Broadcast Production: TV & Radio
Award
BA (Hons)
Duration & study mode
4 years full-time
School
Business & Creative Industries
Location
Ayr
Additional information
Course starting dates
-
Ayr: September
Our UWS Broadcast Production degree course will prepare you for success in the broadcast industry by teaching you how to create, produce and understand television, radio, podcasting and other modern digital media content.
You will work in the UWS radio, podcast and television studios using the latest broadcasting facilities and digital sound and video editing suites. The course incorporates excellent teaching staff with professional guest lectures and work related opportunities.
There will also be field visits to major national and international media organisations including the BBC and Glasgow’s Film City. You will also have the opportunity to broadcast on the campus radio station as part of this course, as well as other opportunities to gain hands-on practical experience working in live media.
This course is professionally accredited by ScreenSkills - the industry-led skills body for the screen industries.
You will have the opportunity to broadcast on the campus radio station as part of your course of study. Students have undertaken placement/work-based learning with organisations such as QTV Sports, Biglight Productions and Progressive Broadcast Hire.
This degree prepares you for entering the dynamic media and creative industries. National broadcasters, such as the BBC and a range of media companies at home and abroad, have employed UWS graduates.
Kate worked as a literary agent and story editor working with writers developing scripted drama for TV and Film. She then moved onto unscripted whilst at Hartswood Films, researching for documentaries and went on to interview the last surviving British POWs from Colditz.
She has mostly worked freelance as a producer and director in documentary and factual entertainment television, mainly focussed on arts and culture. As a practitioner, she has produced and directed, scripted, filmed and researched programmes for primetime BBC One and Two, Channel Four, Five, Sky One, STV and Discovery. Those shows included Animal Park, Days that Shook the World and Comedy Connections. She also produced a series of programmes for BBC4 around key social figures from the 60s including David Attenborough, Ronald Searle and Desmond Morris. She wrote scripts, managed large budgets, tight schedules and expert crew.
Kate has also undertaken freelance filmmaking commissions for various organisations including Amma Birth Companions, Police Scotland and the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra.
Kate still very much enjoys being hands-on with cameras and edits. At UWS , she has worked with students to develop video content for Cop26 and BBC 5050 and liaises with a variety of local organisations to create video and social media content.
Taught subjects: Creative Research Project, TV Drama and Society, Broadcasting Concepts and Contexts, American TV and Professional Practice.
Paul has worked in broadcast television production for over twenty years, in London, San Francisco and Glasgow. As a freelance producer/director he has made over one hundred hours of television. This has included documentary, obdocs, reality tv, factual entertainment, drama-documentary, talk shows, quiz shows, features and children’s television.
Most recently he was asked to Edit Produce the first episode in the six part series 'Inside Central Station' for the new BBC Scotland channel. In the channel's first week, this was the most watched original programme outside of the channel's opening night. Other highlights include producing and directing a drama documentary about murderer Peter Manuel, shown on BBC Alba’s opening night. Also his own production company made the Edwyn Collins documentary Home Again that was shown on BBC Scotland, BBC4 and BBC2. It has also been shown at film festivals in Spain, Chile and Argentina.
He has a list of primetime network credits as producer, director and series producer. Most recently he has worked as Edit Producer on the BAFTA winning Antiques Road Trip. He has worked as a Storyline Editor on broadcast drama scripts.
Bettina worked in the Broadcast Industry for over 14 years in London and Berlin. Working as a freelancer on mainly factual programmes for major UK and US channels such as Channel 4, BBC and National Geographic, her roles included self-shooting producer and director, production manager and edit producer. She also worked on several docu dramas as the series drama producer responsible for the re-enactments.
Documentaries and series she worked on include science documentaries such as BAFTA award winning "Inside Nature's Giants" for Channel 4, "Monster Moves: Mountain Mission" for National Geographic as well as history drama docs such as "The Great Escape: The Reckoning" (Channel 4) and "America's Secret Space Heroes" for Smithsonian Channel and long running "Locked Up Abroad" series for National Geographic and Channel 5 UK.
Areas of expertise are in documentary filmmaking with the focus on science, history and docu-drama and the way the visual stories unfold.
She is interested in feminist theories as well as representation and production culture and ethical filmmaking approaches.
Shona is an experienced educator and specialist in screen-based production at UWS. As a professional videographer, she ran her own commercial video company for over a decade before commencing lecturing full-time in 2016.
A member of the Institute of Videography, Shona has produced several high profile online campaigns for the Scottish Government and tourism industry. Other media campaigns include social inclusion and education initiatives, drug addiction, combating antisocial behaviour and highlighting homelessness. Shona has undertaken freelance editing commissions for various media outlets including the BBC and is Avid certified and Final Cut Pro accredited.
With a passion for community and arts collaboration Shona is responsible for the Studio Lab initiative. Studio Lab is a collaborative, cross-discipline enterprise where students are trained in a variety of technical and creative aspects of studio production. Studio Lab has created successful links with both local and international partners including Centennial College in Toronto, Ayr United Football team and Ayrshire Addiction Services along with internal partnerships with the School of Engineering and the School of Nursing as part of two high profile online campaigns.
Shona is a Fellow of the HEA and a doctoral researcher. Academic areas of interest include the implementation of AR into teaching practice.
Taught subjects: MA Television Journalism, Studio Production, Introduction to Television and Television Production: Skills Development.
As a Presenter and Broadcast Journalist his work includes Television and Radio presenting credits for BBC Television, MTV, Scottish Television, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 1/Radio 2, BBC Asian Network, Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 and Children In Need.
Ravi also specialises in areas of digital streaming cross social media platforms, including hosting and producing a Health and Fitness series for digital content stream platform ‘BBC The Social’ and enjoys sharing his experiences through teaching multiplatform content delivery.
Dan Twist is a BAFTA Scotland and RTS Scotland award-winning TV Producer with over twenty years experiencing working in the British TV and media sector. Dan has worked in TV development production for Factual, Features, and Entertainment series. Recently, Dan was the Producer for Channel 4 documentary film, Billionaire Blooms at Christmas.
In 2019, Dan became a Channel Executive at Channel 4 in the Nations and Regions department. Where he supported the independent TV production companies in building relationships with the channel, he also nurtured diverse talent and supported production companies’ growth fund grant applications. Dan joined the lecturing staff part-time in 2021, where he continues to blend working in the industry with lecturing and academic research.
Dan's research interest is in media production cultures, factual formats development and Multiplatform. He teaches modules Production for Multiplatform and American TV.
Chris Gilgallon is a longstanding member of the team specialising in radio and situation comedy. He has worked in radio comedy as a writer and has also worked as a photographer undertaking commercial briefs. He has a background in community arts having managed government funded projects in Ayrshire.
He has an interest in using a combination of still images and soundscapes as a form of narrative.
Chris is also manager of UWS Radio, the university's radio station which is based on the Ayr campus.
Graham Jeffery is Professor in Arts and Media Practice and Director of the Protracted Crisis Research Centre at UWS. His work spans participatory and community arts and media practices, creative learning, cultural policy and urban and community development.
He is currently leading a three-year British Academy funded project: Waste, Water and Wellbeing: lessons from the interface of formal/informal urban systems in Dharavi, Mumbai. His work in in the creative media sector includes music and sound for award-winning short films, and exhibitions, performances and events that act as public platforms for debating key issues in urban development, social justice and sustainability.
Graham has also worked as a teacher, composer and facilitator in a wide range of contexts, including with London International Festival of Theatre, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and East London Dance, as well as in policy advice and consultancy for Creative Scotland and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He has led numerous action research projects with diverse communities in different places around the world. He keeps a blog at www.generalpraxis.org.uk.
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
During Clearing our entry requirements remain flexible, and we are committed to providing opportunities to study with us based on a range of qualifications. Please get in touch, and we can discuss your specific circumstances.
All applicants will be expected to submit a strong personal statement and reference together with evidence of confident use of English and creative output. Applicants may be invited for interview and/or audition.
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).
SOCIAL WORK DEGREES
For our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
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For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
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TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
On our course pages, you will find details of our entry criteria listed as Standard Entry Requirements and Minimum Entry Requirements. These are the academic qualifications that, depending on your personal circumstances, you will be required to meet to allow your application to be considered for a place at UWS.
Competition for places on many of our courses can be very high and even if you meet the standard or minimum qualifications stated, there is no guarantee that your application will progress to the next stage of the admissions process. We review individual applications very closely and place great importance on your personal statement and academic reference as well as your academic qualifications before making selection decisions.
Our Standard Entry Requirements are the grades that you will need to achieve to allow you to be considered for entry to a specific programme of study.
Our Minimum Entry Requirements are applicable to those applicants who have not had an equal opportunity to demonstrate their academic ability at school or college and are known as ‘widening access’ applicants. We also sometimes refer to this type of applicant as receiving a ‘contextual’ offer. We may be able to provide you with a contextual offer if you fall into one of the categories below:
If you fall into any of the first four categories above, please mention this on your UCAS application. We will automatically apply category 5 if it applies to you.
If you have already achieved the required grades for either our standard or minimum entry criteria, we may be able to offer you an unconditional offer for some course areas. If you have not yet achieved these grades, we may be able to make you a conditional offer, which will rely on you achieving further qualifications before you can be accepted on to a programme of study.
This course combines theory and practice and is tailored to the current broadcasting industry. The course is professionally accredited by ScreenSkills, having undergone a rigorous assessment process conducted by industry experts.
You will work in our radio, podcasting and television studios using the latest broadcasting facilities and digital sound and video editing software.
You will be introduced to the theory and practice of TV, film, podcasting and radio production, and script-writing.
You will begin to focus on your chosen specialisms, developing technical and creative skills in areas such as radio, podcasting, broadcast drama, documentary, and creative writing.
You will choose to specialise in one of two major strands: television production or radio production. You will also enhance your research skills ahead of your final year research project.
You will study genres of particular interest, focusing in particular on creative and research projects that bring together all of the skills and concepts you’ve learned throughout the course.
A range of teaching and learning methodologies are used within the degree. This includes lectures, seminars, workshops, group work, enquiry-based learning and student-centred learning. In the latter case, the emphasis is on independent work by students that is coordinated and guided by tutors. BPTVR students are as likely to be taught in TV and Radio studios as in lecture theatres. As students progress the level of autonomous work increases culminating in the final year project where students carry out their own individual project – linking the creative and theoretical - with supervisory guidance.
In May 2024, we celebrated the creative endeavours of UWS students at our annual showcase and awards event on our beautiful Ayr campus.
The event boasted film screenings, broadcast production work, live music performances, art exhibition displays, theatre productions, songwriters’ circle and news-room journalism material. Elements of the event were also broadcast via UWS Radio.
You can view the Broadcast Production: TV & Radio digital showcase to see the types of opportunities available to our students as part of their Broadcast Production: TV & Radio BA (Hons) degree with UWS.
£1,820 cost per year of study (usually paid by the Scottish Government via SAAS*)
£9,250 Cost per year of study, but not more than £27,750
£9,250 Cost per year of study, but not more than £27,750
£15,500 per year of study
£305 per module (20 credits)
£1,550 per module (20 credits)
£1,550 per module (20 credits)
£2,580 per module (20 credits)
Ready to apply? All UK & EU Undergraduate applications should be made through UCAS. Further information for international, part-time and exchange applications can be found below.
Apply on UCASAll UK and EU applicants for undergraduate study, not applying through an agent or partner, should apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service)
The on-time application deadline for 2025/26 entry is 29 January 2025, 18:00 (UK time). For some courses it may still be possible to apply beyond this period, subject to suitable vacancies remaining. The final deadline for late applications via UCAS is 30 June 2025. Beyond this deadline, you may be able to apply via ‘UCAS Clearing’ if the course you are interested in has remaining places.
Please refer to our Undergraduate Application Guide for domestic & EU/EEA to find more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS.
You can find out more about applying for this undergraduate course on UCAS.
Students from non-EU/non-EEA countries can apply directly to UWS via our dedicated online application system. The latest we can process your application is 6 weeks before the course start date to allow for visa processing times. For more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS please refer to our International Undergraduate Application Guide.
For part-time & online study, you should apply directly to the University through our online application system, not through UCAS. Please select the part-time mode of study when submitting your application. Before you begin your application, it is important to read the part-time application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.
To come to UWS as a visiting student on a study abroad or exchange programme, you must apply entirely through our online system.
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
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