Media studies?

[wilma-bride]

Did anybody do it at school or college? Or anyone's kids studying it? DD1 has got her options back and, instead of getting Travel and Tourism which was her first choice, she has got Media Studies. Just wondering a bit more about it - is it something which may be useful in later life or would it be worth looking at trying to change to something else

 

[Dimplenose]

Is this A-level or GCSE? I know that some universities don't recognise it as an A-level for entry onto their courses.

Libby

 

[wilma-bride]

Is this A-level or GCSE? I know that some universities don't recognise it as an A-level for entry onto their courses.

Libby

It's GCSE level Libby

 

[lostinwonderland]

I have just finished a two year BTEC National Diploma in Media Studies... Everyone in my class got into University, some are not even going into the Media.. A few are going into politics, fashion, social work and previous years have also gone into other things things..

I think that knowledge of the media can be very useful for a future career... If only to know how it works and the laws concerned with it (libel & copyright).. It's harder than what people think and concerns a lot more issues than what people realise.

Any questions I'd be happy to try and help with

 

[carolfoy]

I should think it would be quite interesting Joh, one of my NVQ trainees did it at degree level and her work was very interesting. Although many people do scoff at at it being a 'cop out' type of degree, I would have thought that if she was interested in media it may be more useful to specialise in one subject i.e. journalism, although I appreciate she may not get the choice.
For what its worth the travel and tourism course doesn't lend any use at all for a career in most forms of travel, it doesn't help in any travel agents as they have their own in house training set ups or in airlines as they have their own too.
Does she know what sort of career she wants to persue after school?

 

[oceanscape]

I work on the admissions team at a London University (LSE). We produce a "blacklist" of subjects which we do not feel are appropriate for our degree courses. Media Studies is one of them (as are most A level subjects ending in "studies"). Whilst I am not aware of the GCSE, unfortunately we would discriminate against applicants if they didn't have a wide range of traditional subjects.

As someone else has mentioned, though, it depends what she wants to do when she is older. What are her aspirations? If she is aiming for a top university it might be worth reconsidering, but everyone has different plans for their life and if she thinks she will enjoy that GCSE then by all means she should go for it.

 

[Nubbedy]

I did Media Studies for GCSE (some time ago now though ) and I thoroughly enjoyed the subject. I found it interesting and varied, we looked at newspapers, photography, film making, use of language in reporting etc. I also did my teaching degree specialising in English Language and Media Studies, although I have not used a lot of Media Studies in my actual teaching.

I don't think it would be a subject that anyone could 'dislike', but if there is something she wants to do more, I would certainly see if anything could be done to change it.

Sara.

 

[zippyhannah]

i done it at alevel gcse and a degree i loved it but i have meen in to acting and media since i was a baby i am currentley thinking about going in to advertising which is my fave asspect of media or taking a post grad corse in teaching go down to your local connexions they will beable to adv or ask the school if they can change oppitons our school gave us a trial of 4 weeks every1 i know who have taken media has loved it the thing with me is i did have other qulifications to fall back on when applying to uni a level maths psycolgy and law but i love media and i would encorage anyone to do it

 

[carolfoy]

I understand what Hannah is saying but there are many other routes to get into advertising, not least by law or marketing degrees, also television work would be easier to come by with either journalism, law or even politics degrees, I think, as i said before, it would be interesting but not necessarily useful

 

[Queenie]

I did it at A-level and enjoyed it except for the tutors who were awful in the 1st year. I honestly don't think it's a particularly "useful" subject academically as has been said above many unis will blacklist it as an a-level but it's certainly interesting. I find I can see through adverts quite a bit now!

 

[wilma-bride]

Thanks for your input everyone. I have spoken to DD and she is quite happy with doing it - I think, really, it was always more of a concern for me than her. But it's her life and her education so if she's happy then so am I

 

[carolfoy]

Thanks for your input everyone. I have spoken to DD and she is quite happy with doing it - I think, really, it was always more of a concern for me than her. But it's her life and her education so if she's happy then so am I

thats a good attitude to have joh and it certainly may open her eyes up to a lot of other possibilities.

 

[cheryl.UK]

One other point is that it really helps with the English Language GCSE. There is a huge overlap between Media Studies and Paper 1 of English. Most GCSE English courses also have a Media piece of coursework. You can really tell which students also do Media Studies. For their ability levels, the Media students usually score a whole grade higher than their peers.

 

[Chilly]

I did it for GCSE and A-Levels and although I really enjoyed it not much of it was very useful however as it is a slightly softer subject you are able to spend more time on harder subjects and it provides some light relief plus she doesn't have to do it at A-Level does she which is what Unis are interested in mainly.

 

[foxylady]

Ds has just finished his Media BTEC course and the outcome is equivalent to 2 GCSE's. A lot of his work has already been marked at Distinction. All the gardes are based on coursework, and he didn't actually do an exam, which has helped with the pressure over the last few weeks.

He has chosen to do Media at A-level (as did my nephew who is going to Lincoln uni in September), and again there are no actual exams. I don't think this actually means that this is a "dumb" qualification. My DS worked very hard with his coursework and I will be very proud of his result.

Good luck to her. I hope she enjoys it.

 

[Rhian]

Has been a long time since I posted on the DIS boards but just had to reply to this one as I feel so strongly about it! I took Media Studies at both GCSE and A Level, simply because I enjoyed it so much, and went on to do a degree in Journalism, Film & Broadcasting at Cardiff Uni which I finished last summer.

I think that it can be a very useful subject, (even if a career in the Media isn't your ultimate goal), and have to admit I do get annoyed when people put it down all the time! It isn't an 'easy' option and many courses include exams as well as coursework. I know it often isn't thought of as a 'traditional' subject, but I think the skills that it provides can be useful for a wide range of careers, just like the more 'traditional' subjects such as English.

I think the main thing at GCSE level is to do what you enjoy - I think it's often hard to know what you want to do as a career at that stage and you're more likely to do well at something you enjoy.

Hope your daughter enjoys what she decides to do