Film Studies

Film studies approaches cinema as a serious object of intellectual and cultural inquiry, asking how films are made, what they mean, how they reflect and shape society and why they endure. It is a discipline that draws on history, critical theory, aesthetics, sociology and media studies to understand one of the dominant cultural forms of the last hundred and thirty years. The way films reach audiences has changed dramatically, moving from picture palaces to streaming services, but the questions the discipline asks remain urgent.

Films record how people lived, what they feared, what they desired and how they imagined the world differently.

You will study the language and grammar of cinema, learning how editing, cinematography, sound design and mise-en-scene work together to create meaning and emotion. You will encounter a broad range of film traditions, from Hollywood genre cinema to European art film, from global world cinema to documentary and experimental forms. Critical frameworks from psychoanalysis, feminist theory, postcolonial studies and cultural studies will equip you to analyse films at greater depth.

At Salford you will engage with all facets of film as both a cultural and an industrial practice, exploring production contexts, distribution, exhibition and audience reception as well as the films themselves. The programme runs full time over three years.

A film studies degree develops transferable skills in critical analysis, research, written argument and cultural literacy that are valued across many fields. Graduates go on to careers in journalism, media criticism, arts programming, film distribution and exhibition, archiving, education, public relations and creative industries management. Others move into roles in television, digital media and content strategy.

Postgraduate study in film, media studies, cultural studies or creative writing is another route taken by many graduates, and some progress into doctoral research or academic careers.