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Film and Literature BA

Undergraduate

Start date

27 September 2027

Study location

University of Warwick

Qualification

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Film & Television Studies

Duration

3 years full-time

Course overview

Fascinated by how words and images reflect and influence both humanity and society? Our Film and Literature degree lets you study both subjects – Literature, and Film and Television Studies. It also examines how they meet and overlap. This includes the adaptation of material from one medium into another, and the broad cultural shift from literature to film, television, and audio-visual media.

Warwick is No.1 in the UK for Media and Film Studies (The Guardian 2026).

Students discussing Film and Literature outdoors

Words and images have always been central to the way cultures have communicated ideas about what societies are, or should be, like. They explore what it is to be human in ways that have a philosophical, ethical and moral dimension.

They do so by finding particularly eloquent and beautiful forms of expression and inciting varied responses with different degrees of intensity. With an equal weighting of both subjects, this course brings together a traditional discipline (literature) with a newer, pervasive and culturally essential one (film and television studies). It will develop your understanding of film, television and literature, their history, aesthetics, and social and cultural significance.

As the course progresses, you will have increased freedom to delve into areas that particularly intrigue you. Our small classes mean you will be taught closely by world-leading academics who share your passion for the subject. You will also be able to take advantage of our thriving extracurricular culture, perhaps writing, blogging about, making, or screening films.

You will emerge from your course with the highly valued ability to research, structure, argue and write to a very high standard on a breadth of current media and literature-related issues, and with an exceptional level of audio-visual literacy.

Entry requirements

Modules

In the first year on the film side of your degree you will delve into the history of cinema, the fundamentals of film and television criticism, film theory and film and television analysis. You will also take a module called Adaptation, taught jointly by Film and Television Studies and English and Comparative Literary Studies, as well as Modes of Reading, also in the English department.

You will study the following core modules:

  • Adaptation (taught jointly with English and Comparative Literary Studies)
  • Film and Television Analysis (taught by Film and Television Studies)
  • Film and Television Criticism (taught by Film and Television Studies)
  • Film History (taught by Film and Television Studies)
  • Film Theory (taught by Film and Television Studies)
  • Modes of Reading (taught entirely by English and Comparative Literary Studies)

In the second year, you will have more flexibility to tailor the course to your own interests, and core modules will focus on Hollywood Cinema and explore the concept of World-Cinemas using case studies linked to the expertise of your tutors. You will then take two further optional modules in Film and Television Studies (see the list below). The remaining 50% of Year Two modules will be selected from the options offered by English and Comparative Literary Studies.

In your final year, you will be able to specialise in a wide range of topics led by staff with specific expertise. These will be taught alongside the compulsory core modules Film Aesthetics 1 and Film Aesthetics 2 which make up 25% of your final year. A further 25% of optional modules must be taken with English. The remaining 50% of your final year can be split between the two departments depending on how your interests develop. Up to 25% of your final year can be composed of modules taken outside of both Film and Television Studies and English.

In your final year you also have the opportunity to apply for either our Film Production module or Dissertation. These are challenging final year modules focused on a substantial independent project. The Film production module is offered in association with the London Film School, and involves the production of a short film. This is a highly competitive module open to 20 students each year. The Dissertation is an independent research project on a topic of your choice.

Note that the module catalogue is subject to change for future years of study, as we evolve our courses in response to the latest developments in academia and industry. If optional modules are listed below, these can vary from year to year.

Fees and funding

Teaching and learning

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