With an abundance of media companies, agencies, and industry events on our doorstep, there’s nowhere better for you to learn than Birmingham.
Take a look below for the top five reasons why Birmingham School of Media is an ideal place to study your Master's degree.
Creative City
Birmingham is a creative city with a range of cultural institutions ranging from Symphony Hall to fantastic alternative events such as Digbeth First Friday and festivals all year round. The city centre has two cultural quarters where the creative industries tend to be based. Eastside where the Custard Factory, Impact Hub and BCU’s city centre campus can be found, and the famous Jewellery Quarter, which still has many Jewellery workshops alongside digital media companies such as Made Media and Substrakt.
Fantastic events for you to get involved with
The city hosts key industry events such as Hello Culture, which explores how digital technologies and media are disrupting the way cultural organisations can produce, interact, create and curate content, transforming how audiences can engage with cultural experiences. Maker Monday is a monthly event which encourages networking through innovation by combining the expertise of individuals in both arts and technology in a collaborative space. Our postgraduate students have the opportunity to engage with these events, either as participants or by volunteering and helping the organisers. The experimental film and visual arts organisation Flatpack, includes diverse projects and an annual festival.
Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR)
Our research centre, BCMCR, engages in collaborative work across the creative and media industries exploring questions of identity, history & heritage, cultural practice, technology, production, policy and entrepreneurship. The centre hosts weekly research seminars, open to all students, which mix presentations from staff, PhD and MA students and guest speakers. Experimental projects produced by the centre includes the RIFF journal which publishes creative and experimental writing and thinking about popular music.
Birmingham School of Media community
With a thriving undergraduate programme, MA taught courses and PhD students, the School of Media brings together a wide range of interests, experiences and backgrounds. The school benefits from excellent resources in terms of the state of the art facilities and the academic expertise we provide. But it is the creative and collaborative culture nurtured by the School of Media community, staff, students and industry partners, which makes this a great place to study.
Young and Diverse
Birmingham is sometimes described as the youngest city in Europe! According to Birmingham City Council, under 30s make up 45% of the population and the city is ethnically mixed with over 40% of residents from an ethnic group other than white. Sometimes known as ‘the workshop of the world’ Birmingham has always attracted migrants from across the world. This has resulted in a vibrant community and cultural highlights from the annual St Patrick’s Day Parade to Sparkbrook’s ‘Balti Belt’. Leading the way in understanding our diverse young people is Beatfreeks’ Collective, through their Brum Youth Trends 2018 report.
