UCAS code P901
This four-year programme combines our three-year Communication and Media programme with the opportunity to take a salaried placement of approximately 40 weeks with a relevant employer in your third year. Your placement will allow you to apply your learning in the workplace, as well as preparing you for your future career.
The world we live in is dominated by media in many forms. From entertainment and culture, through news and social media, to politics and promotion: the media shapes our understanding of what we know and what we consume. Whether you want to work in one of these areas, to research their impact or simply to understand more about our relationship with media, this programme provides a thorough introduction with plenty of opportunities to develop specialist skills.
During your first year, you will develop your foundational understanding and academic skills through core modules in media, communication and language. As your degree progresses, you will have the opportunity to tailor your studies through a wide range of optional modules in topics such as political communication, screen media, virtual worlds, digital cultures, media writing, language and public relations. These modules will allow you to pursue your own interests and focus on particular media and communication forms, analysing how they are organised as text, how they represent the world to us and ourselves to the world, and how the media industries are organised to produce and profit from them. We teach all of our students to acquire strong research skills, and you’ll be given the opportunity to practice them through independent or collaborative research.
This programme is available with an optional year in industry. If you choose this option, year three is spent on a paid placement within an organisation in industry, broadly defined. You will be supported by the School of the Arts and the Department throughout, and your reflexive written account of the experience will contribute towards your final degree result. If you wish to study this programme with a year in industry, please put the option code ‘YI’ in the ‘further choices’ section of your UCAS application form.
Your third year will be spent on a paid placement within an organisation in the media industry, broadly defined. You will be supported by the Department and the School of the Arts throughout, and your reflexive written account of the experience will contribute towards your final degree result.
Our final year module ‘Viral Video’ enables students to develop practical skills in videomaking. Check out their efforts on our dedicated YouTube page, or search ‘Media/Pool’.
We want you to feel welcome from the moment you apply to study at Liverpool. We offer lots of support for our students who are moving from abroad. We can welcome you at Manchester Airport with our meet and greet service (for September starts) and we have a friendly International Advice and Guidance team who run events to welcome you on to campus and provide in person support and events all year round.
Discover what you'll learn, what you'll study, and how you'll be taught and assessed.
Everybody who studies with us takes core Communication and Media modules in year one. These introduce key ideas and theories in Communication and Media and offer a basic understanding of many of the key areas of the subject in which you may choose to specialise later on. Besides introducing students to Communication and Media as a subject, our first year is designed to support you as you acquire and practice the academic and analytical skills you will need to succeed as a student and in your chosen career.
Programme details and modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change.
Your year two modules offer plenty of options, so you can begin to specialise in the areas which interest you most or which might prove valuable for your chosen career. For example, you can delve more deeply into film and the entertainment industry, the representation of self and society, or the interplay between global media and war. Or you can explore some of the practices associated with media writing and promotional media. All students also take two modules which will introduce you to academic research and support you to practice and develop your research skills.
Alongside these, you will take a module (SOTA260) which offers thorough preparation for your year in industry, focusing on acquiring employability skills and presenting yourself to prospective employers.
NB: most of our Year Two modules are offered in 15-credit and 30-credit versions so, for simplicity, the list below only includes 30-credit versions.
| Compulsory modules | Credits |
|---|---|
| COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA RESEARCH I (COMM207) | 15 |
| COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA RESEARCH II (COMM208) | 15 |
| PROFESSIONAL AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT (COMM260) | 15 |
Programme details and modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change.
You will spend Year Three on a paid placement within an organisation in the media industry, broadly defined. Support for your placement will be provided by the Department and the School of the Arts. Your reflexive written account of the experience, connecting it to your academic studies, will contribute towards your final degree result, before your programme concludes with a fourth and final year of academic study in Liverpool.
| Compulsory modules | Credits |
|---|---|
| COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA YEAR IN INDUSTRY (COMM600) | 120 |
Programme details and modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change.
Your final year offers an even wider range of options, designed to provide opportunities to specialise further in your chosen areas of the subject and to strengthen your employability and research skills. Some modules encourage you to deepen your understanding of the topics studied in year two, but you can also learn to study magazines and design your own, explore how media represent human rights issues or the environment, or discover areas as diverse as photography, strategic communication or queer film, for example.
All of our students undertake a project involving their own sustained, research-based work in their final year, whether by taking the Dissertation module, collaborating on staff research, or producing brief videos to client.
Students must choose one of the following modules in the list below: COMM401, COMM342 or COMM335.
Programme details and modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change.
Media coverage represents the most important method for communicating key issues and developments in most subject areas to the wider world, so Communication and Media makes an excellent partner for 50:50 combinations with another subject of your choice. This means that you will find plenty of opportunities for crossover between your other subject and Communication and Media, but you will still study core modules from both. In Communication and Media, the full range of our modules will be open to you in years two and four.
Weekly lectures and seminar discussions may be supplemented by screening sessions, presentations and opportunities for group work where appropriate. We regularly invite expert speakers and practitioners to speak to our students about their work. Some modules also make use of our specialist equipment or software.
Dissertation and work placement modules involve more independent study, but always under the careful individual supervision of a member of academic staff.
We are committed to using a range of different forms of assessment, so types of assessment vary widely from module to module. Depending on your choice of modules, these may include coursework projects, essays, blogs, reports, literature reviews, writing exercises, presentations, online tests and unseen examinations.
We have a distinctive approach to education, the Liverpool Curriculum Framework, which focuses on research-connected teaching, active learning, and authentic assessment to ensure our students graduate as digitally fluent and confident global citizens.
The Liverpool Curriculum framework sets out our distinctive approach to education. Our teaching staff support our students to develop academic knowledge, skills, and understanding alongside our graduate attributes:
Our curriculum is characterised by the three Liverpool Hallmarks:
All this is underpinned by our core value of inclusivity and commitment to providing a curriculum that is accessible to all students.
The qualifications and exam results you'll need to apply for this course.
| Qualification | Details |
|---|---|
| International Baccalaureate | 26 points overall with no score less than 4, or Pass the IB Diploma plus 5,4,4 in 3 HL subjects. Plus a minimum of 5 in SL Maths or 4 in HL Maths and 5 in SL/HL English A or 7 in SL English B or 6 in HL English B |
| HKDSE | 433 from 2 electives plus one core subject (excluding Citizenship and Social Development) and a minimum grade 3 in core Mathematics. Grade 4 (with no component less than 4) in HKDSE English Language |
| India Standard XII | Overall average of 60% from four core subjects, a minimum of 75% in English dependent on exam board (not including Hindi, Regional Language, Environmental Education and PE) and a minimum of 50% for Standard X Maths. |
Studying with us means you can tailor your degree to suit you. Here's what is available on this course.
University of Liverpool students can choose from an exciting range of study placements at partner universities worldwide.
Immerse yourself in Chinese culture on an optional additional year at Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University in stunning Suzhou.
Take a semester of your second year of study at one of our worldwide partner institutions.
Spend a summer abroad on a study placement or research project at one of our worldwide partner institutions.
This course is also available without an included year in industry.
View Communication and Media BA (Hons)
To spend a year in industry, you'll need to secure a placement with an organisation. If you're unable to find a placement, you'll continue with the standard version of the course without a year in industry.
Every student at The University of Liverpool can study a language as part of, or alongside their degree. You can choose:
With a combined degree, you can study two subjects as part of the same degree programme.
Explore combined degrees for Communication, Film and Media courses
We are a friendly, close-knit Department with well-established systems to support you to make the most of your abilities. As such, we will get to know you and treat you as an individual, providing support and guidance from your very first day.
From arrival to alumni, we’re with you all the way:
Want to find out more about student life?
Chat with our student ambassadors and ask any questions you have.
This degree will open you to a myriad of jobs in media-related industries and you will have opportunities to undertake a relevant work placement or their own independent research. Many of our modules seek to develop practical skills – such as media writing, blogging, analysis of social media data and video-making.
Our graduates have gone on to careers including:
Former graduates include a television documentary maker, a BBC Radio 1 DJ, senior journalists at local and national newspapers, a partner in a New York-based advertising company, and the features editor of a music weekly.
Hear what graduates say about their career progression and life after university.
Joe Edge is a BA (Hons) Communication and Media graduate, now working as a Social Media Marketing Assistant at USP Creative in Liverpool.
Mia Hargreaves, a recent BA (Hons) Communications and Media graduate, tells us more about her current graduate role.
Your tuition fees, funding your studies, and other costs to consider.
Full-time place, per year - £9,535
Year in industry fee - £1,905
Full-time place, per year - £24,100
Year in industry fee - £1,905
The tuition fees shown are correct for 2025/26 entry. Please note that the year abroad fee also applies to the year in China.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching and assessment, operating facilities such as libraries, IT equipment, and access to academic and personal support. Learn more about paying for your studies.
We understand that budgeting for your time at university is important, and we want to make sure you understand any course-related costs that are not covered by your tuition fee. This could include buying a laptop, books, or stationery.
Find out more about the additional study costs that may apply to this course.
We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries that could help pay your tuition and living expenses.
If you’re a high-achieving international student starting an undergraduate degree with us from September 2024, you could be eligible to receive a fee discount of up to £5,000. You’ll need to achieve grades equivalent to AAA in A levels. Most of our undergraduate degrees are eligible, with the exception of clinical programmes in Medicine and Dental Surgery.
Completed a Kaplan Digital Pathways Foundation Certificate? We’re offering a £5,000 fee discount off the first year of undergraduate study for a maximum of two high achieving students joining one of our non-clinical degrees from an online Kaplan Foundation Certificate.
Apply to receive tailored training support to enhance your sporting performance. Our athlete support package includes a range of benefits, from bespoke strength and conditioning training to physiotherapy sessions and one-to-one nutritional advice.
Completed a Foundation Certificate at University of Liverpool International College (UoLIC)? We’re offering a £5,000 fee discount off the first year of undergraduate study to some of the highest achieving students joining one of our non-clinical degrees from UoLIC.
We’re offering a £1,000 fee discount for years 2 and 3 of undergraduate study to eligible students progressing from University of Liverpool International College. You’ll need to be studying a non-clinical subject and get an average of 70% or above in year 1 of your degree.
If you’re a University of Liverpool International College student awarded a Kaplan Impact Scholarship, we’ll also consider you for an Impact Progression Scholarship. If selected, you’ll receive a £3,000 fee discount off the first year of your undergraduate degree.
Last updated 17 June 2025 / / Programme terms and conditions