Introduction
Film & Visual Culture at Aberdeen takes you on a fascinating and unique journey through the history and theory of the moving image over the last 100 years of cinema. You will study in the vibrant environment of a leading teaching and research university with a buzzing regional cultural scene, in a region of outstanding natural beauty and inspiration.
Study Information
At a Glance
- Learning Mode
- On Campus Learning
- Degree Qualification
- MA
- Duration
- 48 months
- Study Mode
- Full Time
- Start Month
- September
- UCAS Code
- W690
Our unique Film & Visual Culture programme at Aberdeen offers a rigorous training in the history and theory of the moving image, as well as the shifting terrain of 21st century visual culture.
You will combine the analysis of visual objects and artefacts– analogue and digital, moving and still, underground and mainstream – with theory to explore a range of underground and mainstream cinematic movements. You will also look at the practical elements of film and visual culture, including the production and circulation of film.
This broad, rigorous and enquiring approach is a great preparation for further study or for a career in the film industry, broadcasting, new media, journalism, teaching and other related fields. New opportunities in Scottish broadcasting are available through our Joint degree in Film and Visual Culture and Gaelic Studies.
As you learn, you will be inspired by our friendly and vibrant international community, on a beautiful medieval campus with great facilities for learning, sports and leisure and will have many opportunities to develop the extra skills and interests that will boost your employability further and to broaden your horizons through study abroad.
What You'll Study
Film & Visual Culture at Aberdeen explores the movements of film and cinema over the past 100 years. The range of courses on offer will enable you to develop your knowledge and understanding of themes that particularly interest you. You will develop advanced analytical and evaluation skills by studying topics such as mise-en-scène, narrative structure, cinematography, cinematic style and ideology, cinema and revolution, visual art and science; global silent cinema and new media.
- Year 1
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Compulsory Courses
- Academic Writing for Language & Literature (AW1008)
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This compulsory evaluation is designed to find out if your academic writing is of a sufficient standard to enable you to succeed at university and, if you need it, to provide support to improve. It is completed on-line via MyAberdeen with clear instructions to guide you through it. If you pass the evaluation at the first assessment it will not take much of your time. If you do not, you will be provided with resources to help you improve. This evaluation does not carry credits but if you do not complete it this will be recorded on your degree transcript.
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD1002)
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This course, which is prescribed for level 1 undergraduate students (and articulating students who are in their first year at the University), is studied entirely online, takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks.
Topics include orientation overview, equality and diversity, health, safety and cyber security and how to make the most of your time at university in relation to careers and employability.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
- Introduction to Visual Culture (FS1008)
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15 Credit Points
What is Visual Culture? Over the last twenty years, the visual landscape has become digital, virtual, viral, and global. A vibrant cross-section of scholars and practitioners from Art History, Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, Anthropology, and Film Studies have responded, not only engaging contemporary image production and consumption, but also the foundations of visual knowledge: What is an image? What is vision? How and why do we look, gaze, and spectate? From the nomadic pathways of the digital archive to the embodied look that looks back, this course will introduce students to the key concepts that shape this fluid field.
- Introduction to Film and the Cinematic Experience (FS1508)
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15 Credit Points
This course offers an introduction to the language and practice of formal film analysis. Each week we will explore a different element of film form and analyze the ways in which it shapes the moving image. This course invites students to think about formal elements within and across a wide range of genres, styles, historical moments, and national contexts. By the end of this course, the successful FS1508 student will be able to recognize and communicate the ways in which meaning is made in cinema.
Optional Courses
Select further courses of choice to make up 120 credit points.
- Year 2
-
Compulsory Courses
- Visualising Modernity (FS2007)
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30 Credit Points
The first half of a film history sequence at the second year level, Visualising Modernity focuses on crucial moments, concepts and cinematic works from the period 1895 to 1945. Students will be marked according to a mid-term essay, a final exam, short assignments on Blackboard, and attendance in lectures and tutorials.
- Visualising Revolution (FS2507)
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30 Credit Points
The second half of a film history sequence at the second year level, Cinema & Revolution focuses on crucial moments, concepts and cinematic works from the period between 1945 and the present. Students will be marked according to a mid-term essay, a final exam, short assignments on Blackboard, and participation and attendance in lectures and tutorials.
Optional Courses
Select further courses of choice to make up 120 credit points.
- Year 3
-
Optional Courses
Select 90 credit points from level 3 Film and Visual Culture courses, plus a further 30 credit points from courses of choice.
- Year 4
-
Optional Courses
Select ONE of the following:
- FS4002 Dissertation in Film and Visual Culture
- FS4506 Dissertation in Film and Visual Culture
Plus select a further 90 credit points from available Film and Visual Culture courses.
- Dissertation in Film & Visual Culture (FS4506)
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30 Credit Points
Students will have the opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic of their choosing within Film and Visual Culture.
- Dissertation in Film & Visual Culture (FS4002)
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30 Credit Points
Students will have the opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic of their choosing within Film and Visual Culture.
We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
How You'll Study
Film is a popular subject and therefore first and second-year courses involve large lecture classes. Weekly tutorials, however, enable closer work with the tutor and with other students. Marks for the course are normally based in part on participation in these tutorials and involve research, essays, exams and My Aberdeen written submissions, depending on individual course requirements. Honours courses are based on seminars which encourage active participation.
Learning Methods
- Lectures
- Research
- Tutorials
Assessment Methods
Students are assessed by any combination of three assessment methods:
- Coursework such as essays and reports completed throughout the course.
- Practical assessments of the skills and competencies they learn on the course.
- Written examinations at the end of each course.
The exact mix of these methods differs between subject areas, years of study and individual courses.
Honours projects are typically assessed on the basis of a written dissertation.
Why Study Film & Visual Culture?
- A curriculum which perfectly balances creativity with broad study, theory and critical analysis as you learn to think within the movements of cinema and pursue questions beyond the film frame.
- Directors Cut, the University’s popular events series inviting leading international film-makers to campus for masterclasses with students, and packed public events, filmed for the web.
- Previous Director's Cut guests include Sir David Attenborough, Nicholas Roeg, John Akomfrah, Raul Ruiz, Kevin MacDonald, and Peter Lambert, film editor with successes from Love Actually to the Twilight Saga.
- The George Washington Wilson Centre for Visual Culture, promoting interest and organising events in visual culture, including film, photography, art history, anthropology and museum studies.
- The spectacular, award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library providing a stunning study environment with state-of-the-art technology.
- A packed campus programme of student and public events, exhibitions, seminars, café discussions and film showings, including the annual May Festival and Director’s Cut events as highlights of the programme.
- An exciting and flourishing cultural scene in north-east Scotland, including the independent Belmont Filmhouse which celebrates world cinema in all its brilliance and diversity, and frequently partners with this academic programme.
- Your programme also looks at the practical elements of film and visual culture, including the production and circulation of film.
- Strong emphasis on applied learning as well as theory, so you develop a range of practical skills that will give you a good grounding in your future career.
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
The University of Aberdeen is delighted to offer eligible self-funded international on-campus undergraduate students a £6,000 scholarship for every year of their programme.
View the Aberdeen Global ScholarshipEntry Requirements
Qualifications
The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.
General Entry Requirements
- 2024 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: AABB
Applicants who have achieved AABB (or better), are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/ Advanced Highers may be required.
Minimum: BBB
Applicants who have achieved BBB (or are on course to achieve this by the end of S5) are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/Advanced Highers will normally be required.
Adjusted: BB
Applicants who achieve BB over S4 and S5 and who meet one of the widening access criteria are guaranteed a conditional offer. Good performance in additional Highers/Advanced Highers will be required.
More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBB
Minimum: BBC
Adjusted: CCC
More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.
International Baccalaureate
32 points, including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
Irish Leaving Certificate
5H with 3 at H2 AND 2 at H3.
Entry from College
Advanced entry to this degree may be possible from some HNC/HND qualifications, please see www.abdn.ac.uk/study/articulation for more details.
- 2025 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: BBBB
Applicants who have achieved BBBB (or better), are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/ Advanced Highers may be required.
Minimum: BBC
Applicants who have achieved BBC at Higher and meet one of the widening participation criteria above are encouraged to apply and are guaranteed an unconditional offer for MA, BSc and BEng degrees.
Adjusted: BB
Applicants who have achieved BB at Higher, and who meet one of the widening participation criteria above are encouraged to apply and are guaranteed an adjusted conditional offer for MA, BSc and BEng degrees.
We would expect to issue a conditional offer asking for one additional C grade at Higher.
Foundation Apprenticeship: One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.
More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBC
Minimum: BCC
Adjusted: CCC
More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.
International Baccalaureate
32 points, including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
Irish Leaving Certificate
5H with 3 at H2 AND 2 at H3.
Entry from College
Advanced entry to this degree may be possible from some HNC/HND qualifications, please see www.abdn.ac.uk/study/articulation for more details.
The information displayed in this section shows a shortened summary of our entry requirements. For more information, or for full entry requirements for Arts and Social Sciences degrees, see our detailed entry requirements section.
English Language Requirements
To study for an Undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:
IELTS Academic:
OVERALL - 6.0 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 5.5; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0
TOEFL iBT:
OVERALL - 78 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 18; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21
PTE Academic:
OVERALL - 59 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59
Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency:
OVERALL - 169 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 162; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169
Read more about specific English Language requirements here.
Fees and Funding
You will be classified as one of the fee categories below.
| Fee category | Cost |
|---|---|
| RUK | £9,250 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | |
| EU / International students | £20,800 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | |
| Home Students | £1,820 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year |
Additional Fees
- In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips. Any additional fees for a course can be found in our Catalogue of Courses.
- For more information about tuition fees for this programme, including payment plans and our refund policy, please visit our Tuition Fees page.
Scholarships and Funding
UK Scholarship
Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who pay tuition fees may be eligible for specific scholarships allowing them to receive additional funding. These are designed to provide assistance to help students support themselves during their time at Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
The University of Aberdeen is delighted to offer eligible self-funded international on-campus undergraduate students a £6,000 scholarship for every year of their programme. More about this funding opportunity.Funding Database
View all funding options in our Funding Database.
Careers
Our Film & Visual Culture programme at Aberdeen is designed to advance your knowledge in the academic study of cinema and you will also have the opportunity to develop skills in digital video production and web design. This programme will provide you with an invaluable platform for further study or a career in the film industry. Previous graduates of our programme have gone on to work in areas such as broadcasting, teaching, new media and journalism.
Our Experts
Information About Staff Changes
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
Features
Teaching Excellence
Teaching staff on our Film & Visual Culture programme adopt a range of teaching methods to ensure that you learn in a way that fits your learning style. Our small tutorial groups enable you to work closely with your tutor and other students. Many of our staff are actively involved in research of film and visual culture, and you will benefit from their first-hand insight.
Discover Uni
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Get in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
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Student Recruitment & Admissions
University of Aberdeen
University Office
Regent Walk
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX