MA Screen Studies

The MA Screen Studies is designed for you if you have an interest in both the industrial and economic aspects of contemporary screen entertainment media (especially film and television) and in the complex ways in which they interact with societies and cultures on a global level.

Whether it is blockbuster films from Conglomerate Hollywood; independent documentaries that are distributed online; streaming platforms and services that provide competition to and new opportunities for existing content; public service broadcasting that redefines its remit; or cult television shows that are defined as much by the practices of their fans as they are by their storylines, screen entertainment media operate in ever-changing conditions of production, dissemination and consumption. 

The programme aims to provide you with the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge of the industrial and cultural dimensions that permeate screen entertainment media. Focusing on both the historical evolution of film and television and their shifting place in contemporary screen industries and cultures, it aspires to help you understand the complexity of current media trends on a global scale while also cultivating transferrable skills related to media research, applied knowledge, real world insights and practical experience, all strongly informed by digital-led approaches and tools. Strongly interdisciplinary, the course brings together elements of film studies, media studies, communication studies, policy studies, political economy and others. 

The MA provides excellent preparation for a research degree in a Department with a strongly established “Screen and Film Studies” research cluster, but it is also intended to answer the needs of students who wish to master skills and expertise as a means to building a career in the field of screen industries, and to improve employability skills for a career in the broader media and creative industries sector.