MA Documentary Film

An applicant will normally be considered for admission if they have achieved an educational level equivalent to an honours degree.

Applicants should have a proven interest in documentary films and a keen desire to make documentary films. You should know what kinds of documentary interest you and why you have an ambition to deepen your involvement in documentary film study and production.

Successful applicants have generally made their own videos and have some experience of filming, but we can also consider candidates without a production background who demonstrate exceptional film ideas and directing potential. We often have applications from mid-career photographers or producers in related fields.

Your experience is assessed as a learning process and tutors will evaluate that experience for currency, validity, quality and sufficiency. Your educational level may be demonstrated by:

• Honours degree;
• Possession of equivalent qualifications;
• Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required;
• Or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

APEL (Accreditation of Prior Learning)

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

• Related academic or work experience
• The quality of the personal statement
• A strong academic or other professional reference
• OR a combination of these factors

Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

For fees and funding information, please see website 

Graduates go into a range of film-making options such as production and academic research. Alumni of this course have also gone on to associate producer roles and commissions in broadcast and independent sectors. Much depends on individual focus and aspiration.

Many former students are now building strong reputations for their work on the course. Alana McVerry is a producer at VICE after making documentaries for the BBC; Leila Hussain is making short documentary features all over the world for CNN; Anahi Aradas has made films for BBC World and Victoria Burns won a Mead Fellowship to make a one-hour observational documentary on the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre.

Autumn, term 1

• Documentary Development (40 credits)
  You’ll be introduced to documentary filmmaking and equipped with the core practice skills of documentary film production. You’ll be encouraged to research, develop and pitch a documentary idea which you’ll go on to produce as your Major Project film.
• Documentary History and Theory (20 credits)
  This unit positions documentary production within a historical and theoretical context.

Spring, term 2

• Documentary Development (Continued)
• Documentary Ethics and Methods (20 credits)
  You’ll explore the relationship between filmmakers and their subjects, questions of representation, and the ethics and practices of documentary filmmakers.
• Collaborative Unit (20 credits)
  With a focus on student-driven collaboration, you’ll identify and develop collaborative working relationships with a range of possible partners, from postgraduate student colleagues on your course to external parties.
• Major Project (60 credits)
  This unit initiates the production and direction of an individually authored or co-authored documentary film of up to 20 minutes, which is accompanied by a portfolio of research, a proposal and a treatment.

Summer, term 3

• Documentary: Contemporary Discourses (20 credits)
  This unit weaves together analysis of present-day issues faced by the documentary film business and brings up-to-date examination of contemporary approaches to storytelling and the documentary form.
• Major Project (continued)

Autumn, term 4

Your Major Project will resume, culminating with a critical and analytical report which contextualises your documentary film while articulating a promotional and impact strategy aligned to your future professional plans.

If you are unable to continue or decide to exit the course, there are two possible exit awards. A Postgraduate Certificate will be awarded on successful completion of the first 60 credits and a Postgraduate Diploma will be awarded on successful completion of the first 120 credits.