Media Production - MA

Currently viewing course to start in 2025/26 Entry.

The MA Media Production course gives you the opportunity to kick start or further your career in the television and radio industries. The course offers a clear progression pathway for students who have already completed undergraduate studies in television or radio....

  • Level Postgraduate Taught
  • Study mode Full Time

This course is:

Open to International Students

Overview

The MA Media Production course gives you the opportunity to kick start or further your career in the television and radio industries. The course offers a clear progression pathway for students who have already completed undergraduate studies in television or radio.

For those who already have industry experience, or are looking to change career path, the course provides the chance to learn additional skills and apply professional media practice to your existing resume.

This course is open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

This master's course is designed to equip you with the professional skills necessary to succeed in the digital media production industry, while grounding your knowledge in production theory.

You will gain a comprehensive understanding of visual and audio mediums and their ongoing evolution. The course embeds professional practice throughout its curriculum, preparing you for careers across a range of digital media, including contemporary online platforms as well as established television and radio broadcasting. You will be encouraged to apply academic thinking to evaluate the current state of digital media, and critically reflect on your performance. Throughout your studies, you will be supported by experienced academic staff, such as documentary producer Sam Coley and television producer Emily Rushmer. You will have access to Adobe Creative Cloud applications and our state-of-the-art facilities at the Parkside campus, including radio and TV studios, and audio and video editing suites. A full range of video and still cameras, lighting, and audio recording equipment will be available for hire, to help you complete your course work.

If you have an interest in video production, you will develop an in-depth understanding of production processes and explore online content development and distribution. Students with an interest in audio production will build skills in sound design, multitrack editing, and audio mastering, with opportunities to create podcasts, on-demand content, or traditional radio documentaries and features. The course includes training in live studio production and presentation skills, along with techniques for creating targeted content for social media platforms. The course encourages aspiring freelancers to develop their entrepreneurial and networking abilities to help launch a professional career. Specialist production modules are designed to mirror industry approaches, requiring teamwork for some assessments. This practical approach has enabled numerous recent MA students to transition seamlessly into professional production roles. The course provides a comprehensive blend of practical experience, theoretical knowledge, and professional development, to ensure you are well-prepared for a career in the digital media production industry.

I wanted to add academic skills to my practical skills - as up until now, everything I learnt in radio was self-taught. The supportive tutors have given me some unbelievable feedback and coming on this course has increased my employability.

David Morrissey

Why Choose Us?

  • You’ll be taught by award-winning academic staff who have an accomplished track record in television and radio production and who continue to work in the industry.
  • Regular guest speaker sessions give you the chance to learn from leading radio practitioners and build your industry networks.
  • Our broadcast standard facilities are regularly used by media companies who incorporate our students into their activities through our paid ‘runners pool’.
  • Our broadcast-quality television studios are supported by the latest editing, sound dubbing and colour grading equipment. You will be supported and trained by an excellent team of specialist technicians.
  • Our digital radio studios use the latest audio production and programme scheduling tools.
  • We offer extensive bespoke careers advice and encourage and support you to develop entrepreneurial skills, essential for a successful freelance career.

OPEN DAY

Join us for an on-campus Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation.

Next Event: 24 November 2024

Book now

Entry Requirements

Essential requirements

Essential Requirements
Essential

You should have or expect to gain at least an upper second-class bachelor's degree in a relevant subject area.

You should be able to demonstrate prior experience of work in television, media production or other media related areas.

Your achievements should clearly demonstrate a keen interest in the television sector.

You are advised to read around the subject of media and to explore examples. Your application should demonstrate your ability to generate and develop ideas, as judged by the MA team.

IELTS 6.0 overall with 5.5 minimum in all bands or its equivalent.

We welcome non-traditional applications, particularly from applicants with substantial professional or production experience. It may also be possible to award module credits via APL/APEL if you can provide evidence of prior learning.

International Students

Entry requirements here

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply
  • UK Student
  • International Student

UK students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: MA

Starting: Sep 2025

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Full Time
  • 1 year
  • £9,190 in 2025/26
  • Full Time
  • 18 months (including Professional Placement - see below*)
  • £10,110 in 2025/26

International students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: MA

Starting: Sep 2025

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Full Time
  • 1 year
  • £18,600 in 2025/26
  • Full Time
  • 18 months (including Professional Placement - see below*)
  • £20,460 in 2025/26

Access to computer equipment

You will require use of a laptop, and most students do prefer to have their own. However, you can borrow a laptop from the university or use one of our shared computer rooms.

Printing

You will receive £5 print credit in each year of your course, available after enrolment.

Field trips

All essential field trips and associated travel costs will be included in your course fees.

Access to Microsoft Office 365

Every student at the University can download a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use whilst at university and for 18 months after graduation.

Key software

You will be able to download SPSS and Nvivo to your home computer to support with your studies and research.

Key subscriptions

Subscriptions to key journals and websites are available through our library.

Excess printing (optional)

Once you have spent your £5 credit, additional printing on campus costs from 5p per sheet.

Books (optional)

All module key texts will be in the University library, but in limited numbers. You may choose to purchase a copy.

Placement expenses (optional)

If you choose to undertake a placement, you'll need to budget for accommodation and any travel costs you may incur whilst living or working away from home.

Field trips (optional)

This course includes the option of additional trips that may enhance your experience, at extra cost.

Personal stationery and study materials (optional)

Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £30 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials.

Accommodation and living costs

The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.

*Professional Placement option

The Professional Placement version of the course is optional and is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course.

This will allow you to complete a credit bearing, 20 week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.

You will be responsible for finding and securing your own placement. The University, however, will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will also benefit from support sessions delivered by Careers+ as well as advice and guidance from your School.

Placements will only be confirmed following a competitive, employer-led selection process, therefore the University will not be able to guarantee placements for students who have registered for the ‘with Professional Placement’ course. All students who do not find a suitable placement or do not pass the competitive selection process will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.

Personal statement

You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.

If you are applying for a stand alone module, please include the title of the module you want to study in your Personal Statement.

Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.

Course in Depth

Module

In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits):

Download course specification

Download now

Course structure

The MA Media Production course is suitable for those wishing to enter the industry or who are already forging a career in broadcasting and want to attain a well-respected academic qualification to complement their skills. It may also be of interest to those looking to change their career path. As we provide a range of training opportunities early in the course, even students with limited media experience can acquire the level of skill needed to complete course requirements. The course runs full time over the period of one year. Although you will have set classes each week in semesters one and two, you will also have time made available to hire out equipment / studios and carry out research, in order to complete course work and build your skills.

You will be assessed through a variety of practical course work, written critical evaluations and industry / audience analysis.

You’ll work independently and within teams on a number of projects and you’ll be expected to take full advantage of our broadcast-quality studios to produce exceptional pieces.

Your final project, worth 60 credits, is your MA by Practice or by Dissertation, so you will have the choice between cutting-edge production-based assessment or a more traditional theory dissertation assessment - or you can opt to undertake a combination of the two.

At the end of the course, you will be able to map the core knowledge of the key theoretical approaches to understanding the professional practices in television and radio production, existing intellectual challenges faced by the industry, and scholarly and professional techniques.

You will be able to work independently and in teams to produce television / radio / online content, having developed innovative research strategies to deal with complex issues in original cases.

Classroom activities and projects

Our students have the freedom to take control of their studies by choosing projects that reflect their particular broadcasting interests. Past production projects have included television documentaries, studio based shows, video content online channels and projects developed with external and internal clients including Aston Martin Racing, Help the Aged, Vietnamese State Broadcasting, the National Theatre and the BBC Digital production department. 

Past radio production projects have included radio dramas, audio slideshows, music documentaries, podcasts and instore radio programming.

Students have also produced real world course work for the Birmingham Music Archive, the Birmingham Town Hall and the Birmingham Public Library.


Student stories

Luca Piparo Media Production student stories

Luca Piparo

Radio producer and presenter of a weekly music show at Radio ARA in Luxembourg


"I feel that my work is now more efficient than before. Besides the technical and creative things, the skills I learned during my course gave me a professional method to do my work and a guideline on to how to critically evaluate radio and my work. I’d do another MA at BCU If I had the chance!"

Employability

Enhancing employability skills

The aim of our MA Media Production course is to prepare you for a career in the fast-paced world of media and broadcasting. Thanks to our outstanding facilities and reputation for producing work-ready, highly skilled graduates who are already proficient on industry-quality equipment, our students are sought after.

You’ll have worked with guest lecturers who are working within the industry and you’ll have gained good contacts during your course, all of which will stand you in good stead when looking for employment.

It is very useful to have an idea what you would like to do when the MA has finished. Ambition is strongly encouraged. We have a very experienced professional development team who have worked in the radio and television industries and are widely networked with professionals currently working in production.

An individual professional development plan is created with the help of staff and the practicalities of achieving professional goals is covered in detail. You will create appropriate CV’s and covering letters, mock interviews are offered and actively encouraged. 

Placements

You are encouraged to find a placement or work with an external client while studying on the course. This is an ideal way to build your network, an essential element of working in the short-term contract, freelance structure of the television and radio industries.

Because we work with people across the industry – both in the UK and overseas – you might be offered the opportunity to work with global professionals and clients.

Students with an interest in television production will be able to apply for established placement schemes with Sky and the BBC Drama department in Birmingham. Many opportunities are connected with production activity in and around the city. For example, we work closely with Film Birmingham who appreciate the ‘industry ready’ abilities of our students and graduates. Recent films produced in Birmingham, which included paid placements for our students, include The Girl with All the Gifts, Kingsman 2 and Stephen Spielberg’s Ready Player One. The BBC also approach us regularly with opportunities including producing original content for BBC Three online and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show.

Some of our radio students have partnered with American student radio stations to produce award-winning programmes.

More about our placement opportunities

Graduate stories

Rebekah Pennington

A graduate of the MA Radio and Audio Production course (now titled MA Media Production), Rebekah was able to secure an extensive placement at Global Radio though her coursework.

Rebekah Woolley profile picture

Rebekah Woolley

Rebekah Woolley successfully secured a placement with BBC drama Doctors whilst still on the course, which subsequently lead to paid work. She has since worked as a production secretary on the BBC period drama Father Brown, series two of Poldark, and the final series of the ITV drama, Broadchurch.  


Links to Industry

Film Birmingham recognise our ability to provide industry literate students who are regularly hired for runner and location assistant roles on productions shot in and around the city.

Local media companies Maverick (Embarrassing Bodies) North One (The Gadget Show, Guy Martin) and 7 Wonder (Make My Body Better with Davina McCall) regularly offer placement opportunities directly to our students and many of our graduates have been offered entry level paid work based on their voluntary engagement with these companies.

Our radio students have had the chance to work closely with local organisations such as the Library of Birmingham and the Birmingham Town Hall venue to create real world media as part of their course work. 

International

Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

Students from countries such as China, Vietnam, Spain, Pakistan, Germany, Italy and Ireland have joined past MA media courses. The language of radio production is international, meaning the skills the course teaches can be employed in a variety of radio stations around the world.


Student stories

Yu Xiao

Yu came from China to study on the MA Radio and Audio Production course (now MA Media Production). Yu chose to live and study in Birmingham as she felt the living costs in London were too great.

Facilities & Staff

Our Facilities

When you join Birmingham City University, the first thing you will notice is the high standard of our campuses.

With an investment of over £400 million across our buildings and facilities, we are committed to giving you the very best learning environment to help shape your experience.

State-of-the-art facilities

You will learn in our state-of-the-art facilities - including the £62m fully-digital Media Centre - located on the City Centre Campus. You will enjoy access to extensive studio and workshop space including four TV studios, six radio studios and broadcast-standard edit suites, as well as cutting-edge equipment and software.

Facilities include the largest TV floor of any university in the UK, a ‘green screen’ and a BOLT JR+ high-speed camera robot.

An excellent team of tutors and technicians supports our production facilities. We actively encourage our students to utilise the facilities beyond the set course work to build up a varied portfolio of work.

You will have the opportunity to work with the composing students based in the Conservatoire and commission original music for a wide range of projects. Our animation and graphic design students are happy to work closely with our students to provide opening title sequences and the Film Production and Sound Engineering students help crew productions. The Arts, Design and Media faculty uniquely offers our production students the opportunity to ‘commission’ every element of television and radio production work from fellow students.  

Our staff

Dr Sam Coley

Associate Professor, College Academic Lead for Distance & Transnational Education Course Leader MA Media Production

Sam Coley is the College Academic Lead for Distance and Transnational Education at the Birmingham College of English and Media. He is also Award Leader for the MA Media Production and teaches a range of undergraduate and postgraduate audio production modules.

More about Sam

Dave Harte

Head of the College of English and Media (interim)

Dave Harte is Associate Professor in Journalism and Media Studies. His research is focused on local and community journalism, and he has published widely on these topics.

More about Dave

Dr Sarah Wood

Deputy Dean for Business, Law and Social Sciences

Sarah Wood holds degrees from JMU, the University of Liverpool, and Birmingham City University, where she gained her PhD. Her research interests are in feminism and science fiction. She has an article on Octavia Butler forthcoming in FEMSPEC and is working on further studies of Butler as well as of Nalo Hopkinson and slave narrative.

More about Sarah