THE MEDIA SCHOOL
BA (Hons) Global Media Practice (Top Up)
(Version 1.1)
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
JANUARY 2011
© 2009 Bournemouth University
Document date: January 2011
Circulation: General
Bournemouth University undertakes to encourage the recognition, protection and exploitation of
intellectual property rights generated by participants in this programme, to the benefit, as
appropriate, of students, staff, industrial/other third parties/partners and the university.
BA (Hons) Global Media Practice
Programme Specification: Version 1.1
January 2011
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BASIC FRAMEWORK / PROGRAMME DATA
Originating institution(s)
Bournemouth University
Award(s) and title(s)
BA (Hons) Global Media Practice
UCAS Programme Code(s)
P390
External reference points(s)



The Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.
Communication, media, film and cultural studies
QAA Subject Benchmark statement (2008)
Skillset
Professional, Statutory and/or Regulatory
Body links
None
Place(s) of delivery
Bournemouth University
Mode(s) of delivery
Full-time
Credit structure
Level H: 120 (ECTS: 60)
Duration
1 year
Date of original approval
2010
Date of first intake
September 2010
Placements
4 weeks
Partner institution(s) and model(s)
None
Date and version number of this Programme
Specification
Version 1.1: January 2011
Version number of this document:
This Programme Specification was approved in January 2010 following validation by Academic Standards
Committee. It takes effect from September 2010 and applies to all new enrolments.
Version 1.1 was produced to reflect amended admission regulations to take account of approved internal
progression routes and recognition with advanced standing.
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AIMS OF THE DOCUMENT
The aims of this document are to define the structure of the Level H top-up BA (Hons) Global
Media Practice. In addition, to identify the programme learning outcomes, learning and teaching
methods, assessment methods, and to articulate the regulations governing the award offered by
the programme.
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ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL CONTEXTS
This is a proposal for a one-year level H top-up degree to be delivered by the Media School,
Bournemouth University. Located within the Media Academic Group, it will align with their
undergraduate framework by sharing the dissertation unit, and developing the growing expertise in
the group in the area of cross-platform production.
This programme seeks to recruit students in order to foster and develop their understanding of the
evolving media landscape on a global scale. This will be achieved by a mix of group-work and
individual authorship, practical projects, theory and work experience, in the areas of interactivity,
radio, and television / video production.
Students accepted onto the programme will already have studied an area of media communication
practice, radio, video production, or multimedia, and will develop skills in these areas in the context
of convergence, and the global media environment.
The rationale for the proposal is to develop our growing relationships with international colleges by
responding to leads developed by the School’s head of international relations. This response to
need draws together the following threads:

The wish to diversify and enrich the undergraduate student experience by developing a larger
international student constituency in the Media School;

To align with the BU internationalisation strategy, and as such to provide a programme that, by
its very nature, engages “with a culturally rich learning environment and to celebrate [the
students’] diversity” (BU Internationalisation Strategy Document);

Responding to the BU Strategic Plan that assumes strong growth in international recruitment,
and the BU Corporate Plan that stipulates that by 2012 “Bournemouth University is a youthful
and innovative international institution”;

To align with the Education Enhancement strategy, specifically the themes “Employability and
preparation for graduate-level work” and “Internationalisation, Global Perspectives and
Sustainable Development”.

Increased opportunities to help students ‘flow’ from undergraduate study to post-graduate
study.
The programme that has been developed aligns with the Framework for Higher Education
Qualifications (FHEQ), and has been largely informed by the QAA Subject Benchmark statements
for Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies.
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AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME
BA (Hons) Global Media Practice aims to produce graduates who are informed, critical and creative
in their approach both to understanding media, culture and communications in contemporary
society, and to their own forms of media, communicative and expressive practice.
Whilst the programme is committed to enabling students to meet the challenges of employment in
a society in which cultural and communications industries play an increasingly central role, it
emphasises the fostering of employability gained from developing students’ creative, intellectual,
analytical and research skills.
The overall aims of the programme are:

To develop in students, through practical experience, the production authorship skills and
techniques to initiate, develop and realise distinctive and original media artefacts that have
global currency;

To help students, through the synthesis of production activity and theoretical analysis, to
locate their work in an aesthetic, cultural and international context;

To enable students to be able to communicate and work confidently both in teams and
independently;

To provide students with a substantial range of transferable skills in group working,
independent research, IT, problem solving, report writing and project management as a
basis for professional activity and development which may be applicable in other career
areas;

To provide students with the opportunity and desire to exhibit their production work to an
external audience;

To enable students from a wide range of differing media production backgrounds the
opportunity to apply their skills and creative ability to the developing, globalised crossplatform environment.
INTENDED PROGRAMME OUTCOMES
ILOs for programmes and terminal awards are specified in terms of four categories: ‘subject
knowledge and understanding’, ‘intellectual skills’, ‘practical skills’ and ‘transferable skills’.
A
SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
This programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate:
A1
a critical understanding of key concepts, ideas and theories relating to the development of
media and cultural forms in a local, community, regional, national, international or global
context;
A2
an understanding of how narrative processes, disability, class, ethnicity, gender, religion,
nationality, sexuality and other divisions play key roles in terms of both access to the media
and modes of representation in media texts;
A3
a critical understanding of industry standard practices as applied to the initiation,
development, production and realisation of their project(s);
A4
a comprehensive understanding of professional and theoretical contexts and how they
inform their practice.
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B
INTELLECTUAL SKILLS
This programme provides opportunities for students to:
B1
apply theory to the analysis of media examples or phenomena;
B2
critically evaluate theoretical models and methodologies through independent study and
research;
B3
gather, organise and deploy ideas and information in order to formulate arguments
cogently, and express and defend them effectively;
B4
define and apply an appropriate research topic and framework;
B5
demonstrate an ability to articulate a thesis, and structure an argument appropriately in the
form of a detailed and coherent piece of written academic research.
C
PRACTICAL SKILLS
This framework provides opportunities for students to:
C1
demonstrate, through engagement in production practice, their understanding of their own
creative processes and practice;
C2
demonstrate an ability to initiate, develop, and realise distinctive and creative work within
various forms including aural, visual, audiovisual, sound, or other electronic media;
C3
demonstrate an ability to provide specialist skills and knowledge to work effectively in a group
to aid the production of innovative cross-platform media solutions;
C4
demonstrate their grasp of professional, technical and formal choices which realise, develop
or challenge existing practices and traditions, and of the possibilities and constraints involved
in production processes.
C5
be adaptive, creative, and self-reflexive in producing output for a variety of audiences and
in a variety of media forms;
D
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
This programme provides opportunities for students to:
D1
demonstrate an ability to work independently and collaboratively showing skills of
negotiation and compromise;
D2
demonstrate the ability to evaluate their work in a reflexive manner;
D3
demonstrate skills in communicating effectively orally and in written form, within both
academic and professional contexts;
D4
demonstrates skills of adaptability and flexibility;
D5
demonstrate the ability to deliver work to a given brief and deadline.
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LEARNING AND TEACHING STRATEGIES AND METHODS
Subject knowledge and understanding competencies are acquired via large group lectures,
interactive-focussed seminars, and tutorials (individual and group) as well as by putting into practice
individual and group-based assignments.
Intellectual skills are learnt predominantly via active involvement in seminars, and through their
application and reflection on individual written assignments, presentations, and essays.
Practical skills are learnt through participation in lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials (individual
and group), as well as through group work and individually authored projects.
Transferable skills are not so much taught as learnt through practice, through exercises designed
to develop their sense of ‘academic assertiveness’, and their overall confidence with coursework
and the expectations of Higher Education. Working in individual and group-based scenarios to
complete coursework assignments will ensure students apply, reflect, and learn from group-work,
enabling them to work flexibly, and to given briefs and deadlines. It is important that students are
provided with the space (physical and intellectual) to allow them to try, to test, to reflect, and
therefore to grow as independent life-long learners. That is the life-blood of transferable skills.
Learning and teaching methods are specific in more detail in unit specifications.
ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES AND METHODS
The programme employs a varied diet of assessment, aligning assessment mechanisms to
learning outcomes to ensure that they are appropriate. As a practice-based media degree, which
tends to lean towards coursework as opposed to examinations, it is important to note that one
assessment type omitted from the diet of assessment is the examination – all aspects of the
curriculum are assessed via coursework submissions, either group-based projects and
presentations, or individual essays and written reports.
Knowledge and understanding intended learning outcomes are assessed predominantly with essay
writing and presentations (A1 – A5). Intellectual skills (B1, B2, B4, B5) are assessed with essays,
whilst B3 is assessed via a presentation / pitch. Subject specific skills are assessed via submission
of artefacts, including individual and group-based projects (C1 – C5). Transferable skills are
assessed by both primary and tertiary means. Examples of the former include practical project
submissions, and successful completion of project briefs. Examples of the latter include timekeeping, professionalism, and being a responsible learner. Whilst these latter categories are not
summatively assessed, they are very important (D1 – D5).
Assessment methods are specified in more detail in unit specifications.
WORK-BASED LEARNING (WBL)/PLACEMENTS ELEMENTS
The programme includes a mandatory four week placement that should take place in the final term,
to conclude the student learning experience. This is a Pass / Fail element of the programme based
on a submission of a completed placement logbook including an employer’s report.
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PROGRAMME DIAGRAM
PROGRAMME DIAGRAM
BA (Hons) Global Media Practice
Level H
Core units (Compulsory)
Option units
The Global Media Environment
(20)
Voice, Reach and Impact (20)
Cross-Platform Projects (40)
The Dissertation (40)
None
Exit qualification: BA
(Hons) Global Media
Practice
Requires 120 Level H credits,
and satisfactory completion
of 4 week mandatory work
placement
ADMISSION REGULATIONS
The regulations for this programme are the University’s Standard Undergraduate Admissions
Regulations, with the following amendments:

A merit profile in FDA / HND or equivalent;

Applicants from programmes which have approved recognised advanced standing
arrangements or approved internal progression will be expected to provide evidence of
attainment at a level of GPA 3.5,or its equivalent as ‘Merit’, ‘Grade B’ or ‘70% +’, depending
on the grading scheme of the qualification, or equivalent Foundation Degree or HND.

All applicants whose first language is not English must in addition offer evidence of
qualifications in written and spoken English. Acceptable qualifications are IELTS
(Academic) 6.5, or TOEFL 90 (internet-based) or 575 (paper-based).
Admission onto the programme is subject to the APL procedure where candidates’ prior learning
must be demonstrably congruent with the following learning outcomes:
Subject Knowledge and Understanding: A critical appreciation of the developing media industry;
An understanding of theoretical and professional debates that inform and question evolving media
practice;
Intellectual Skills: Apply theory and contextual analysis, think critically and evaluate work
undertaken, critically research aspects of the media and apply their own thinking informed by an
appropriate range of sources;
Practical Skills: Practical and industry-focused experience of media practice in either moving
images, audio, and / or interactive media disciplines;
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Transferable Skills: Group working including leading and of being led by others; IT skills; Problem
solving skills.
ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS
The regulations for this programme are the University’s Standard Undergraduate Assessment
Regulations.
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PROGRAMME PROFILE
Originating Institution(s):
Bournemouth University
Place(s) of Delivery:
Talbot Campus
School:
The Media School
Programme HESA
JACS code:
Partner institution:
N/A
Framework Title (in full): Media Production Undergraduate Framework
Mode(s) of study:
FT
Programme Award and Title: BA (Hons) Global Media Practice
Expected Length
of study :
1 yr
Interim Award and Titles & required credits: N/A
BU Credit
Structure &
ECTS :
Level H 120 (60
ECTS)
Cost Centre(s)
Unit identification
Unit version no.
MS-BAGMP-U-H-0219
MS-BAGMP-U-H-0220
MS-BAGMP-U-H-0221
MS-MPUG-S-H-0027
Unit name
The Global Media Environment
Voice, Reach and Impact
Cross-Platform Projects
The Dissertation
Work Placement*
HESA
JACS
Subject
Code
P300
P310
P420
P300
CC 1
30
30
30
30
%
HESA
JACS
Subjec
t Code
Unit Details
CC2
%
100
100
100
100
Prog
year
FT
1
1
1
1
1
Effective from
Prog Year / Month / Year
Yr. 1
Sept
2010
Contact in School:
Date approved : Jan 2010
Yr. 2
Yr. 3
Name of Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body (if appropriate) :
N/A
James Jordan (65846)
Prog
year
PT
Core /
option
Core
Core
Core
Core
Core
No of
credits
20
20
40
40
0
Programme Specification version
no: 1
Assessment Regs :
Level
(C,I,H,
PgC,
PgD, M)
Assessment
Element Weightings
Exam
1
H
H
H
H
H
C/Work
1
100
100
100
100
P/F
C/Work
2
Placement :
4 weeks (Core)
Diploma Supplement Statement regarding PRSB accreditation :
* Successful completion of the work placement is a graduation requirement
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