery (CGI), special effects, motion graphics and titles, and sound.

Advanced Radio Production
In this module you will study the theory and practice of radio studio operation, the management of studio resources, the use and deployment of radio studio technologies, and the regulatory and legal framework related to the broadcast industry.

Advanced Social Media Production
In this module you will develop social media production skills through designing and creating products for use in a range of social media contexts.

Broadcast Journalism
This module draws on the practical skills and theories of Journalism 1; develops higher levels of competencies and explores ways of building on those skills.

Communication Arts BA (Hons)

Price on request