Choosing the Right University for Film & TV Production

1

I’m currently planning to study Film and TV Production and am finding it difficult to decide which university would be the best fit for me. At the moment, I’m considering Bournemouth University, the University of Staffordshire, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Hertfordshire.
I’m genuinely interested in all of these options, as each university offers strong courses and facilities in film and television. If anyone currently studies at, or has previously attended, any of these universities, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. I’d love to know what student life is like, what the course is really like day to day, and what you think the main strengths of the university are such as industry links, facilities, teaching style, or support.
Any advice or personal insight would be really helpful in helping me make my decision. Thank you!

Reply 1

StaffsRep Lucy

Official Rep

6

Original post

by Aysha_heart

I’m currently planning to study Film and TV Production and am finding it difficult to decide which university would be the best fit for me. At the moment, I’m considering Bournemouth University, the University of Staffordshire, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Hertfordshire.
I’m genuinely interested in all of these options, as each university offers strong courses and facilities in film and television. If anyone currently studies at, or has previously attended, any of these universities, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. I’d love to know what student life is like, what the course is really like day to day, and what you think the main strengths of the university are such as industry links, facilities, teaching style, or support.
Any advice or personal insight would be really helpful in helping me make my decision. Thank you!

Hi!! University of staffs games art student here!

So in terms of facilities that I can think of, I know they have a massive motion capture set up with motion capture suits, including props such as guns and swords. They have large TVs which map your movement to the motion capture suits. They definitely have more facilities, but I can vouch for this as part of the games side.

Student life is fantastic here!! I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make friends and being serious, I’ve actually made over 40. INSANE! Of course with help from the campus connect app they run which allows you to connect with other students from your course, from your accom, and from your year!!

They have loads of social events that run weekly, they have karaoke every Tuesday, a Bar Stock Exchange night every month, DJ Deck Night. Which these are absolutely fantastic for making friends.

On the academic sides of events, we also have industry talks every 1-2 weeks. Weekly society events from over 80 societies to choose from, and of course special events such as job searching events, society events, and industry events such as UKIE.

The games art course is honestly so fun, the work load is perfect as there isn’t too much but there is enough that you won’t get bored! They also have around 85 staff to help on the games courses, so wherever theres a question, it can be answered somewhere. In my last lecture, I had 4 staff and 1 postgraduate student helping me with a question I had!

The games rooms themselves have dual monitors and really high spec PCs with all the software you could ask for. They also have 24 hour rooms where you can go in at whatever time you like!

In terms of support, we also have a staff mentor which you get personally assigned so that you can ask them personal questions, such as mental health, extensions, etc which is really beneficial for our support.

Overall, I’m loving staffs and I’m so glad I came!!

Reply 2

filmworker

6

Only Bournemouth and Hertfordshire from your choices are CILECT member schools, and you should look at those and their alignment with industry, outputs and award winning student work. Bournemouth, Staffordshire and Greenwich are all ranked lower than Hertfordshire in the Guardian subject league table for Film Production. Have you visited any for open days and met the staff and any current students?

Reply 3

Coventry University Student Ambassadors

Official Rep

18

Hello!

I'm a first year film production student at Coventry University! When I was looking for universities the main thing I researched was if they had a placement year option and how they approached the topic of employability after university. In the end I applied to Bath Spa, UEA and Coventry. They all had a placement year option, great work from former students, great connections to industry and great facilities for practical film making.

My day to day is quite social and practical with a lot of in class tasks and group work. The University buildings as well as my student accommodation are near the city centre so in between and after classes I tend to go to places like Greggs or me and friends just walk around. I also have a week or two where there are no classes and we film / complete the main body of our coursework such as scripts, essays or short films. One thing I did not realise until starting university is the amount of free time you have, especially living independently in student accommodation.

The main reasons I chose Coventry University include:

•

The career support - They have a Talent Team dedicated employability and internship/placement support

•

The facilities which include large media loans shop and studios/sets - students may book out professional industry standard equipment for free for a few days at a time

•

The university is spread out around the city making it feel creative and well connected rather than a closed-off student town

My biggest piece of advice is to go to open or taster days and get a feel for each university you are interested in. The most important factor is how you feel at the university and how the teachers, facilities and area are in person! This was one of the things that helped me decide on what to pick.

Let me know if you have any questions

I hope this was able to give you some insight!

Esther
Film Production Student Ambassador

Reply 4

University of Salford Student Rep

Official Rep

13

Original post

by Aysha_heart

I’m currently planning to study Film and TV Production and am finding it difficult to decide which university would be the best fit for me. At the moment, I’m considering Bournemouth University, the University of Staffordshire, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Hertfordshire.
I’m genuinely interested in all of these options, as each university offers strong courses and facilities in film and television. If anyone currently studies at, or has previously attended, any of these universities, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. I’d love to know what student life is like, what the course is really like day to day, and what you think the main strengths of the university are such as industry links, facilities, teaching style, or support.
Any advice or personal insight would be really helpful in helping me make my decision. Thank you!

Hi,
I am a Tv and Radio student not at the Uni's you mentioned but I also struggled when making a choice on where to go.

If the courses all appeal to you and one isn't standing out as a clear first place, I would suggest you visit each place and focus more on deciding if that town / city is where you would want to live.

Are the activities you enjoy available there?
Is there a place to get your favorite food?
Do you like the atmosphere of the place?
If it was the exact same course at each Uni which would you pick based on other factors?

University is about education and studying your interests. However if the place you're in doesn't provide you with the resources and atmosphere to relax and enjoy outside of your course, it can really effect your time at uni.

You could pick somewhere with the top course in the country but if there is no outlet, the pressure of university can be overwhelming.

My advice is narrow it down by course then decide based on vibes.

Eleanor
University of Salford Student Rep :grin:

Reply 5

PQ

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post

by Aysha_heart

I’m currently planning to study Film and TV Production and am finding it difficult to decide which university would be the best fit for me. At the moment, I’m considering Bournemouth University, the University of Staffordshire, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Hertfordshire.
I’m genuinely interested in all of these options, as each university offers strong courses and facilities in film and television. If anyone currently studies at, or has previously attended, any of these universities, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. I’d love to know what student life is like, what the course is really like day to day, and what you think the main strengths of the university are such as industry links, facilities, teaching style, or support.
Any advice or personal insight would be really helpful in helping me make my decision. Thank you!

Are you applying to Bournemouth or AUB?

I saw a BU student recently advertising for actors for their student films who said the course didn't provide the budget or fundraising support to pay professional actors. That's not the case at the best film schools - so it's a good question to ask to all of your choices when working out the course strength and facilities.

Choosing the Right University for Film & TV Production

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