Bachelor of Science (Honours) - Media Production (with placement year)

The sandwich Media Production route adds a salaried year in the screen industries between the taught levels, extending the degree to four years while the academic programme mirrors the standard course across camera, sound, editing, directing and production management.

In a freelance industry built on credits and contacts, a placement year does something no coursework can: it produces professional credits, references and a working phone book, and it teaches set etiquette — the unwritten rules about hierarchy, timekeeping and initiative that determine whether a newcomer gets called back.

Students should understand how screen-industry placements are typically secured: through persistence, availability and willingness to start at the bottom rather than through formal graduate-scheme processes, which barely exist in production. The faculty supports CV, showreel and approach preparation, while the student drives the search. In-house corporate content teams offer the most structured and best-paid placements and are worth prioritising. The four-year structure is recorded in the source, at the £17,300 taught-year fee across the three September cycles listed, with the reduced placement-year rate confirmed through the usual offer process.

Placement destinations span production companies, broadcasters, post-production facilities and the in-house content teams now operating inside most large organisations, and students return with real productions to point at when the final-year major project begins.

Placement pay covers much of the year’s cost and often continues as freelance work afterwards, which matters in a sector where the first year post-graduation is typically pieced together from short contracts. Completion sits within the 18-month Graduate Route settlement for post-2026 applications, dependants excluded on taught study.