Media Production BA (Hons)

Modules

We’re planning to run the modules listed below in the academic year 2026/27. We’ve made some changes to keep the course fresh and future-facing.

• What’s changed on this course?

  Year 1

  • The core module Creative Practice: Production, Distribution and Promotion (2026/27) is new and replaces Creative Practice: Producing and Curating (2025/26).
  • The core module Creative Video (2026/27) is new and replaces Photography: Practice and Theory (2025/26).
  • The core module Photography: Practice and Theory (2026/27) is now offered in Semester 1. It used to be offered in Semester 2 in 2025/26.

  Year 2

  • The core module Media Creation (2026/27) is new and replaces Interactive Design (2025/26).
  • The core module Media Production: Research and Contexts (2026/27) is new and replaces Industry Brief (2025/26).

  Year 3

  • The core module Emerging Technologies (2026/27) is new and replaces Theorising Media Practice (2025/26).
  • The core module Media Project (2026/27) is new and replaces Project Development (2025/26). In 2026/27, it is 60 credits and offered across Semesters 1 and 2. 
  • The core module Video Essays (2026/27) is new and replaces Alternative Cultures (2025/26).

• Year 1 at Sussex

  Your modules

  Core modules

  Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

  Autumn teaching

  • Creative Practice: Ideas and Exploration
  • Creative Video
  • Sonic Narratives

  Spring teaching

  • Communication Design
  • Creative Practice: Producing and Curating
  • Photography: Practice and Theory

  Your degree

  Teaching

  Teaching methods typically include lectures, seminars and workshops.

  

  25%: Lecture
  20%: Seminar
  50%: Practical
  5%: One-to-one

  Assessment

  Assessment methods typically include creative, practical and written components.

  Contact hours and workload

  This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 250 hours of contact time and about 950 hours of independent study.

  Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course. 

• Year 2 at Sussex

  Your modules

  Core modules

  Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

  Autumn teaching

  • Career Strategies in the Creative Sector
  • Media Creation

  Spring teaching

  • Media Production: Research and Context

  Options

  Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

  While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

  Autumn teaching

  • Factual Storytelling
  • Motion Design

  Spring teaching

  • Animation
  • Games: Design and Criticism
  • Marketing Communication and Video Production
  • Photography: Critical Narratives
  • Podcasting

  Your degree

  Teaching

  Teaching methods typically include lectures, seminars and workshops.

  

  25%: Lecture
  20%: Seminar
  50%: Practical
  5%: One-to-one

  Assessment

  Assessment methods typically include creative, practical and written components..

  Contact hours and workload

  This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 250 hours of contact time and about 950 hours of independent study.

  Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course. 

• Experience Year

  Study abroad (optional)

  Apply to study abroad – you’ll develop an international perspective and gain an edge when it comes to your career. Find out where your course could take you

  If your application to study abroad is successful, you’ll have to meet the academic requirements at Sussex and also at the partner university. Find out more about studying abroad as a Sussex student

  Placement (optional)

  To help you gain experience and increase your employability, you can apply for an optional placement as part of your course. You’ll be responsible for applying for and securing your placement. Our dedicated careers team can provide you with information and advice. If you’re successful in obtaining a placement, this will form part of your course.

  Find out more about placements and internships

  Please note that if you’re receiving – or applying for – USA federal Direct Loan funds, you can’t transfer to the version of your course with an optional study abroad period in any country or optional placement in the USA if the number of credits for the placement/internship exceeds 25% of the total credits for your course. Find out more about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid

• Year 3 at Sussex

  Your modules

  Core modules

  Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

  Autumn and spring teaching

  • Media Project CCP

  Autumn teaching

  • Emerging Technologies

  Spring teaching

  • Video Essays: Practice-Research

  Options

  Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

  While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

  Autumn teaching

  • Body Politics, Technology & Optimisation
  • Film and Social Change
  • Social Media, Activism and Advocacy

  Spring teaching

  • DIY Futures: Creative Entrepreneurship
  • Utopian Cultural Politics and New Horizons

  Your degree

  Teaching

  Teaching methods typically include lectures, seminars and workshops.

  

  25%: Lecture
  20%: Seminar
  50%: Practical
  5%: One-to-one

  Assessment

  Assessment methods typically include creative, practical and written components..

  Contact hours and workload

  This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 250 hours of contact time and about 950 hours of independent study.

  Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course. 

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.