Media and Environmental Communication BA(Hons)

International equivalencies

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Course structure

The course includes the following areas of study:

• the local and global processes of environmental and social change and their spatial outcomes;
• the relationship between media, culture and society in a globalised world;
• contemporary environmental issues and approaches to their management;
• media industries;
• IT in community development; and
• the production and consumption of global environmental imagery and narratives.

It allows you to develop a programme of study that reflects your interests. There are also opportunities to study modern languages from the first year.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.

Year 1

The first year introduces you to the complex interactions between science, policy and culture.

Modules

• Global Environmental Issues and Management
• Contemporary Human Geographies
• Media, Culture and Change
• Critical Approaches to Media
• Social Action and Community Media

Options*

• Video Production 1
• Photographic Practice 1
• Producing and Consuming Social Media
• Business, Creative Industries and Innovation
• Creative Industries and Promotional Cultures
• Understanding Audiences: Theory and Context
• Film Language and History
• The Soundtrack of Media

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability

Year 2

Year 2 greatly expands your number of options in both environment and media studies.

Modules

• Community Engagement: Actioning Sustainable Development
• Critical Contemporary Geographies
• Research Methods and Methodology
• Sustainable Development 

Options*

• Visual Media Culture
• Language, Media and Power
• Video Production 2
• Photographic Practice 2
• Social Media: Applications and Debates
• Digital Media Enterprise and Innovation
• Brands and Branding
• Media Production Management
• Media and Public Relations
• Journalism
• Media Practices in Everyday Life
• Community Media
• Film Studies
• Popular Music
• Mobile Media Cultures
• Climate Change
• Geographies of Everyday Life
• Environmental Conservation and Management
• Contemporary Rural Geographies
• Geographies of Development
• Environmental Hazards
• Environmental Planning
• Environmental Pollution and Control
• Geographical Information Systems 1
• Renewable Energy

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability

Placement year

A placement year offers you a great opportunity to:

• build knowledge of real-world businesses and organisations;
• develop existing skills and discover new ones;
• make contacts in industry and commerce;
• increase your confidence; and
• improve your time management.

In recent years, our students have been successful in competing for nationally advertised positions with the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Transport for London, the Field Studies Council and the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Other students have secured placements with environmental firms and consultancies, a multi-national telecommunications company and a renewable energy research centre in Spain.

Final year

For your dissertation, you can either write a traditional essay or do a production-based project. The rest of the final year consists of optional modules for you to choose from as you start thinking about life beyond university.

Modules

• Dissertation or Production-based Dissertation

Options*

• Political Ecology: Geographies of Environment and Development
• Air Quality Management
• Environmental Assessment
• Water and Health
• Waste Management
• Medical Geographies
• Geography of Genders, Sex and Sexualities
• Geographies of Disability and Impairment
• Geographies of Education
• Landscape Geographies
• Geographies of Racism and Security
• Independent Study 
• Geographical Information Systems 2
• Placement
• National and Global Media Studies
• Media Policy
• Mediating Science and Technology
• Critical Approaches to the Video Game
• Celebrity Media
• Transmedia Cultures
• Sustainability and Innovation in Digital Culture
• Digital Media Marketing and Innovation
• Critical Issues in Political Communication
• Communication and Development
• Genre and Film
• Community Project
• Environmental Politics and Society
• Transport, Mobility and Social Exclusion 

Why Brighton?

• Work placements with high-profile organisations

• Opportunities to volunteer through our Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP) and contribute to local efforts toward sustainability

• Optional overseas field trip to North Africa

Staff Profile 

Dr Frauke Behrendt, Course leader

Dr Frauke Behrendt is a Principal Lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Brighton. She let the EPSRC-funded research project ‘Smart e-bikes – understanding how commuters and communities engage with electrically-assisted cycling’ and the research on the NetPark project.

Her research contributes to the understanding of both the design process and the user experience of emerging/innovative mobile and digital technologies. Her findings have impact in the areas of media, mobility, sustainability, interaction design, sound studies, intelligent transport and smart cities. Frauke's results and insights translate into policy, design and teaching.

Find out about our other teaching staff:

Julie Doyle, Olu Jenzen, Paula Hearsum, Aristea Fotopoulou, Paul Ryan, Theo Koulouris, Irmi Karl, Peter Day, Julia Winckler, Ryan Burns, Patricia Prietro-Blanco, Lance Dann, Maria Short, Martin de Saulles, Iestyn George, Doug Lyon.

Student views

Tegan Sonvico-Christov

“I'm really enjoying the course. It's important to realise how multidisciplinary it is – we go into classes from media studies, environmental studies and human geography. I personally love the mix because it's almost impossible to get bored and it can open your mind and take you to interests you wouldn't discover otherwise. I aspire to train as an environmental journalist after I graduate.”

Lola Odessey-Waters

“I really enjoy the course. So far I have really been able to merge my personal interest (photography, drawing, music) with the course thanks to the support of the tutors. The media side of the course and the environmental are very much complementary; the reading of one module is often very useful for another. I have really enjoyed the hands-on side of the course, with a field trip to Morocco and practice-based work for media.”

Charles El-Zeind

"The main reason I picked this course was because it combined two very different subjects which form a very interesting relationship with each other. It gave me the opportunity to learn how to use them so as to inform and educate people about environmental issues.

"The most interesting aspect of the course was relating the issues discussed in our classes with the actual world, and gaining further perception of how things work. The lecturers provided a lot of support and feedback, and all of my encounters with them gave me a positive feeling, reassuring me that in times of need I would have somewhere to turn to."

Tegan Sonvico-Christov on a march against climate change

Location

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Moulsecoomb campus map