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Introduction
Why choose this course?
Key features
 Learn in a real cinema environment thanks to our partnership with Leicester’s Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre, while benefiting from placement opportunities and the chance to organise and manage an annual film festival.
 Select a route through this degree in Creative Writing, Drama, English Language, English Literature, History, Journalism or Media. These carefully chosen routes will complement and enrich your understanding of your main subject, alongside broadening your skillset to give you a wider range of career paths upon graduation.
 Benefit from experts in our prestigious Cinema and Television History Research Institute, as well as guest lectures from established film directors, exhibitors, writers, distributors, and journalists.
 Graduates have gone on to work for high-profile employers including the BBC and Odeon Entertainment in varied roles including research, teaching and writing for film, public relations and film journalism.
 Gain valuable international experience as part of your studies with our DMU Global programme. Students have been able to immerse themselves in Hollywood’s fan culture, tour iconic cinemas in Berlin and attend the famous Cannes Film Festival.
 Benefit from Education 2030, where a simplified ‘block learning’ timetable means you will study one subject at a time and have more time to engage with your learning, receive faster feedback and enjoy a better study-life balance.
Overview
In an increasingly media-focused world, this course will develop your existing passion for film and TV into a prospective career, helping you acquire a skillset required for many technical and creative roles.
You will gain a strong theoretical understanding of film history and theory, and explore areas such as Disney, Warner Bros and the business of the Film Studio, Cinemas of the World and Fan and Material Cultures. You will also develop practical skills in diverse areas including film making, film reviewing, screen archives and film festival planning.
This course combines practice and theoretical study, giving you a strong theoretical understanding, as well as transferable skills such as communication and critical analysis. Our graduates go on to work in a variety of fields, including film and TV, but also finance, public relations and tourism.
Modules
Year one
 Block 1: Filmmaking 1 – Introduction to Moving Image Production
 Block 2: Film History and Theory 1 - Foundations of Film Studies: Concepts, Analysis, Film History
 Block 3: The Film Industry 1 - Disney, Warner Bros and the Business of the Film Studio OR you can select to study one route from the list below:
 Media: Media, Culture and Society
 Journalism: Understanding Journalism
 English Language: Evolving Language
 Creative Writing: Writers Salon
 English Literature: Introduction to Drama: Shakespeare
 History: Global Cities
 Drama: Shifting Stages
 Block 4: Professional Practice 1 – Film Reviewing
Year two
 Block 1: Film History and Theory 2 – Cinemas of the World: Concepts, Movements, Case Studies
 Block 2: Filmmaking 2 - Moving Image Portfolio
 Block 3: Professional Practice 2 – Screen Archives: Preservation, Conservation and Usage OR continue with the route selected in the first year:
 Media: Public Relations
 Journalism: Beyond News
 English Language: Sociolinguistics
 Creative Writing: Story Craft
 English Literature: Digital Humanities
 History: Humans and the Natural World
 Drama: Theatre Revolutions
 Block 4: The Film Industry 2 – Filmmakers
Year three
 Block 1: Professional Practice 3 - Planning Film Festivals OR The Film Industry 3 - The Film Industry Now
 Block 2: Professional Practice 4 - Delivering Film Festivals OR The Film Industry 4 – Fan and Material Cultures
 Block 3: Filmmaking 3 – Independent Project: Idea Development and Pre-production OR Film History and Theory 3 – British Cinema: Creativity,
Independents and Interdependence OR continue with the study route selected in the first and second year:
 Media: Gender and TV Fictions
 Journalism: Music, Film and Entertainment Journalism
 English Language: Language, Gender and Sexuality
 Creative Writing: Creative Misbehaviour
 English Literature: World Englishes
 History: The World on Display
 Drama: Performance, Identity and Society
 Block 4: Filmmaking 4 – Independent Project: Production and Delivery OR Film History and Theory 4 – Film Studies Dissertation
Entry Criteria
ENTRY REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Home Office Share Code
For EU students only.
IF no Qualification
Please provide CV with at least 2 years of work experience, and employee reference letter.
Entry criteria
 Normally 104 UCAS points from at least two A-levels or
 BTEC National Diploma/ Extended Diploma at DMM
Plus, five GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English or equivalent.
Alternative qualifications include:
Pass in the QAA-accredited Access to HE course with at least 30 level 3 credits at Merit or equivalent, with English GCSE required as a separate qualification.
We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.
 International Baccalaureate: 24+ points
 T Levels Merit
Portfolio Required : No
Interview Required: No
Mature students
We welcome applications from mature students with non-standard qualifications and recognise all other equivalent and international qualifications.
English language
If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential. English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.
Contextual offer
To make sure you get fair and equal access to higher education, when looking at your application, we consider more than just your grades. So if you are eligible, you may receive a contextual offer.
Assessment
ASSESSMENT METHODS
1. INTERNAL ENGLISH TEST if you don't have an English accredited certificate
2. Academic Interview
Teaching
This is a full-time course. Each module is worth 30 credits. Outside of your normal timetabled hours you will be expected to conduct independent study each week to complete preparation tasks, assessments and research.
Course delivery is in block mode, which means each 30 credit module consists of a seven week teaching block.
The programme will be delivered through a series of tutor- and student-led lectures, seminars and workshops. A key goal of Film Studies has been to provide a programme offering academic modules drawing on the world-class scholarship and expertise of the DMU Film Studies team (spanning film history, industry, theory, criticism, and contexts) alongside modules delivering high-quality, distinctive and varied practice and employability-related learning, teaching, and experiential opportunities, while retaining the programme's well-established goal of producing film analysts, scholars and historians. As such, modules are offered within four key strands of the programme: Film History and Theory, Filmmaking, Profession Practical and The Film Industry. Students will study one module in each strand in Year 1/Level 4 and Year 2/Level 5, before choosing two strands to focus on, taking two modules in each of these strands in Year 3/Level 6. This will provide students with both a broad exposure to the full range of topics within their discipline, while also offering them the ability to specialise in specific areas which are of particular interest and value to them.
Assessment
Assessments have been designed to correspond to the QAA benchmarks and to enhance students' subject-related employability and transferable skills. There are no formal examinations, but rather a wide variety of assessment strategies, from essays, primary research projects and oral presentations to varied forms of assessed creative and professional practice.
Academic expertise
Film Studies at DMU is taught by renowned world-class scholars based in our prestigious Cinema and Television History Institute (CATHI). You will be taught by experienced subject experts with a range of relevant professional, industry and creative expertise. The teaching team is made up of widely published academics, film journalists, film-makers and industry professionals. You will benefit from a quality learning and teaching experience.
Our teaching team has close connections with film directors, writers, distributors and journalists who give guest lectures, ensuring your learning is relevant to current practice.
Film Studies at DMU is closely affiliated with Leicester’s Phoenix Cinema, which also acts as a base for employment and work experience opportunities, ensuring our students are ready for employment upon graduation.
Career Opportunities
Placements
Work placements are offered as part of this course and can boost your skills and experience while studying, as well as improving your chances of gaining a graduate level job.
We have links with organisations both in the UK and internationally, and the placements team can help you find a placement to suit your interests and aspirations.
Our partnership with Leicester’s Phoenix Cinema provides placement opportunities that Film Studies students can get involved with. Film Studies students have also gone on to do internships with BBC Films, Warp Films and others.
DMUglobal
Our innovative international experience programme 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.
Film studies students have been on trips to the famous Cannes Film Festival and also the WonderCon comic book, science fiction, and film convention in Hollywood, where they immersed themselves in fan culture and met celebrities on the red carpet of a premiere. Students have also been to visit one of the most iconic and historically important cinemas in Berlin.
Graduate careers
The course provides a broad grounding in film history, criticism, practice and industry skills. Students may pursue a variety of careers in the film and cultural industries.
Over the past five years, graduates have gone on to work for employers such as BBC Films, BBC Sport, Film4 and Odeon Entertainment. They’ve also gone on to work in roles as film and television production staff and researchers, writers for film news media, public relations writers and executives, film journalists, independent film-makers, camera people, and commercial managers.
Other students have gone on to work as teachers and academics, or pursued careers in PR, banking, finance and other fields. Film Studies is also ideal preparation for further study, with our postgraduate options including the International Film Production MA.
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