2.5-Term Pathway - Foundation Certificate in Humanities - Continue to Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Film and Creative Writing (Placement Year)

Program Description For students who've finished high school but don’t meet the entry requirements for university, a Foundation Certificate can help them gain entry to an undergraduate degree. After completing this pathway option students qualify for progression to the 1st year of an undergraduate degree at the University of Essex.

A student’s course length is determined mainly by their English language level (UKVI IELTS score). Students on all course lengths take a set of common or similar modules to gain a solid base of skills for university. Students taking a course longer than 2 terms, will take additional modules designed to improve one or more of their English language level, academic skills, and basic knowledge of particular subjects.

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Film and Creative Writing

This course combines hands-on practical filmmaking, creative writing workshops, and theoretical and contextual studies. Students are encouraged to forge links between theory and practice, and to make critically-informed choices in their own creative work through the knowledge they gain of film history, literary classics and writing across a range of genres.

At Essex they offer an unusual approach to the practice of writing, combining innovative and traditional methods in order to develop students’ writing skills and abilities to judge their work critically, while expanding their knowledge across different modes and genres. In the Centre for Creative Writing they encourage a culture of experiment and creativity, enabling students to feel part of a community of writers.

For the modules in filmmaking and screenwriting, students are taught by film professionals with extensive industry experience. They gain hands-on practical training in all aspects of film production, including camera work, editing, lighting, scriptwriting, and production management. Students produce group films (learning how to work together as a team) as well as personal projects – by the end of their three or four years at Essex they’ll have built up a fully rounded portfolio of work, enabling them to showcase the creative potential for future employers. Students' second-year module on screenwriting forms the keystone of their course, bridging the two parts. They will also have the opportunity to write a script as part of the final-year independent study.

* Please note that this delivery option of the course includes a placement year.

Students may decide to opt for a placement year, where they develop their professional skills and build a network of business contacts. A placement year can give students a career advantage by showing future employers that they are a dedicated and experienced professional.