This course will help you to develop a valuable set of skills, knowledge and understanding of the role of media and PR in contemporary societies, allowing you access to a range of future employment opportunities.
This course combines a thorough understanding of mass-media theory and practices with an insight into the workings of the PR industry, exploring the full range of integrated PR activities and becoming an effective and responsible media analyst and communicator.
You will develop PR consulting and planning capabilities and learn how to express yourself using appropriate media – able to influence and inform opinion.
Throughout this course your will acquire valuable research and project initiation experience whilst working both independently and in teams.
This course combines a thorough understanding of theories and practices in the area of mass media, marketing and public relations, with an insight into the workings of the industries. The media communications curriculum will enable you to become an effective and responsible media analyst and communicator, and to understand the role of media in contemporary societies.
You will study the practices involved in producing, describing, analysing and responding to the media. The Media side of the degree aims to provide you knowledge of the social, political and historical dimensions of contemporary media forms and institutions and introduce you to the major schools of critical theory and their relationship to the media and media texts.
The course also has an emphasis on practical skills (in the area of radio and written journalism), and it embeds more recent media forms all across the course units. The marketing and the public relations elements of the curriculum cover both theoretical and practical aspects of marketing and PR, and they are also contextualised within some elements of brand management and corporate communications.
The marketing and PR side of the degree aims to provide you with key knowledge and business skills to pursue a career in marketing and public relations, to gain knowledge of marketing practices (e.g. experiential and digital), and to develop your public relations counselling and planning capabilities.
This course will give you sound practical and academic skills in research, summarising, preparing logical arguments and reports, clear thinking and powers of persuasion, problem solving and analysis. It will also allow you to develop responsibility for your own learning and an ability to initiate a research project, making you able to establish working relationships with others.
This combined course prepares you for a wide range of employment opportunities in the creative industries by combining practical and theoretical skills, knowledge in mass communications study as well as in marketing and in the public relations industries.
Students are assessed in a variety of ways. The majority of units are assessed through coursework, portfolios, essays, presentations or, in a few cases, exams. Presentations and practice-based activities may be developed as group-work, although you will be assessed individually At level 4 you are assessed on your understanding of the fundamental concepts and disciplines of which media communications, marketing and Public Relations are composed. At level 5 you are assessed on your ability to apply the basic concepts of the disciplines introduced in level 4 to existing controversies and issues on which there is already a body of research and critical opinion. At level 6 you will be required to demonstrate independent powers of judgement, and you will be expected to show an awareness of the major theories and practices of the disciplines. You will progress from well defined briefs to more open-ended and challenging assessments, which culminate in the student initiated level 6 project, which hopefully will combine the areas of media, marketing and public relations.
We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for breadth and depth in your current studies and enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.
You can work out how many UCAS points your qualifications are worth with the UCAS tariff calculator
Contact the Admissions Team for additional guidance on whether the qualifications you currently hold or are taking would be suitable for entry.
T: +44 (0)1582 743500
E: admission@beds.ac.uk
As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.
We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications. See your country page for more details
Check Your Country page to confirm that your local qualifications are suitable or contact your International Admissions Team
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2020/21 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs.
See www.gov.uk/student-finance
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2020/21 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees.
See www.gov.uk/student-finance
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2020/21 is £12,350 per year. A prompt payment discount is available if you pay the full Year 1 fee before or at registration. There are also special scholarships available.
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
If you take any optional Radio units, you will be required to purchase small consumable items, such as memory cards and equipment batteries for use in practical activities.
You will also need a pair of semi-professional headphones (not ear-buds) for listening and for digital editing.
The Campus Centre brings together all our student services under one roof including the Students’ Union and spaces to eat, drink, relax and learn.
There's a large central lecture theatre as well as a range of study rooms & breakout spaces on the upper floors.
The University guarantees accommodation to all new students. Fitzroy Court and Wenlock Court, the two main halls of residence, are located on campus so getting to lectures, shopping in town and participating in events and activities is easy.
The STEM building is home to courses in the subject areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Opened in Autumn 2019, its cutting edge facilities provides four computer laboratories; workshops for subjects such as automotive engineering, cyber-security and robotics, along with three large teaching labs, and four specialist containment labs.
The library is a modern 9-storey building dedicated to study and learning.
As well as traditional library provisions it offers individual and group study spaces, a cafeteria on the ground floor and a ‘Study Hub’ offering guidance and workshops on academic writing and research skills to ensure all Bedfordshire students get the help they need to succeed in their studies.
The Aspire Gym has state of the art cardiovascular equipment with smart phone compatibility. There is also an extensive range of fixed resistance machines and a small free weights area.
Changing rooms with showers and lockers are available for members to use.
The Postgraduate & CPD Centre at Luton campus is home to our University's postgraduate courses and continuing professional development (CPD) students from industry.
The Centre has modern lecture theatres and seminar rooms and a large ground floor lounge area where careers fairs and speaker events take place.
The School of Art and Design is located in the Cultural Quarter of the town.
The Cultural Quarter is a regeneration project to convert the old hat manufacturing area of Luton into a hub for the creative industries.
The Luton campus is right in the centre of town next to a large shopping mall and within easy walking distance of train and bus stations. Luton is the largest town in Bedfordshire, approximately 50km north of London which is a 30-minute train journey away. Luton has excellent transport links to the rest of the UK and Europe.
Application for most full-time undergraduate and foundation courses is via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
We expect to receive UCAS applications between 1 September and 15 January for courses starting in the following academic year, but may consider applications received after this date should places be available.
Please contact admission@beds.ac.uk for further details.
All UK schools and colleges are registered with UCAS to manage their students' applications. Advice on how to submit your UCAS application is available from your school or college.
If you are not at school or college (including mature students) you should apply independently via UCAS
EU students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply via UCAS or direct using our admissions form
International students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country
You can also apply online
Find out more about how to apply as an International student