Media and Environmental Communication BA(Hons)

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 
• Human Geography
• Social Action and Community Media
• Critical Approaches to Media 1 and 2

Options*

• Video Production 1
• Photographic Practice 1
• Business, Creative Industries and Innovation
• Creative Industries and Promotional Cultures
• Film Language and History

*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

• Sustainable Development 
• Research Methods and Methodology
• Placement

Options*

• Environmental Pollution
• Social and Cultural Geography
• GIS and Remote Sensing Principles and Practice
• Video Production 2
• Photographic Practice 2
• Social Media Applications in Activism, Business and Life
• Media and Political Engagement in the Post-truth Era
• Community Radio
• Brands and Branding
• Visual Media Culture
• Media Project Management
• Media and Public Relations
• Journalism
• Film Studies
• Popular Music 
• Mobile Media Cultures

*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, policy or the third sector;
• increase your confidence; 
• improve your time management; and
• have the option to go abroad

In recent years, students have worked for the Department of Energy, Transport for London, 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

Options*

• Aquatic Environments
• Geographies of Heritage
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Environmental Management: Air and waste management
• Water, Sanitation and Health
• Gender, Space and Embodiment
• Political Ecology: Contested environments and development
• Territory, Power and Security
• Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing
• Audiovisual Professional Practice
• National and Global Media Studies
• Media Policy: The politics and economics of the media industries
• Mediating Science and Technology
• Critical Approaches to the Video Game
• Celebrity Media
• Sustainability and Innovation in Digital Culture
• Digital Media Marketing and Innovation
• Critical Issues in Political Communication
• Communication for International Development
• Community Project
• Genre and Film

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

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 

Patricia Prieto-Blanco – Course leader

Patricia Prieto-Blanco lectures in photography in media studies, but defines herself as a critical thinker and visual maker. Her research interests are: photography, methods and methodologies, mediation of the everyday and migration. Patricia employs photography and video-art as ways to subvert neo-liberal, capitalist, patriarchal norms.

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, Lestyn George, Paul Gilchrist, Rebecca Elmhirst, James Ebdon, Leila Dawney, Jason Lim

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

International equivalencies

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

Fees

If you choose to take the professional placement (sandwich) year offered on this course you will pay a reduced fee during this year. Our fee for the professional placement year is £1,230 for home students and £2,060 for international students. This fee may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Location

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Moulsecoomb campus map