(BA) Bachelor of Arts
Journalism and Literature (Including Year Abroad)
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies
English
BA P532
08/05/2024
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
- A-levels: BBB - BBC or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 full A-levels, including B in one essay based subject.
- BTEC: DDM - DMM or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels. The acceptability of BTECs is dependent on subject studied and optional units taken - email ugquery@essex.ac.uk for advice.
- Combined qualifications on the UCAS tariff: 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 full A levels or equivalent. Tariff point offers may be made if you are taking a qualification, or mixture of qualifications, from the list on our undergraduate application information page.
- IB: 30 - 29 points or three Higher Level certificates with 555-554.
- IB Career-related Programme: We consider combinations of IB Diploma Programme courses with BTECs or other qualifications. Advice on acceptability can be provided, email Undergraduate Admissions.
- QAA-approved Access to HE Diploma: 6 level 3 credits at Distinction and 39 level 3 credits at Merit, depending on subject studied - advice on acceptability can be provided, email Undergraduate Admissions.
- T-levels: We consider T-levels on a case-by-case basis, depending on subject studied. The offer for most courses is Distinction overall. Depending on the course applied for there may be additional requirements, which may include a specific grade in the Core.
Contextual Offers:
We are committed to ensuring that all students with the merit and potential to benefit from an Essex education are supported to do so. For October 2024 entry, if you are a home fee paying student residing in the UK you may be eligible for a Contextual Offer of up to two A-level grades, or equivalent, below our standard conditional offer.
Factors we consider:
- Applicants from underrepresented groups
- Applicants progressing from University of Essex Schools Membership schools/colleges
- Applicants who attend a compulsory admissions interview
- Applicants who attend an Offer Holder Day at our Colchester or Southend campus
Our contextual offers policy outlines additional circumstances and eligibility criteria.
For further information about what a contextual offer may look like for your specific qualification profile, email ugquery@essex.ac.uk.
If you haven't got the grades you hoped for, have a non-traditional academic background, are a mature student, or have any questions about eligibility for your course, more information can be found on our undergraduate application information page. or get in touch with our Undergraduate Admissions Team.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall, or specified score in another equivalent test that we accept.
Details of English language requirements, including UK Visas and Immigration minimum component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here
If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels listed above for the relevant countries.
Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications.
If you are an international student requiring a Student visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
What if my IELTS does not meet your requirements?
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Do I need to have achieved an acceptable English language qualification before I apply?
You don’t need to achieve the required level before making your application, but it will be one of the conditions of your offer.
What if the English language qualification I hold, or am taking, is not listed?
If you cannot find the qualification that you have achieved or are pending, then please contact Admissions on ugquery@essex.ac.uk
for advice.
What are the requirements for second and final year entry?
Different requirements apply for second and final year entry, and specified component grades are also required for applicants who require a visa to study in the UK. Details of English language requirements, including UK Visas and Immigration minimum component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here
Additional Notes
If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
Prof Jairo Alfonso Lugo-Ocando
Dean and Professor of Journalism
College of Communication, University of Sharjah, UAE
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
JOURNALISM:
- To create graduates who are thoroughly grounded in the theory and practice of journalism, able to make sound editorial judgements and behave in a professional manner.
- To help students develop their writing and broadcasting skills to a high level.
- To encourage students to develop their critical faculties, in particular to adopt an inquiring, sceptical and whole-hearted approach to their work.
- To encourage students to work effectively on their own and in teams to produce the best journalism.
LITERATURE:
- To understand the intellectual and cultural foundations of Western thought.
- To experience a varied, flexible and distinctive curriculum focused on the study of English literature and encompassing several genres and periods.
- To become acquainted with a range of contextual, conceptual and comparative frameworks used in the study of literature.
- To learn how to exercise their own judgements in the reading of both primary and secondary literary texts.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Theoretical and practical approaches to journalism
A2: The history and evolution of journalism, the current state of the industry and its future prospects
A3: The role of publishing and broadcasting in a modern society, including challenges in reporting on international issues
A4: The regulatory framework and codes of practice relating to journalism
A5: How the UK legal system works and the law relating to the media
A6: The characteristics and needs of a range of print, broadcast and web-based journalism, how audiences consume them and how best to serve those audiences
A7: Production processes and professional practice in relation to newspapers, magazines, online content and broadcast journalism
A8: A range of literatures, from the early modern to the present day, including the understanding of a variety of genres (poetry, fiction, drama)
A9: An understanding of the complex relationship between literature and culture (an appreciation of the way in which literary texts are embedded in their cultural and historical milieu, and an awareness of their role in creating a cultural change
A10: Key methods of literary analysis and research, and writing skills
A11: To develop intercultural skills (Study/Year Abroad variant only)
A12: To provide the opportunity to apply academic learning outcomes in a work-related context (Placement year variant)
A13: To develop essential work-based skills throughout the placement. (Placement variant only)
Learning methods
A1-7 are acquired through lectures, workshops, group discussion and reflection, work experience, practical exercises, formative feedback.
A8-10 are acquired through lectures, classes, workshops and continually assessed coursework. Classes focus on textual examples and give emphasis to student discussion and/or presentation, preparing argumentative and analytical skills for formal assessment.
Assessment methods
A1-A7 Range of in-class tests, portfolio of work, reflective journals, group work, project work, essays and other coursework
A1, A4-A7 examination
Formal assessment of student skills, knowledge and understanding (A8-11) takes place through a range of coursework essays, presentations, portfolios and group projects, and written exams.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Able to absorb and organise large amounts of informati
on in a short time, applying critical techniques to assess evidence on the basis of relevance, reliability and newsworthiness
B2: Turn raw data and information into clear, accurate and engaging journalism with impact
B3: Make good decisions and present clear, well-reasoned and coherent arguments, in writing or orally, often against a deadline
B4: Exercise judgement in designing, planning and delivering journalistic output
B5: Evaluate, interpret and demonstrate critical judgement in the understanding of developments in the news, of issues and concepts, and be able dispassionately to assess one's own work and the work of others
B6: Produce independent and imaginative treatments conforming to a clear framework of values
B7: An ability to analyse and critically assess original and complex texts and to comment cogently on them
B8: Reason critically and argue coherently
B9: Identify critical literary positions and interrogate them
B10: To think independently and to make connections between familiar and new ideas
Learning methods
Lectures, workshops, group discussion and reflection, work experience, practical exercises, formative feedback.
Intellectual and cognitive skills are initiated through lectures, classes and workshops in years 1 and 2, as well as one-to-one tutorials where appropriate. The seminar- based work of year 3, like that of years 1 and 2, encourages critical discussion arising from the analysis and interpretation of set texts with an emphasis on being able to reason cogently, argue coherently and present one's own viewpoint persuasively. Year 3 students are guided towards the acquisition of a reflective understanding of their comparative judgements, and the critical positions they and others employ. This is done through in situ feedback (formally and informally, as appropriate) in oral and written presentations, group based critical discussions and the analysis and interpretation of texts.
Assessment methods
Assessment is by coursework, essays, practical assignments, portfolios, group projects, peer assessment, critical commentaries, written examinations and, in some cases, oral presentations.
C: Practical skills
C1: An ability to find, research and write news stories and features for various print, online and broadcast media
C2: An ability to conduct interviews, record information accurately and analyse it to a professional standard
C3: An ability to work in production for various media, using industry-standard software and hardware
C4: An ability to work independently, cooperatively and in editorial teams to produce finished work to agreed deadlines for various media
C5: An ability to operate in professional manner, observing ethical and legal constraints
C6: A vocabulary and a critical and analytical terminology for the analysis of writing
C7: The use of accepted conventions of presenting essays, references and bibliographies, and an ability to challenge these
C8: An effective style or range of styles to convey a range of responses as readers of literary texts
C9: An ability to deploy a critical methodology in written work, employing reasoned argument to appreciate and evaluate a text
Learning methods
Lectures, workshops, group discussion and reflection, work experience, practical exercises, formative feedback, and the development of writing skills through peer review and reflective practice and research
Assessment methods
Assessment is by coursework, essays, practical and writing assignments, portfolios, group projects, peer assessment, critical commentaries, written examinations and, in some cases, oral presentations, and a capstone project.
D: Key skills
D1: Ability to express oneself in a clear, focused, relevant and effective way, both orally and in writing
D2: Ability to use appropriate software and hardware to produce and present high quality editorial content
D3: Basic numeracy as part of the employability aspects of the degree
D4: Finding, understanding, organising and processing information. Applying knowledge and understanding to make judgements. Ability to question conventional wisdom and find innovative methods of research. Working to deadlines. Management of projects and timetables.
D5: Ability to advance and argue for proposals in editorial meetings, ability to respond constructively to criticism, ability to engage in collaborative writing and programme-making activities; ability to work co-operatively in a variety of group contexts, including practical production, taking on a number of different roles.
D6: Ability to take responsibility for one's own work in individual and collective contexts, reflect on one's own performance and make constructive use of feedback in class and written comments on coursework and oral communication.
Learning methods
Lectures, workshops, group discussion and reflection, work experience, practical exercises, formative feedback.
Assessment methods
Assessment is by coursework, practical assignments, portfolios, group projects, peer assessment, critical commentaries, written examinations and, in some cases, oral presentations, and in Literature through a participation mark