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BA (Hons) Business of the Creative Industries

Be the business mind behind great art with this unique and innovative course

Year of entry: 2024/25

UCAS code

W900

Institution code

Y50

Length

3 years full-time

Typical offer

ABB (full entry requirements)

Start date

September 2024 (semester dates)

UK (home) fees

£9,250 per year

International and EU fees

£23,700 per year

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Discover York

Develop the leadership and entrepreneurial skills to manage and inspire the creative industries. Combine advanced business knowledge with practical production and insight into film, television, theatre, music and interactive media.

The creative industries are a major UK success story. Together they contribute £110 billion to our economy every year. These industries are always on the look-out for talented graduates with business skills to continue the UK's growth as it develops international partnerships and enters new creative markets across the globe.

Drawing on our expertise and our extensive industry contacts, with teaching that intersects with production-oriented activities, you'll develop the experience required to successfully initiate, drive and manage creative projects and businesses in this exciting area. You can explore your own creative potential - on screen, stage, or in interactive media - while acquiring the knowledge of leadership, marketing, finance and the law that is in high demand in creative sectors.

You'll graduate with the expertise to become a business leader in the creative industries, ready to work with talented actors, writers, directors and designers from around the world.

Creative industries today

Learn about industry convergence-the digital coming-together of screen, stage and software which drives Netflix, the Marvel Universe and the live relay of theatre into cinemas.

Strong industry links

We regularly host distinguished visiting speakers and masterclasses. We are also home to the Creative Media Labs, a nationally-funded project to develop screen industries, run in association with Screen Yorkshire and the British Film Institute.

Course content

We'll introduce you to the creative industries, their culture, technologies and economics, and the policy landscape that supports them. You'll learn how stories work and appeal to audiences across a variety of media, and apply this to the negotiation and management of business and creative issues. You'll investigate creative contexts: how cultural developments, politics, global markets and finance affect the making of films, TV shows, theatre and games. 

You'll experience creative production and develop business and technical skills. Drawing on high-profile case studies, you'll explore theories from entrepreneurial leadership, management, and financial, to legal and technical topics.

We'll encourage you to develop your own ideas and engage with business and external organisations through student-led group and individual projects. You'll understand how creativity and entertainment influence our world, and how you might contribute to future of these industries.

Study abroad

There are opportunities for you to spend time abroad during your course:

Placements

There are opportunities to spend time in industry as part of this course.

Year 1

Your first year will give you a detailed overview of how the creative industries are structured. Discover the organisational, financial and policy aspects, together with some introductory insights into the creative objectives and practices of our key industrial focuses: film and TV, the stage, and the worlds of games and interactive media.

Core modules

Academic integrity module

In addition to the above you will also need to complete our online Academic Integrity module.

Year 2

You'll study a number of core modules, working on advanced business skills relating to the creative industries; branding and marketing, creative leadership, the management of creativity, the financing of innovative creative work, the policy and industrial contexts in which creativity develops and finds its opportunities, the strategies and workflows that allow creative work to achieve its ambitions.
 
You'll take two option modules that allow you to explore your own commercial, technological and cultural and creative enthusiasms. 
 

Core modules

Option modules

You will also study two option modules. In previous years, options have covered topics such as:

Elective modules

You may be able to replace one option module with an elective module, studying a complementary subject, a language or an interdisciplinary topic.

Year 3

You'll take part in a group project where you'll apply your entrepreneurial and creative expertise and develop your collaboration skills, essential for the creative industries. You’ll specialise with two option modules and take an individual project. You can tailor this project to your own interests, such as writing a business portfolio, developing a screen, stage or interactive project or completing a dissertation. There will be essential sessions on how to design and develop your research, and you'll have one to one supervision with an academic or industry specialist throughout your project.

Core modules

Option modules

You will also study two option modules. In previous years, options have covered topics such as:

Elective modules

You may be able to replace one option module with an elective module, studying a complementary subject, a language or an interdisciplinary topic.

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff.

Learning by design

Every course at York has been designed to provide clear and ambitious learning outcomes. These learning outcomes give you an understanding of what you will be able to do at the end of the course. We develop each course by designing modules that grow your abilities towards the learning outcomes and help you to explain what you can offer to employers. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Exercise a critical understanding of the importance and functioning of entrepreneurialism, leadership, management and organisation within creative businesses and will have developed the capacity to exercise these skills in practical situations
  • Initiate, lead and contribute to a range of activities relating to the creation of content and its subsequent promotion and marketing to users and audiences by virtue of an advanced understanding of financial, organisational, regulatory, legal and technical processes and tools.
  • Recognise and have developed the capacity to intervene effectively in business practices and processes through a developed and critical understanding of the role of storytelling, aesthetics and technology in the production and consumption of creative content
  • Navigate and negotiate the complexities of the creative industries in order to develop careers through applying a critical understanding of the organisation and functioning of these industries, their business processes, products and markets and their wider cultural significance      
  • Work confidently, effectively and productively alongside and in collaboration with creative and technical specialists on defined projects
  • Exercise critical judgement, intellectual rigour and practical application to approaching new as well as familiar situations, and be able to communicate clearly and persuasively using appropriate written, oral and digital media                              

Unique creative environment

Explore creative production on screen, stage and in interactive media alongside industry professionals and world-class researchers.

York is a UNESCO city of Media Arts

Also a member of the Creative Cities network. From digital innovation to media arts York is a meeting point for creativity and ideas.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees

UK (home) International and EU
£9,250 £23,700

UK (home) or international fees?

The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Fees for subsequent years

  • UK (home) fees may increase within the government fee cap in subsequent academic years. We will notify you of any increase as soon as we can.
  • International fees are subject to increase in subsequent years in line with the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate (up to a maximum of 10%).

More information

For more information about tuition fees, any reduced fees for study abroad and work placement years, scholarships, tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and living costs see undergraduate fees and funding.

Funding

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2024/25 throughout the year.

Our Future Voices Scholarship programme provides a package of financial and industry support to welcome talented UK undergraduates from Black, Asian, Gypsy, Traveller and ethnically diverse backgrounds to our creative community.

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching Excellence Framework Gold Award

Gold-standard education

Our teaching, learning and student experience is outstanding, recognised by a Gold rating from the Office for Students in the 2023 national assessment (Teaching Excellence Framework).

Why we’re gold-rated

Teaching and assessment

You’ll study and learn with academics who are active researchers, experts in their field and have a passion for their subjects. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.

Teaching format

We teach you in a variety of formats, from lectures, seminars and workshops, through to problem-based learning sessions where you will work on business and creative challenges. In your third year, there will be one-to-one or Executive Producer style supervision for individual and group projects.

You'll progress rapidly, guided by our experienced academics who will ensure you're in contact with the latest ideas, trends and technologies. You'll be able to meet industry experts through masterclasses and our professional visitors programme. Our staff are always happy to discuss your ideas, and provide support and advice.

You'll also have the opportunity to step outside your degree programme and expand your knowledge with a range of elective modules.

Timetabled activities

In your first year, you can expect:

Lectures3-6 hours per week
Seminars4 hours per week
Workshops26 hours
Practicals60 hours
Film Screening6 hours per week (Autumn Term only)

These figures are representative of a typical week. Your contact hours will vary throughout the year due to your module choices, non-compulsory classes, exam periods and changes to scheduled activities.

Outside your timetabled hours, you'll study independently. This may include preparation for classes, follow-up work, wider reading, practice completion of assessment tasks, or revision.

In the UK, full-time students are expected to spend 1,200 hours a year learning. That's about 40 hours of classes and independent study each week during semesters. Everyone learns at a different rate, so the number of hours you spend on independent study will be different to other students on your course.

Facilities

You will study in our comprehensively-equipped £30m media complex. Depending on your choice of project and specialism you will have the opportunity to work in:

  • a professional scenic stage theatre
  • a black box theatre and sound stage with a lighting grid and gantry as well as a two-wall cyclorama for live action and visual effects film shoots
  • two rehearsal rooms
  • a 4K digital cinema with surround sound and digital projection
  • three broadcast-ready HD television studios
  • two post-production labs featuring Adobe Creative Cloud, Pro Tools, DaVinci Resolve, Nuke, and other industry packages
  • an Interactive Media lab with interactive peripherals such as a Wacom Cintiq, game consoles, Leap Motion sensors, tracking cameras and immersive VR headsets
  • a design lab for user experience evaluation and creative design work.

You will also have access to some of our extensive range of cameras and location recording equipment.  You'll be able to join and realise theatre projects with Platform, our student-run drama society. You'll be able to make your own screen projects through FilmLab, our students' own, well-equipped, film society.

Teaching location

You will be based in the School of Arts and Creative Technologies with some additional teaching elsewhere on Campus East.

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can use the fast and frequent bus service. Take a campus tour.

Assessment and feedback

Assessment methods vary according to modules and include practical exercises, presentations, essays, scripts, project proposals, strategy documents, reports, exams, blogs and in some cases production work. 

Most modules will have formative assessments which do not count towards your final work but help guide your progression.

In the majority of cases you will assessed individually. The collaborative nature of the creative industries however means that some of your modules will involve group work. In these you will be assessed on work that you have produced as a team, as well as on your individual contribution to the project.

Careers and skills

We will equip you to develop a career in a range of creative production areas: screen, stage, games, festivals, public events, and more. You will learn a number of key skills, such as techniques for managing large-scale projects, budgeting and fundraising, distribution and marketing strategies, negotiation methods and you'll acquire knowledge of legal and regulatory issues relating to the creative industries. You'll learn this while exploring your own potential as an entrepreneur, to not only run but initiate new creative work, and find the next business opportunity in still untapped areas of digital media. 

We expect graduates of this degree to become the creative entrepreneurs of the future, contributing to Britain’s world-leading reputation for delivering high quality arts and entertainment.

Career opportunities

The majority of our graduates move into staff or freelance roles in the film, television, video and interactive media industries. Likely roles include:

  • Producer in film, theatre, television or video games
  • Film or TV commissioner, scheduler, event programmer
  • Executive in leading creative institutions and media companies
  • Marketing, distribution
  • Advertising
  • Creative business leader

Transferable skills

Transferable skills developed on the course include:

  • Team-working and collaboration
  • Leadership and strategy
  • Project management
  • Budgeting and fundraising
  • Communication, negotiation and presentation skills
  • Independent research
  • Critical and analytical thinking

Entry requirements

Typical offer
A levels

ABB

Access to Higher Education Diploma 30 credits at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher
BTEC National Extended Diploma DDM
Cambridge Pre-U D3, M2, M2
European Baccalaureate 75% overall
International Baccalaureate 34 points
T levels We will consider a range of T Level qualifications for entry. Please visit our dedicated T Levels page for a full list of accepted T Levels.
Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers Scottish Highers - ABBBB

Advanced Highers - not required for entry

We may also be able to consider three Advanced Highers or a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers, where an applicant does not meet the grade requirement through Highers alone. Please contact us to discuss your qualifications.
International foundation programme Foundation Certificate from our International Pathway College or an appropriate alternative.
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

Alternative offers

Meeting the following additional criteria may qualify you for an alternative offer.

Criteria Adjustment
Widening participation If you successfully complete one of the following programmes, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to two A level grades (or equivalent) below our typical offer: Black Access Programme, Next Step York, Realising Opportunities, YESS, YorWay to York. More about widening participation.
Contextual offers If you have experience of local authority care or live in an area with low progression to university, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer. More about contextual offers.
EPQ If you achieve C or higher at EPQ, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer.
Core Maths If you achieve B or higher in Core Maths, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer.

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic) 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component
Cambridge CEFR 176, with a minimum of 169 in each component
Oxford ELLT 7, with a minimum of 6 in each component
Duolingo 120, minimum 105 in each component
GCSE/IGCSE/O level English Language (as a first or second language) Grade C / Grade 4
LanguageCert SELT B2 with a minimum score of 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic B2 Communicator with a minimum score of 33/50 in each component
KITE 459 Main Flight score with 426 in each component
Skills for English B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
PTE Academic 61, with a minimum of 55 in each component
TOEFL 87 overall, with a minimum of 21 in each component
Trinity ISE III Merit in all components

For more information see our undergraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

To apply to York, you will need to complete an online application via UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).

All applications must be made through UCAS.

Once your application has been reviewed by the admissions tutor, you may be invited to attend an interview afternoon.

Your personal statement will be read very closely and we will be looking for a range of interests and extra-curricular activity. Previous experience of film and TV and interactive media is not a requirement.

If you are invited to interview, you will be asked to prepare a short exercise to present to your interviewer. 

Next steps

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School of Arts and Creative Technologies

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