Media & Communication Foundation Year

Core units

This Foundation Year will give you a grounding in media and communication skills through the following core units – building your confidence, knowledge and skills for further study. After successful completion of the Foundation Year, you will progress to a full degree – skip to a list of courses that offer this Foundation Year.

Please note: You will need to complete two core units in addition to the two core units associated with your chosen pathway (pathway 1: Communication & Media or pathway 2: Humanities & Law):

Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be the opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources.
Collaborative Communication Project: The unit focuses on the centrality of communication, both as a process and as a project. Through the collaborative development of a communication solution to a specific communication problem, the unit aims to promote the principles and practices of team-based iterative project work.

Pathway 1 core units

Media & Current Debates: You will be introduced to a) the important role and responsibilities of the news media within democratic societies and b) the varied nature of reporting of key events, issues and debates within the contemporary 24/7 news cycle. You will gain an essential level of understanding of what constitutes news and what the work of journalists entails. You will also develop an awareness and appreciation of differing coverage of particular stories by a range of news organisations.
Media Work: You will become familiar with a range of profiles and career paths in the communication and media industries and be inspired to reflect on and develop your own professional identity. Through case studies of seminal campaigns, programmes and artefacts, profiles of ground-breaking personalities, masterclasses from industry professionals, and guest talks from BU staff who have worked or currently work in marketing, PR, media production, journalism and communications, you will encounter and interact with diverse role models, career trajectories, and types of professional practice.

Pathway 2 core units

Understanding Contemporary Britain: During this unit you will be introduced to key aspects of culture and society in Britain today. You will develop an understanding of the relationship between developments in culture, politics and society in the making of modern Britain and be able to identify a number of different critical perspectives on those developments.
Law & Government: You will trace a case study through the United Kingdom's political and legal system, following the case study from its inception in a political party's election manifesto, through the legislative process, to how the judiciary interprets its provisions within a court of law. Building out from this case study you will develop an understanding of practical and theoretical underpinnings of politics and law.

Entry requirements
Numeracy and literacy requirements	There are no GCSE requirements. The foundation year will cover these skills in preparation for degree study.
For September 2025 entry	48–72 UCAS tariff points.
English language requirements for September 2025 entry	If English is not your first language, you'll need IELTS (Academic) 5.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in in each component, or equivalent.

Courses you can study following this Foundation Year

Each course’s Foundation Year option has its own unique UCAS code, which is listed on the course pages below. Make sure you choose the correct code as well as the right institution code when you search for a course and fill in your application on the UCAS website. Our institution code is B50. Select each course to find out the tuition fee for the Foundation Year.