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Students
Tuition Fee
Start Date
2025-09-01
Medium of studying
On campus
Duration
12 months
Program Facts
Program Details
Degree
Masters
Major
Documentary Studies | Film Production | Film Studies
Area of study
Arts
Education type
On campus
Timing
Full time
Course Language
English
Intakes
Program start dateApplication deadline
2025-09-01-
About Program

Program Overview


MA Documentary Filmmaking: Landscape and Ecology

Key Facts

  • Course Code: P311-MA
  • Qualification: MA
  • Course duration: 1 year
  • Available for September start 2025

Typical Entry Requirements

  • Entry Requirements: 2:1 Bachelors (Honours) degree in a relevant subject area, or equivalent. Non-graduates will be considered individually based on relevant work experience/professional practice.
  • English Language Requirements: IELTS 7.0 with minimum 6.0 in each component, or equivalent
  • Other Requirements: Applicants are encouraged to submit an up-to-date CV as part of their application.

Course Overview

The MA in Documentary Film at Aberystwyth provides you with a unique opportunity to develop your practical skills as a documentary filmmaker in a research-led context and with access to both film and digital technologies.


You will have the opportunity to explore a range of techniques, experiment with new approaches and take risks as you develop your own creative voice through a period of sustained reflection that leads to a final practical project. The scheme is designed to equip you with technical expertise, supported by a grounding in the key critical debates in documentary film. You will be encouraged to experiment with different media and methods, and to think about documentary as a form of both personal expression and political intervention, stimulating new ways of seeing and engaging with the world.


Specialist opportunities at Aberystwyth for Documentary Film students include:


  • benefitting first-hand from the Department's strengths in site-specific practice
  • use of facilities to work across digital, 8mm and 16mm film, including a digital research lab and darkrooms for analogue film and photography
  • access to the National Screen and Sound Archive at the National Library of Wales
  • taking part in workshops and masterclasses with visiting artists
  • field work and trips.

About this course

  • Duration: 1 year (full-time) or 2 years (part-time). The academic year (September to September) is divided into three semesters: September to January; January to June; June to September.
  • Contact Time: Approximately 10-14 hours per week in the first two semesters. During semester three you will arrange your level of contact time with your assigned supervisor, who will support you through your final practical project. In addition to scheduled teaching times, you will also have access to specialist technical workspaces to pursue independent study and creative practice throughout the course.

Modules September start - 2025

Year 1


  • Core:
    • 16mm Filmmaking (TFM0720, 20 credits)
    • Documentary Practices (TFM0840, 40 credits)
    • Ecocriticism and Ecocinema (TFM0920, 20 credits)
    • Space, Place and Visual Culture (TFM0420, 20 credits)
    • Practice Research Project (TFM1060, 60 credits)
  • Options:
    • Behaviour Change in a Changing Environment (EAM4420, 20 credits)
    • Engaging Publics (TPM1820, 20 credits)
    • Indigenous Politics (IPM0620, 20 credits)

Careers

You will be equipped with the creative and critical skills required to pursue a career as independent filmmakers, artists or collaborators within professional organisations. You will gain advanced technical knowledge in your chosen specialisms, including camerawork, sound and editing.


Teaching & Learning

  • What will I learn?
    • Documentary Practices
    • 16mm Filmmaking
    • Key Concepts and Debates in Human Geography
    • Risk, Resilience and Behaviour in a Changing Environment
    • Ecocriticism and Ecocinema
    • Human Geography: Theory and Method
    • Exhibiting Film
    • Engaging Publics
    • Practice Research Project
  • How will I learn?
    • The taught part of the course is delivered through lectures, seminars, practical workshops and screenings. During semester three (June-September), you will arrange your level of contact time with your assigned supervisor. In addition to scheduled teaching times you will also have access to technical workspaces to pursue independent study and creative practice throughout the course.
  • How will I be assessed?
    • Assessment is designed to extend your critical and creative capabilities. You will engage in at least five practical film projects, write a number of essays, reflective journals and critical reflections and devise a curatorial project related to documentary film. In the third semester, you will complete a substantial research-led film project of 15-20 minutes (with a supporting 5,000 word essay), the shape of which will be determined in discussion with the relevant supervisor. You will submit your film work to appropriate film festivals and screening events and you will be supported in this by an experienced staff member.
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Admission Requirements

Entry Requirements:

  • 2:1 Bachelors (Honours) degree in a relevant subject area, or equivalent.
  • Non-graduates will be considered individually based on relevant work experience/professional practice.

Language Proficiency Requirements:

  • IELTS 7.0 with minimum 6.0 in each component, or equivalent.
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