Programme Specifications

Writing for Broadcasting, Media and Performance


1 : Awarding Institution / Body
Aberystwyth University

2a : Teaching Institution / University
Aberystwyth University

2b : Work-based learning (where appropriate)


Information provided by Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies:

N/A



3a : Programme accredited by
Aberystwyth University

3b : Programme approved by
Aberystwyth University

4 : Final Award
Bachelor of Arts

5 : Programme title
Writing for Broadcasting, Media and Performance

6 : UCAS code
P302

7 : QAA Subject Benchmark


Information provided by Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies:

Creative Writing



8 : Date of publication


Information provided by Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies:

September 2023



9 : Educational aims of the programme


Information provided by Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies:

• To empower students to become creative thinkers and articulate practitioners, able to think through and beyond the creative processes that drive their study and to reflect on their practice within a wider, relevant intellectual context.

• To provide students with key skills in the design, development and delivery of creative tasks such as writing for theatre, radio, film and television and an understanding of the historical and contemporary processes and methodologies relevant to the field.

• To encourage the academic examination of a broad range of artistic style, genres and forms that will directly feed into student understanding of and engagement with their own creative work and projects.

• To develop methodologies for producing creative outputs across the wide range of media current in writing for theatre, film and television and radio and to examine, understand and implement different ways of writing.

• To develop and direct their individual and collective creative impulses and methodologies to enable production of creative work that engages with external demands and timetables.

• To develop a sophisticated understanding of their relationship with the professional world in which writers for theatre, film and television and radio conduct and complete their work.

• To develop a range of strategies for designing, developing and delivering creative outputs that includes the ability to engage with and build on external, constructive, critical feedback.

• To read as a writer and respond to the affective qualities of language, style and genre.

• To engage in research and intellectual enquiry relevant to the task and field of study.

• To cultivate the ability to work constructively as a member of a group, assuming varied roles within that group.

• To foster independent thought and the ability to follow through on an individual vision.

• To enhance the development of communication skills, enabling students to express themselves coherently, imaginatively and persuasively both orally and in writing in creative forms and formats and forums.

• produce clear, accurate, artistically coherent and technically sophisticated written work, which articulates a combination of research and creative ideas.



10 : Intended learning outcomes


Information provided by Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies:



10.1 : Knowledge and understanding


Information provided by Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies:

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:

A1 Drama, theatre and performance as sites of study, thought and creative interplay that interact directly with audiences

A2 Film and Television and Radio as creative media that engage creatively with audience experience in varied and sophisticated ways

A3 A range of historical and contemporary performative texts that form the creative basis for films, television, radio and theatre events and experiences

A4 A range of key writings in the area of theatre, radio, film and television, including the critical and creative output of theorists, writers, directors, designer, actors and critics.

A5 The processes, methodologies and strategies by which theatre, film and television and radio scripts are produced and realized.

Learning and Teaching
The proposed new scheme builds on the department’s commitment to equipping students to understand and engage with the professional, industry environment in which the creative arts operate and is developed and nurtured. It speaks to the departmental agenda that provides professionally orientated learning and introduces new industry-orientated skills-based opportunities that capitalize on the collaborative imperative around with the University wide Institute structure is based. It also maintains and enrichens the portfolio of specialist and specialized skills offered by the department to students across its varied fields of study and is committed to developing both critical and creative thinking that is reflexive and outward-facing and engages with the creative arts within a scholarly, creative context.

Assessment Strategies and Methods
The scheme engages with the departmental commitment to a wider range of assessment methods and strategies that facilitates student engagement and opportunity to its maximum potential. There will be traditional essay based assessments as well as oral and written pitches, presentations and portfolio and there will be a consistent emphasis on editing and improving work through many drafts and iterations.



10.2 : Skills and other attributes


Information provided by Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies:

10.2.1 Intellectual Skills


By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

B1 The ability to identify, describe, interpret and critically interrogate a range of creative writing practices in the field of drama, film and television and radio

B2 The ability to contextualize, interpret and apply different historical and contemporary practice in the field of creative writing in theatre, film and television and radio

B3 the ability to analyse and identify different aspects of and stages in the compilation of a piece of creative writing in any of the relevant subject areas

B4 The ability to demonstrate an understanding of the impact of audiences on cultural and creative outputs

B5 The ability to sustain intellectual argument in both oral and written forms through written, mediated or live presentation, applying the most effective communication strategies

Learning and Teaching

The writing process is simultaneously one of creating and reading a text. Creative Writing students are required to read a wide range of texts: canonical works, the work of their peers, and, crucially, their own work. This scheme is characterised and enriched by the inclusion of creative practitioners, scholars and industry professionals. Alongside the direct artistic and professional requirements of the subject, lecturers will engage with the relationship between writing and other creative arts, theories of literary production, writing and society, writing and culture or writing and well-being. This scheme will have a distinctive focus on writing across a wide range of inter-connected creative media.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Ongoing assessment is a central function of the iterative nature of the workshop process, which embraces both tutor feedback and peer assessment, as well as a growing ability to self-critique. Ongoing assessment will be delivered in formal feedback tutorials and in discussion of revisions and re-drafting tasks. Creative Writing is characterised by its high level of feedback through workshops and individual attention, in written and in oral forms. There is a recognition that assessment is part of the learning process and that feedback is given regularly in order to further the student's development.

10.2.2 Professional practical skills / Discipline Specific Skills

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to:

C1 read as a writer - with an ability to analyse texts, performances and broadcasts, and respond to the affective power of language, using appropriate approaches, terminology and creative strategies

C2 communicate orally and through the written word concrete ideas and abstract concepts

C3 produce clear, accurate, artistically coherent and technically sophisticated written work, which articulates a combination of research and creative ideas

C4 view themselves as practitioners and reflect critically on their own creative writing practice

C5 use the views of others in the development and enhancement of practice; formulate considered practical responses to the critical judgements of others, while developing a generous yet rigorous critical scrutiny in peer review and workshop activities

Learning and Teaching

Students will develop a mature and nuanced aesthetic sensibility and sense of intellectual inquiry and employ an imaginative and divergent mode of thinking which is integral to identifying and solving problems, to the making of critical and reflective judgements, to the generation of alternatives and new ideas, and to engaging with broader issues of value in relation to their own work and the work of others.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

The scheme engages with the departmental commitment to a wider range of assessment methods and strategies that facilitates student engagement and opportunity to its maximum potential. There will be traditional essay based assessments as well as oral and written pitches, presentations and portfolio and there will be a consistent emphasis on editing and improving work through many drafts and iterations.



10.3 : Transferable/Key skills


Information provided by Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies:

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to:

D1 initiate and take responsibility for their own work

D2 self-manage and show a distinct ability to work independently, set goals, manage workloads and meet deadlines

D3 select and employ communication and information technologies: source, navigate, select, retrieve, evaluate, manipulate and manage information from a variety of sources

D4 communicate their own ideas and the ideas of others concisely, accurately and persuasively in order to influence opinion, developing, constructing and presenting arguments in appropriate ways

D5 adapt to different demands and tasks, and be able to look beyond the immediate task to the wider context, including the social and commercial effects of their work

Learning and Teaching
Creative writing incorporates a range of highly transferable skills, including a high level of professional competence. The use of industry professionals as guest speakers, visiting lecturers or knowledge transfer associates ensures the contemporary relevance of such teaching.

Assessment Strategies and Methods The Assessment methods that will focus specifically on this aspect of student learning will be peer assessment, draft tasks, practical presentation of pitches and review and development tasks. This will assess student ability to adopt critical approaches to their own work and the work of others, to function critically and creatively as members of groups and to refer that learning in the context of individual work and projects. There will also be final project assessment that will evaluate students’ capacity to meet the demands of the market and professional industries via the delivery of a bespoke project to a specific timetable with definitive resources.


11 : Program Structures and requirements, levels, modules, credits and awards



BA Writing for Broadcasting, Media and Performance [P302]

Academic Year: 2024/2025Single Honours scheme - available from 2017/2018

Duration (studying Full-Time): 3 years

Part 1 Rules

Year 1 Core (100 Credits)

Compulsory module(s).

Semester 1
FM10120

Studying Film

FM17320

Writing Continuing TV Drama

TP11020

Theatre in Context 1

Semester 2
FM10220

Studying Television

TP11320

Theatre in Context 2

Year 1 Options

Students may take up to 20 credits from options outside the degree scheme including the following modules. Students wishing to facilitate an alternative pathway at the end of Part One must take FM10520 Introduction to Media Production in order to be considered for transfer to W620 BA Film and Television Studies or TP11420 Site-Specific Performance Project in order to be considered for transfer to W400 BA Drama and Theatre Studies.

Semester 2
FM11120

Movements in Film History

FM11520

Making Short Films 1

TP11420

Site-Specific Performance Project

Part 2 Rules

Year 2 Core (40 Credits)

Compulsory module(s).

Semester 1
FM21620

Writing for Film and Television

Semester 2
FM27120

Writing Audio Drama

Year 2 Options

Student may choose 80 credits from the following

Semester 1
FM20120

LGBT Film & Television

FM20420

The Story of Television

FM26520

Creative Documentary

TP21820

Directors' Theatre

TP23820

New Media Performance

Semester 2
FM20920

Creative Fiction: Horror

FM21520

Film Stardom and Celebrity

FM24420

Art Cinema

FM25520

Digital Culture

TP20820

Theatre and Contemporary Society

TP23220

Shakespeare in Performance

Final Year Core (80 Credits)

Compulsory module(s).

Semester 1
FM37020

Scriptwriting 1

TP33300

Playwriting

Semester 2
FM37120

Scriptwriting 2

TP33340

Playwriting

Final Year Options

Single Honours Writing for Broadcasting, Media and Performance students may take up to 40 credits from the following modules:

Semester 1
FM34520

Experimental Cinema

FM36000

Independent Research Project

FM38220

Cult Cinema: Texts, Histories and Audiences

FM38320

Gender and the Media

FM38420

Videogame Theories

TP30020

Contemporary Drama

TP30320

Performance and Disability

Semester 2
FM30020

Contemporary Film and the Break-Up of Britain

FM30320

Contemporary TV

FM36040

Independent Research Project

TP33420

Performance and Architecture

TP39020

Musical Theatre Dramaturgies


12 : Support for students and their learning
Every student is allocated a Personal Tutor. Personal Tutors have an important role within the overall framework for supporting students and their personal development at the University. The role is crucial in helping students to identify where they might find support, how and where to seek advice and how to approach support to maximise their student experience. Further support for students and their learning is provided by Information Services and Student Support and Careers Services.

13 : Entry Requirements
Details of entry requirements for the scheme can be found at http://courses.aber.ac.uk

14 : Methods for evaluating and improving the quality and standards of teaching and learning
All taught study schemes are subject to annual monitoring and periodic review, which provide the University with assurance that schemes are meeting their aims, and also identify areas of good practice and disseminate this information in order to enhance the provision.

15 : Regulation of Assessment
Academic Regulations are published as Appendix 2 of the Academic Quality Handbook: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/aqro/handbook/app-2/.

15.1 : External Examiners
External Examiners fulfill an essential part of the University’s Quality Assurance. Annual reports by External Examiners are considered by Faculties and Academic Board at university level.

16 : Indicators of quality and standards
The Department Quality Audit questionnaire serves as a checklist about the current requirements of the University’s Academic Quality Handbook. The periodic Department Reviews provide an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of quality assurance processes and for the University to assure itself that management of quality and standards which are the responsibility of the University as a whole are being delivered successfully.