Film and Television: Theory, Culture and Industry MA

The course combines core and optional taught modules. The design and delivery of our taught modules draw on CREAM’s research excellence in documentary, Asian and European cinema, moving image curation, and television history. The coursework requirements for some modules are research essays or a combination of research essays and research-informed blog posts and presentations. Other modules require a broad range of research-informed professional modes of writing such as a screenplay treatment, a curatorial proposal or an exhibition review. You will also undertake a substantial piece of independent research as a major part of your MA studies. In order to provide you with the flexibility to undertake a piece of independent research suited to your career aspiration, the final project module offers you the choice between writing a traditional dissertation or completing a theoretically-informed professional project such as a curating a film programme, writing and producing a series of themed blog posts, or writing a long-form screenplay.
Modules
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course. For more details on course structure and modules, and how you will be taught and assessed, see the full course document.
The course is taught in two modes: full-time and part-time. Full-time Postgraduate students study 180 credits per year. For the award of MA in Film and Television: Theory, Culture and Industry, you must complete two core taught modules, four optional modules and a 60-credit final project module, for a total of 180 credits. Core modules provide you with a set of key skills for the theoretical, critical and reflective understanding of moving images. Optional modules give you the freedom to choose areas of specialisation. The course leaders can advise on which modules best fit your interests. You have the choice to pursue specialised interests through your choice of optional modules and coursework assignments. If you are not sure which optional modules to choose or fit your interests best, or which types of final project work to produce to best develop your area of specialisation, you should discuss this question individually with the course leaders and you should aim to do so early on in the academic year.
The course structure includes two suggested pathways for those wishing to specialise in film programming and moving image curation, or in screenwriting.
You will be able to choose among the following modules:
Cinema Distribution and Exhibition (option)
Contemporary Issues in Moving Image and Screen Studies (core)
Documentary Aesthetics, Sites and Spectatorship (option)
Film Programming and Moving Image Curation (option)
Final Project (core)
Key Concepts in Film, Television and Moving Image (core)
Introduction to Scriptwriting (option)
Longform Screenplay Preparation and Short Documents (option)
Modern and Contemporary European Cinema (option)
Researching Histories in Asian Cinema (option)
Television Art: Aesthetics and Quality (option)
Associated careers
Our graduates have found employment in small- and large-scale film and television companies as filmmakers, producers, distributors, and exhibitors. Others have gone on to organise film festivals, or to work in film-related magazines and journals as well as in international arts and culture sectors. Some of our recent graduates have gone on to pursue academic careers as researchers or doctoral students at the University of Westminster and elsewhere. As the UK’s longest-running postgraduate programme in film and television several of our alumni are pioneers of the discipline of film and television studies.
Teaching team
The MAFTV’s core teaching team includes Prof Rosie Thomas, Dr May Adadol Ingawanij, Ian Green, Dr Margherita Sprio and Dr Julian Ross. We adopt a team-based approach to teaching with significant input from experienced visiting lecturers, industry experts, and internationally renowned researchers at the University’s Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM). Members of the centre include award-winning documentary filmmaker Dr Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence); award-winning television producer John Wyver; and experimental filmmakers and curators including Michael Maziere, Uriel Orlow and Sarah Pucill.
For further information about the course please contact course leader, Dr Michael Goddard (m.goddard@westminster.ac.uk).
Creative Practice and Art Theory cluster
The MAFTV is part of the postgraduate course cluster Creative Practice and Art Theory. This group of Masters courses brings together dynamic and prestigious programmes in visual and sound arts. In the creative environment of the University of Westminster’s dedicated arts and media campus, our courses offer a unique combination of professional practice, critical inquiry, skills enhancement, and contextual, specialist or interdisciplinary knowledge. Several of the MAs in this group are the first of their kind in the UK, and all lead the way in establishing new avenues of practice and disciplinary thought.
Our Harrow Campus boasts wide-ranging multimedia facilities built and equipped to the highest standards. The University’s three public exhibition spaces Ambika P3, London Gallery West and Regent Street Cinema offer exciting and dynamic year-round programmes of cinema, photography and multimedia art.