Course Overview

Taking Film Studies and Sociology at Lancaster gives you the opportunity to learn from leading academics at the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts - ranked third for its Art and Design research by the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise - and our Sociology Department, ranked in the top five in the most 2008 UK Research Assessment Exercise.

Film Studies combines particularly well with Sociology because it examines cinema's role as a major contemporary cultural form that influences, reflects and shapes social values and beliefs. You'll examine cinema's aesthetic importance in the context of an increasingly visual and media-oriented culture, while investigating the connections between contemporary art, theatre, music and film.

You'll be able to select from a wide range of options in both disciplines to complement your compulsory courses, beginning with the core first-year modules Introduction to Film Studies and Introduction to Sociology.  In your second year, your courses include Film Cultures; Understanding Social Thought, and Sociological Research Methods. You'll complete a Film Dissertation in your final year.

For a list of compulsory modules, please see the tab above.

Studying Film at Lancaster has exposed me to a wide variety of films and film theory that I otherwise wouldn't have encountered.

Career opportunities

Lancaster's Film Studies and Sociology graduates have strong research, analytical and communication skills, which open doors in the public and private sectors. Our graduates are highly employable and have a strong track record in finding work, especially in the advertising, marketing and media industries.

Many alumni go on to follow one of the postgraduate MA degrees offered at Lancaster; undertake vocational postgraduate training in media-related professions such as journalism, or pursue careers in law, computing consultancy, finance and local government.