Curious about studying Film & Media and Sociology - BA (Hons)at University of Stirling? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Stirling Campus
Full Time
Sep 2027
4 Year
Our Sociology and Social Policy course will let you understand the way society works and the processes and outcomes of social welfare. You’ll explore social differentiation and contemporary social issues, as well as looking at historical and theoretical perspectives on welfare. You’ll also be introduced to the development of social theory and get lots of practical experience in methods of social research and analysis. With our international and comparative approach, you’ll study topics that analyse society and welfare issues in a range of countries. We have particular expertise on Scotland, the UK, the European Union, Western and Central Europe, Australasia, North America and Latin America.
Every day we are surrounded by media. There are now more ways to watch television than ever before, and popular films continue to be part of casual conversation and serious debate. We have access to almost limitless sources of news and are bombarded by advertising images in public and private settings, but also have increased means to discuss and contest these messages. In all these cases, the images and messages we encounter are the product of complex industries. In order to understand how media practices are changing, we need to look at their underlying structures, including funding, regulation, work, and equalities. This module provides students with the tools and theoretical underpinnings needed to analyse a diverse range of media content in greater depth by understanding its foundations and contexts.
This is a core module that introduces you to sociological thinking through the study of social differentiation, which is a way that people divide and categorise their social world. You will explore: What sociology is and what it means to think sociologically; Different social divisions and identities; How sociologists research the social world.
This is a core module that introduces you to sociological thinking through the study of social differentiation, which is a way that people divide and categorise their social world. You will explore: What sociology is and what it means to think sociologically; Different social divisions and identities; How sociologists research the social world.
The way we perceive society determines how that society is shaped. Why are some behaviours regarded as 'illegal' or 'criminal', and by whom? Why do we label some people as being the less deserving? And what are the implications of such labelling? This module addresses such questions to raise your critical thinking of how we perceive the world, and why it is that we perceive it in that way. We'll explore various concepts from Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology to understand more about the world we live in.
The way we perceive society determines how that society is shaped. Why are some behaviours regarded as 'illegal' or 'criminal', and by whom? Why do we label some people as being the less deserving? And what are the implications of such labelling? This module addresses such questions to raise your critical thinking of how we perceive the world, and why it is that we perceive it in that way. We'll explore various concepts from Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology to understand more about the world we live in.
This moduleequipsyouwith fundamental skills in the textual analysis of film and television. Through screenings,teaching and discussions, youare introduced to the key elements of form and style and provided with a range of techniques to study them in more detail. These skills will continue be useful in later modules when combined with other approaches to studying film and television. Although this module does not contain any practical elements, students interested in production may benefit from the module?semphasis on the close study of technique.
It is now often suggested that we are living in an age of ?convergent media? ? that is to say, media that bring users, content, technologies and experiences together in new and interesting ways in the digital realm. This module is about how networked digital media bring together people and ideas, texts and images, and technologies and industries in new ways. In FMSU9A4, we will explore such topics as interpersonal communication on social media, the relationships between media technologies and cultural change, and audiences as creative producers. We will discuss how media audiences are accessing, creating, editing, organising, sharing and collaborating on media in new ways. Most of you will already be familiar with many of these practices. This module will engage the concepts that underpin such practices and we will test these concepts by doing some of these things as part of our assignments, experimenting with a range of online media tools to bring theory and practice together. You should not think of this course as a series of separate topics, but should instead be alert to connections and continuities between weeks ? as you progress through the semester, compare and contrast, and try to make connections between ideas.
Reading Film and Television builds on skills in close analysis learned on The Moving Image, introducing key theoretical approaches to films and television programmes through weekly screenings and readings.
The module is an introduction to some of the major social theoretical and sociological perspectives. It traces their development and critically assess their influence. This module will give you a critically based knowledge of the key concepts involved and the major figures associated with these approaches. You will consider the ?classical? contributions of, amongst others, Marx, Durkheim, Simmel and Weber. You will then focus upon more contemporary theoretical approaches including a range of feminist social theories, intersectionality, symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology and theories of structuration.
If you want to create, share, or analyse media content, you need to consider who isengaging with it, how and why. Thismoduleputs the audience in the spotlight and looks at different approaches to media use as a social phenomenon undergoing significant transformations.Understanding the relationship between producers, media texts, and audiences is essential for those creating, circulating, and consuming media. But what makes people into an identifiable audience, and how can we find out about their/our experience? In this module we will be looking at different ways of thinking about the audience and at how researchers have tried to find out what and how audiences of different kinds think and act.
This module introduces students to an understanding of social policy as a subject of study with a focus on contemporary Britain. It connects broader understandings from across the social sciences of social problems with current public policies towards them, along with a background in the structures, institutions and responsibilities of government in the devolved UK and the financing of government.
This module introduces students to social science research methods, with a focus on helping students to come up with their own research questions, before considering how these questions might be answered through an appropriate and robust research design. This module focusses on using more qualitative and mixed research methods, with quantitative research methods being explored in a companion module that runs in the following semester.Topics covered by this module include: Constructing research questions; Research design and planning; Thinking through the ethical dimensions of conducting research; Using social theory in social research.
A strong understanding of research methods is an important part of social science training. This module is the second of two core modules about social science research methods that feature within degree programmes in sociology, social policy and criminology. SPCU9C6 focusses upon approaches towards quantitative data analysis in the social sciences. It covers understanding of quantitative data itself, and topics about its statistical analysis. Features of the module include: -A programme of lecture and class-led lab and seminar activities that provide information about quantitative data analysis in the social sciences; -Teaching materials that are designed to foster students? practical skills in using quantitative data to do social research; -Consultation opportunities with teaching staff and tutors to develop and enhance understanding; -Consultation opportunities with teaching staff and tutors to develop and enhance understanding;
In this year, Students will study only optional modules.
Enrolment in this module is a formal requirement for students undertaking Honours dissertations in Film and Media or Art and Design. Students will have already studied a number of research methods and processes in preparation to undertake the practicalities of dissertation research and writing during the Researching Media and Culture module (FMSU9A7) in Semester 7. During that module, which is a pre-requisite for the dissertation, you will have developed a proposal for a project that forms the basis for the dissertation. In this module, you will work independently on your project with the support and guidance of a supervisor.
In a complex society, we need to be able to understand how to carry out and evaluate research to help solve social problems. This module aims to provide you with a major opportunity to carry out independent, self-directed work, with supervision, on a topic of your own choice. You are encouraged to use and develop your accumulated research skills and your knowledge of theoretical and methodological work in conducting your own research project. By the end of the module, you will produce a coherent, well-argued dissertation based on your self-directed research.
Documentary Production is a dissertation level practical production module. Students work in groups to create short video or audio documentaries to a high technical and editorial standard. Work produced on this module has gone on to win national awards on several occasions.
A dissertation is an original piece of research that aims tomake a contributionto the field. Unlike an essay, in which you will probably be responding to existing positions on a topic set by your lecturer, a dissertation is an opportunity for you to conceive, design and carry out an original research project.The module is delivered by supervision. At the beginning of the process of developing your screenwriting project, you will be assigned a supervisor, whose supervision experience and research specialism best fits your proposal. The supervisor?s role is to ensure that your project is manageable, to monitor your progress, to provide feedback on work in progress, and to provide academic guidance and support. A Screenwriting dissertation is rather different to other ways of learning that you will have previously encountered during your degree programme as your workload is much more self-directed and self-motivated,
Accommodation(Based on the range of costs for a self-catered room in university halls of residence. Includes cost of electricity and wi-fi.)360.20 to 795.48 (Monthly expenditure)
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