Which uni

So I have unconditionals from Staffordshire university and Hertfordshire university for film and television production. Which one is better for that course and does anyone who has taken the course at either university provide your experience on the course or just at the university in general. Thanks

Reply 1

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Beth.h58

Have you visited yet?

What are your other 3 choices?

What are your priorities for the course?
What are your priorities for the sort of environment that you would be happy in?

Reply 2

Beth.h58

Original post by PQ

Have you visited yet?

What are your other 3 choices?

What are your priorities for the course?
What are your priorities for the sort of environment that you would be happy in?

My priorities for the course are the facilities, the teaching and the modules.
My ideal environment would be a good night life around the uni, feeling safe and just a university which really embraces the typical university student life

Reply 3

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Beth.h58

And have you visited them yet?

What are your other 3 choices?

Reply 4

Staffordshire University

Official Rep

Original post by Beth.h58

Hi @Beth.h58

Great news that you've got an unconditional offer at Staffs - fingers crossed you'll be joining us in September :smile:

You mentioned facilities was quite an important factor for you. Check out our tour of our newly revamped TV studios:

In addition we're currently in the process of making some new student-led content for this course - so please keep your eye on our YouTube channel in the next few months.

In terms of other key selling points of our course:

- This is a new pathway course - which means after your first year you'll be able to choose an area to specialise (such as Music Video) if you wish - or you can stick with a broader degree. This can really help to hone your skills if you have a particular direction you know you want to go in

- We have our own Media Centre where you can rent out everything from 6K cameras to lights - this is all industry-standard kit that you'll get fully trained on so you'll be able to hit the ground running when you graduate (you won't have to learn how to use loads of new kit)

- We also have our own production studios, TV studio and specialist editing suites on campus

- On this course you'll have the option to take part in the BAFTA Albert Scheme - this is a new scheme which teaches you how to be sustainable when making films

In terms of finding out more about student life on campus, check out our Student Vlogs.

Hope that all helps - but give me a shout if you have any more Qs.

Thanks

Amy

Reply 5

Beth.h58

Original post by PQ

And have you visited them yet?

What are your other 3 choices?

I’ve visited Staffordshire twice as it’s only 40 mins away from me. I’ve been to Hertfordshire once and was really impressed with it. My other three choices are edge hill, teeside and York but haven’t heard from York yet

Reply 6

Beth.h58

Original post by Staffordshire University

Hi @Beth.h58

Great news that you've got an unconditional offer at Staffs - fingers crossed you'll be joining us in September :smile:

You mentioned facilities was quite an important factor for you. Check out our tour of our newly revamped TV studios:

Wow thanks that’s really helpful. Is there the option to study abroad/ year work placement and how accessible it is?

Reply 7

Staffordshire University

Official Rep

Original post by Beth.h58

Wow thanks that’s really helpful. Is there the option to study abroad/ year work placement and how accessible it is?

Hi @Beth.h58

Yep, there's definitely the option to take a full sandwich year in industry (between 2nd and 3rd year) - and there's also the option to study abroad on our Erasmus scheme. You can find more info here.

Hope that helps.

Thanks

Amy

Reply 8

HertsExRep

Original post by Beth.h58

Hi @Beth.h58!

Congratulations on your unconditional offers!! 🎉

Hertfordshire is a brilliant place to study film and television production. The Guardian ranks us in the top 25% of Universities for Film courses. Additionally, teaching at the University of Hertfordshire is rated TEF Gold by the Government, meaning that Hertfordshire "consistently delivers outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for its students".

The University is ideally located, allowing for close relations between the school and industry. Warner Bros. studios are just down the road in Watford. Even closer are the Elstree Studios and BBC Elstree in Borehamwood, with Sky recently announcing that they will be opening an Elstree studio too. In fact, I'm not sure I can think of many other UK Universities which have that many Film & TV studios within a 25 minute drive of campus! Our exhibition of final year students work, Vision Festival takes place annually and is sponsored by BBC, BFI, ITV and Warner Bros. Our Film & Television production course is accredited by several bodies, including the renowned CILECT association. CILECT was formed in Cannes in 1955 and recognises the best film schools worldwide. The Herts Film & Television production course is one of only 13 UK courses endorsed by CILECT. Membership of CILECT requires the highest standard of teaching and allows schools to network internationally.

Additionally, being situated in South Hertfordshire means that central London is just a 25 minute train journey away, which means there is always something to see and do nearby! We are a campus University, with two large campuses. I imagine you will have seen a fair bit of our College Lane campus when you visited. We have hundreds of newly built flats on campus, so finding a place to stay on campus is usually fairly easy.

In terms of security and safety, Hatfield has been recognised as one of the safest UK University towns in recent years. Our campus has round the clock security patrols and a dedicated emergency team on call 24/7. The campus is also great for nightlife. We have a pub and nightclub on campus. Additionally, the facilities like the on campus gym and library are open 24/7 which is very convenient. The University also has an on-campus pharmacy and doctors surgery which I have found to be very helpful.

I hope this helps! Any more questions about Herts, let me know :biggrin:

Reply 9

Beth.h58

Hi, thank you that’s really helpful.
I do have a couple questions. Do you think the university and that course in particular has a good reputation in terms of employers, is it recognised as a respected film and television course by employers?
Also when I visited I didn’t get a good chance to take a look around the facilities for the course (due to me being ill) and it’s 2 hours away from where I live so probably won’t get another chance to look around again. What are the facilities like? And how to they compare to other universities’?

Reply 10

HertsExRep

Original post by Beth.h58

Yes, it certainly does. The industry accreditation (such as ScreenSkills, CILECT, The Production Guild and Avid) mean that the course is highly relevant to industry.

The University of Hertfordshire film event sponsorship from the likes of BBC, BFI, Warner Bros and Avid show that companies & institutions are interested and supportive of our film courses.

We have had graduates from this course end up in great jobs. Here are a few examples of roles are graduates are currently in:
- Producer: The Grand Tour
- Archivist and Script Editor: EastEnders
- Visual Effects Production Assistant: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Head of Editorial, The Edge Picture Company
- Editor, IMG
- Camera Operator: Victorian Bakery (BBC)

Sorry to hear you were unwell during our open day! Being that I am not a Film student, it's quite hard for me to comment on the Film & TV production facilities here at Herts, but I have had a good experience with the University facilities overall.

As I mentioned, the University has a library which is open 24/7. Here you will find course specific resources, access to software related to your course, around the clock library support, literacy support (help for students on all courses for things like essay writing), hundreds of PCs, places to chill away from the desk and even a cafe.

The University offers some great accommodation. The College Lane campus (on which the School of Creative Arts and the Media Department is based) has hundreds of newly built rooms. You may have seen some of these on your open day. These are based in a grassy area at the top of campus. The accommodation has round the clock security and is close to sports facilities.

Transport connections are pretty good also. There is a bus station on campus with regular services to St Albans, Hatfield Rail Station, Asda, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage and even more further-afield locations such as North London and Hitchin.

If you would like to run any of your questions about course specific facilities by someone in the School of Creative Arts, I would recommend contacting programme leader Chris Chandler on [email protected].