Media and Communication

Media and communication is a discipline concerned with the systems, practices and institutions through which information, stories and ideas are produced and circulated in society. It asks fundamental questions: how is media made, who makes it, how is it consumed, and whose interests does it serve? As Birmingham City University's own description of the course notes, these are not abstract questions but ones with significant implications for which stories and voices are prioritised and which are overlooked.

Understanding media is increasingly important in a world where digital platforms have transformed both the production and consumption of communication at every level.

At Birmingham City University this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year and embedded work placement opportunities, connecting academic study of media to direct professional experience. Birmingham's position as one of the UK's most dynamic and diverse cities, with a thriving creative and media sector, enriches the learning environment and the range of placement and industry connections available. You will study the history and theory of media institutions and genres, the economics of media production, journalism and broadcasting practices, digital media and social platforms, and the political economy of communication.

Critical and cultural approaches sit alongside practical media skills, developing both your analytical capacity and your ability to produce media content.

The sandwich year and placements mean you develop professional relationships and experience before you graduate, which is particularly valuable in a competitive creative and media labour market.

Graduates pursue careers in journalism, broadcasting, digital content, public relations, advertising, communications management, social media, film and television production, publishing and the public sector. Many go on to postgraduate study in journalism, media studies, film, communications or related disciplines. The degree is well suited to anyone who wants to understand how media shapes society and to contribute to that shaping in an informed and critical way.