Once I complete my Level 3 BTEC I could follow up with higher education at university to broaden my
skills and experience in my chosen career sector. University is said to be an investment, although it can
be considered a lot of money, there are different funding options that are explored that could help with
this and in the end, the majority get a higher paying job due to having a degree. A full-time degree
would normally be completed within 3 years, unless a sandwich year is taken, for example a year of
work experience or a year abroad.
To learn more about certain universities, their courses and what they have to offer I used their websites
and visited a couple of open days to find out more about what they have to offer.
Sunderland University
Out of all the universities in the UK, Sunderland University’s film production and photography courses
have been ranked 1st
in the country by the Guardian University Guide as of 2023, with their media and
film studies ranked 11th
in the UK.
The undergraduate bachelor's degrees that Sunderland University offer that interest me include BA
(Hons) Film Production, BA (Hons) Media Production, BA (Hons) Film and Media and BA (Hons) Media,
Culture and Communication.
BA (Hons) Film Production course at Sunderland has produced award winners from the Royal Television
Society and Sunderland International Film Festival. This course involves some theory; however, it is very
practical and the typical entry requirements for this course are 112-120 UCAS points from a minimum of
two A Levels or equivalent.
Although the BA (Hons) Media Production course requires theory work, like the BA (Hons) Film
Production course, it is very practical in comparison to some of the other media-related courses. It
differs from the film production course as it offers more experience and knowledge in more areas,
instead of just film. The typical entry requirements for this course are 112-120 UCAS points from a
minimum of two A Levels or equivalent.
The BA (Hons) Film and Media course that Sunderland offers includes masterclasses from BAFTA-
winning and Oscar-winning film producers, writers and other experts and opportunities to get involved
with the production/presenting of Sunderland Universities Spark Radio, writing articles for Sunderland
Echo and working alongside some of BBC Newcastle’s journalists, with a mixture of theory and practical
work. The typical entry requirements for this course are 112 UCAS points from a minimum of two A
Levels or equivalent.
The BA (Hons) Media, Communication and Culture course has an entry requirement of 112 UCAS points
from a minimum of two A Levels or equivalent. This course, in comparison to the other Sunderland
University courses that have interested me, is slightly different since it is less practical than the other
and requires more theory, which interests me slightly less than the other courses. However, this specific
course does have a 100% satisfaction rate.
Overall, out of all these courses from Sunderland University, the BA (Hons) Media Production course is
the one that I am most interested in and would apply to, however Sunderland University is not my first
choice.
Liverpool John Moores University

On Saturday the 15th
of October I visited LJMU’s open day to find out more about their BA (Hons) Film
Studies course. This course involves both theoretical and practical studies exploring the development of
cinema. Th practical side involved a mixture of filmmaking and editing. I got to visit their studios on my
visit and even got given the opportunity to use some of the equipment myself.
Due to this university being in Liverpool, if I were to decide to go there, I would be required to move and
therefore would have to move into student accommodation. I visited a couple of the student
accommodations that are connected to this university.
Overall, after visiting this university, I decided that it just wasn’t the place for me.
Newcastle University

There were two courses at Newcastle University that I was interested in studying; BA (Hons) Film and
Media and BA (Hons) Film Practices. Out of these two courses, I am more interested in the Film Practices
course as it is more practical than the Film and Media course as that one is more theoretical.
The Northern School of Art
On the 24th
of September 2022 I visited the Northern School of Art which has campuses in both
Middlesborough and Hartlepool. For the course I’m interested in, I had to visit the Hartlepool campus.
With this campus being in the Northeast it was relatively easy to get to, however just as we were setting
off, the car broke down, resulting in us being around two and a half hours late. Because of this I missed
most of the open day (but still got free food) and thankfully there were staff there who gave me a
private tour around the campus (aside from the TV studio because that was still under construction at
the time) and gave me the opportunity to ask questions while they told me about the course I was
interested in, their campus and facilities. Overall, I really enjoyed my short time there and have since
planned to go to another one of their open days to see what I missed last time, I will be visiting again on
the 3rd
of December.

The course that I am interested in applying for at The Northern School of Art is their BA (Hons) Film, TV
and Theatre Production course. What stands out to me about this course is its incorporation with
theatre production as well as TV and Film. Although TV and Film is what I am most interested about for a
future career path I have not ruled out theatre production as the sector does also interest me heavily.
This course is said to teach the art of scriptwriting, directing and producing for both stage and screen.
Out of all the universities that I have visited so far, this is my current first choice.
Out of the universities that I have visited, I have decided which ones I have considered going to and
which I’ve ruled out. With the five options that I get from UCAS, I know that I will be applying to The
Northern School of Art as well as Sunderland University. For the Northern School of Art (which is my
current first choice) I will be applying for the Film, Television and Theatre Production course and for
Sunderland University I have yet to decide between the Film Production course and the Film and Media
course.
With three options that I can use, there are two other universities that I am interested in applying for
that have not yet visited. These universities are Edge Hill and LIPA.
Edge Hill University
This university does four media related courses; Media, Film, Television and Film and Broadcasting
Production. Out of these courses I am most interested in the Film and Broadcasting course.
The Film & Broadcasting BA (Hons) course has an entry requirement of DMM and educates about the
historical, theoretical, intellectual and practical concepts of film and broadcasting. The modules for this
course include the likes of storytelling, photography, filmmaking, moving image production and tv
history.
Edge Hill’s Film BA (Hons) course has an entry requirement of DMM with opportunities for work
placement, studying aboard and learning a language.
I have decided that I will be applying to Edge Hill but not sure if I will go if accepted as it is not my first or
second choice, however I do like their Film and Broadcasting degree.

From researching about going to university, all the different courses and from visiting their open days I
have learnt more about life at university. If I am to go to Edeg Hill or The Northern School of Art, I will be
living in student accommodation and therefore will be living more independently. I worked out what
maintenance loan I would be eligible for if I were to go to either of these universities and move away as
well as the budgeting that would be required. For example, at The Northern School of Art there are only
two student halls and out of the two my main choice would be Crown Halls and I would preferably have
an en-suite bathroom. The cost of this accommodation per week would be £118, which is quite cheap in
comparison to some of the other university accommodation I looked at. With this information I would
have to work out how much I would have left at the end of the term, this money would be used for my
living expenses, such as food.