Bachelor of Media

Make an impact with a media degree

Media professionals are analysers, creators and communicators. They understand people, technology and popular culture. They use words, images and sounds to tell stories and influence audiences.

Learn to create impactful media content for any career context. Whether you want to work in journalism, entertainment, gaming, social media, marketing, design, public relations, photography, or film, you will discover how to produce highly effective, well informed media for a wide range of fields, audiences and platforms so you can make an impact in your career, and society.


What will you do?

Our Bachelor of Media offers eight different specialisations. These specialisations give you a chance to:

  • understand the media industry and the issues shaping it
  • analyse changing media technologies and audience trends
  • gain real-world experience with established and emerging media industries
  • create engaging content to entertain, inform and educate audiences
  • learn how to communicate and produce media for a range of contexts
  • design digital entertainment experiences
  • create captivating and immersive stories


Where could it take you?

Our graduates go on to all sorts of exciting careers across a range of media platforms. Whether you want to work in television, on radio, in film, gaming, news media, entertainment, communication and promotional industries, or using internet and social media technology in a range of sectors, you will develop an exciting and adaptable skillset with a Bachelor of Media.

We offer unique specialisations in:

Social Media and Digital Promotion (SATAC code 354021)
Immersive Media (SATAC code 354011)
Visual Design (SATAC code 354041)
Story Production (SATAC code 354031)
Digital Humanities (SATAC code 354531)
Journalism (SATAC code 334131)
Marketing (SATAC code 334121)
Film Studies (SATAC code 354001)

See more about these specialisations in the Degree Structure section.

Please note: This degree program contains some courses with practical elements where on-campus attendance is required.  If you are student in this program and unable to attend campus, please contact the Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics for enrolment advice.

  • Choose from 8 specialisations for a diverse and creative career path
  • Study with a university ranked 89 in the world*
  • Learn from industry experts or take a media internship

*QS World University Ranking, 2024

Entry Requirements

Choose your applicant type to view the relevant admissions information for this program.
I am a:

Before applying make sure you understand the eligibility and entry requirements for your chosen degree.

Look out for any prerequisites or assumed knowledge subjects. Some degrees also have additional entry requirements like interviews and auditions.

Domestic applicants

Admissions information

SATAC Code www.satac.edu.au
2023 CSP ATAR 65.55
2023 CSP IB 24
Guaranteed Entry Score - ATAR 70
Guaranteed Entry Score - IB 25.5
Deferment Yes - 2 year
Intake February and July
Selection Criteria
Recent Secondary Education Applicants with recent secondary education are those whose admission is primarily based on the completion of Year 12 within the last two years, however if you completed your secondary education more than two years ago, you may still be able to be considered on the basis of your secondary schooling. You must not have completed more than 2 years full time equivalent university study (48 units). You compete for a place with your Selection Rank (ATAR plus any applicable adjustment factors). Applicants who have not achieved a competitive Selection Rank (ATAR plus any applicable adjustment factors) required for selection may be selected based on the grades in selected year 12 subjects. Applicants do not need to apply to be considered for subject-based entry, as this will automatically be done. For more information, please see: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/study/undergraduate/entry-pathways/recent-secondary-education/ Indigenous applicants may be eligible for entry through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Pathway. See Wirltu Yarlu for further information.
Higher Education Study You must have completed at least six months full time equivalent higher education study (the number of courses and units will vary depending on your prior institution however at the University of Adelaide, this equates to 4 courses / 12 units). A Grade Point Average (GPA) is calculated for each separate program you have undertaken (apart from some double degree programs where the GPA is combined). You compete on the basis of your best GPA. Indigenous applicants may be eligible for entry through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Pathway. See Wirltu Yarlu for further information.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) study You must have completed an AQF Certificate IV or above from a Registered Training Organisation. Your application will be ranked according to the level of the award. Indigenous applicants may be eligible for entry through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Pathway. See Wirltu Yarlu for further information.
Work and life experience To be eligible to sit the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) as as pathway for entry, you must be 18 years or over before 1 February 2024. If you have studied at higher education level in the last two years (for 2024 entry this means you were enrolled in either 2023 or 2022), you must not have accumulated more than a TOTAL of 2 years full-time (or part-time equivalent) higher education study (ie. including any study prior to 2022). If you meet this criteria, you will be ranked according to your result in the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT). Your STAT result is not weighted between verbal and quantitative components. Indigenous applicants may be eligible for entry through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Pathway. See Wirltu Yarlu for further information.
Other Entry Pathways

2023 Admissions Data for school leavers
ATAR
(raw ATAR, excluding any applicable adjustment factors)
Lowest ATAR to receive an offer 63.95
Median ATAR to receive an offer 76.8
Highest ATAR to receive an offer 97.7
Selection Rank
(ATAR plus any adjustment factors)
Lowest Selection Rank to receive an offer 66.55
Median Selection Rank to receive an offer 80.2
Highest Selection Rank to receive an offer 99.2
Minimum eligibility score 65
Additional criteria considered Selection rank only
  • Admissions Transparency Data
    Student Profile
    Applicant background Semester one/Full year intake 2023
    Number of students Percentage of all students
    (A) Higher Education study
    (includes a bridging or enabling course)
    32 28.1%
    (B) Vocational education and training (VET) study <5 N/A
    (C) Work and life experience
    (admitted on the basis of previous achievement not in the other three categories)
    <5 N/A
    (D) Recent secondary education:
    • Admitted solely on the basis of ATAR
      (regardless of whether this includes the consideration of adjustment factors)
    51 44.7%
    • Admitted where both ATAR and additional criteria were considered
      (e.g. portfolio, audition, extra test, early offer conditional on minimum ATAR)
    N/A N/A
    • Admitted on the basis of other criteria only and ATAR was not a factor
      (e.g. special consideration, audition alone, schools recommendation scheme with no minimum ATAR requirement)
    <5 N/A
    International students 25 21.9%
    All students 114 100.0%

Ready to Apply?

Find out more about the application process and start your studies at the University of Adelaide.

Be sure to check the critical dates to avoid missing application deadlines.

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Fees and Scholarships

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Domestic applicants

Indicative annual tuition fees
Commonwealth-supported place: $14,445

Where the standard duration of the program is less than one year the full cost of the program is displayed.

More information on Student Contribution Amounts.

Scholarships

These scholarships, as well as many others funded by industry and non-profit organisations, are available to potential and currently enrolled students.

Find a Scholarship.

Careers

Career Readiness

Graduates have found successful careers in numerous roles. Potential careers are listed below.

The University of Adelaide Careers Service prepares, inspires and empowers students to achieve successful career transitions and connect with industry.

Graduate Attributes

The objective of this program is to produce graduates with specific attributes as outlined in University of Adelaide Graduate Attributes.
  1. Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth
  2. Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving
  3. Teamwork and communication skills
  4. Professionalism and leadership readiness
  5. Intercultural and ethical competency
  6. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency
  7. Digital capabilities
  8. Self-awareness and emotional intelligence

Industry Placement

All Bachelor of Media students have the opportunity to take part in a media industry placement through the elective course Media Industry Transitions. This path is highly recommended for those who wish to enter the industry directly after completion of their undergraduate degree. 

The placement allows students to gain meaningful work experience by contributing toward a host organisation project.  Students are given the opportunity to negotiate their own placements with organisations of their choice, after discussion with the Convenor of Media Industry Transitions. The student needs to ensure that their industry placement does not clash with their other courses.

Potential careers

Graduates of this program have gone on to roles such as:

Market Researcher;  Brand Marketer;  App Developer;  Entertainment Industry;  Art Director;  Public Relations Officer;  Government or Corporate Policy Adviser;  Tourism;  Animator;  CGI Animator ...

Degree Structure

Academic Program Rules

The Calendar is a comprehensive handbook of the University's academic program rules.

Areas of Specialisation

Social Media and Digital Promotion (SATAC code 354021)

Make every post a winner. In today’s commercial and media landscape, an organisation that isn’t all over social and online media is pretty much, well, ‘all over’. More and more, the digital environment is where we connect—with each other, businesses, news and culture.
It’s where opinions are aired, attitudes influenced, and loyalties won. Master this domain and the world’s at your fingertips.

Our Bachelor of Media (Social Media and Digital Promotion) helps you to gain the skills and insight to capitalise on the incredible career opportunities presented by digital and social media.
In addition to gaining broad knowledge of the media industry and digital storytelling techniques, you will:

  • develop a firm grasp of effective image- and brand-building principles
  • build a suite of public relations and marketing communication skills tailored to the digital realm 
  • gain a thorough understanding of how to build and manage media relationships
  • learn from experienced industry professionals.

You’ll also have the opportunity to gain invaluable real-world experience through an industry placement.

Where could it take you?
You could reinvent a once-publicity-shy consulting firm as a social-savvy thought leader. Or perhaps you’ll get a not-for-profit’s socially conscious message on Gen Z’s agenda. You might even conduct in-depth market research for a fashion giant to inform its global advertising.


Immersive Media (SATAC code 354011)

Augment your career reality. The immersive media wave is growing, with virtual, augmented and mixed reality set to explode. Exciting opportunities are emerging everywhere—from marketing, entertainment and interactive digital art, through to training education and simulation. And let's not forget gaming which now generates over $134 billion annually.

Our Bachelor of Media (Immersive Media) helps you to gain the skills and knowledge to ride the immersive technology career wave.
In addition to gaining broad knowledge and understanding of the media industry, and the fundamentals of interactive narrative, you will:

  • gain a firm grasp of gaming theory and history
  • obtain project management techniques specifically relating to immersive technology production environments
  • learn technical skills such as 3D modelling, digital sculpting, rigging/animation, texture painting, sound design, and game-engine lighting
  • acquire deep understanding of HCI (Human Computer Interaction) methods and processes via hands-on experience with current interactive media
  • gain access to cutting edge hardware labs with full suites of development software (including the best that VR, MR and AR has to offer)
  • obtain specialist understanding of VR development, production pipelines and theory

You’ll also have the opportunity to gain invaluable real-world experience through an industry placement.

Where could it take you?
You could be the creative professional behind the next interactive game. Or you could create next-level simulators for our fighter pilots or surgeons. Perhaps you’ll develop unforgettable virtual experiences of the world’s most incredible environments—or even other planets.


Visual Design (SATAC code 354041)

Design for the future. Visual designers are increasingly essential to the communication, commercial and creative realms. Their work can be the difference between changing minds and seeing important ideas shared widely; people engaging with information or ignoring it; and brands achieving cut-through or fading into irrelevance.
Designers work in multiple media—from print, web and electronic, to video, packaging and interiors. And demand for their services is soaring.

Our Bachelor of Media (Visual Design) helps you gain the skills and knowledge to create eye-catching designs across multiple media.
In addition to gaining broad knowledge and understanding of the media industry, design thinking and digital storytelling, you will:

  • build an extensive suite of creative and technical graphic and digital design skills
  • develop a firm grasp of effective image- and brand-building principles
  • gain complementary 3D modelling and user experience (UX) design abilities
  • build foundational screen-based storytelling skills
  • learn from experienced industry professionals and work with high-quality technology.

You’ll  also have the opportunity to gain invaluable real-world experience through an industry placement.

Where could it take you?
You might help a cutting-edge local tech start-up take on the world with killer branding and advertising. You could give a top-tier Australian engineering firm the captivating online presence it needs to go global. Perhaps you’ll transform vital communications strategies into highly engaging, successful campaigns that save lives, change communities and preserve our environment.


Story Production (SATAC code 354031)

Touch the world on-screen. Our love for storytelling is deep and enduring—and for good reason. Film, TV, video, games and the internet have a greater capacity to thrill, move, enlighten, inspire and connect.
This gives those who use them to tell our stories the potential to enrich our lives in countless ways. And with the continuing growth of global streaming services, those content creators are in high demand.

Our Bachelor of Media (Story Production) helps you to gain the skills and knowledge to capitalise on this explosion of creative opportunity.
In addition to gaining broad knowledge and understanding of the media industry and digital storytelling, you will:

  • build an extensive suite of creative and technical production skills
  • learn how to produce compelling content for multiple platforms
  • develop a firm grasp of narrative, scriptwriting and aesthetic principles, including for gaming and other interactive media
  • gain foundational skills in production tools, including 3D and animation
  • learn from experienced industry professionals with direct connection to industry projects.

You’ll have the opportunity to gain invaluable real-world experience through an industry placement.

Where could it take you?
You might announce your talent to the world by producing a beautiful animated film or a groundbreaking transmedia narrative. You could become a powerful voice for change by creating a socially conscious web series. Perhaps you’ll plan the next cinematic universe blockbuster. You could even turn your hand to the fast-paced worlds of streaming and games. 


Digital Humanities (SATAC code 354531)

Inform and persuade with powerful tech. Digital humanities is all about helping humanity know, understand and improve itself by harnessing the state-of-the-art communication technologies that increasingly engage us. It applies the power of digital technology to help us learn from our past, understand contemporary society’s strengths and weaknesses, and present compelling paths towards a positive future.

In addition to providing broad knowledge and understanding of the media industry, digital platforms and on-screen storytelling, our Bachelor of Media (Digital Humanities) gives you the opportunity to:

  • build deep knowledge in one or more of criminology, geographic information systems, anthropology, science communication, and the history of technology
  • acquire a foundational understanding of cognitive science, computer science, and programming
  • develop a suite of virtual reality (VR) creative and technical skills
  • gain complementary 3D modelling and user experience (UX) design abilities
  • learn from experienced industry professionals and work with high-quality technology.

You’ll also have the opportunity to gain invaluable real-world experience through an industry placement.

Where could it take you? 
You might help visualise the impact of crime prevention initiatives’. You could develop applications to help cultural minorities tell their stories. Perhaps you’ll come up with an innovative way to communicate the broad societal value of exciting new environmental technology.

Film Studies (SATAC code 354001)

See more in every scene. Virtually every human story—emotional, social and cultural, from the glorious to the shameful—has been told on the silver screen. Through film we reflect and resist, celebrate and grow. We imagine new ways and see life from others’ perspectives.
It’s one of our most loved and valuable art forms—and our appetite for its analysis and discussion is voracious.
Our Bachelor of Media (Film Studies) helps you gain the skills and knowledge to expertly interpret and critique film from all over the world.
In addition to gaining broad insight into the media industry, you will:

  • develop deep knowledge of film genres and styles throughout history, with special attention given to highly influential French cinema
  • be introduced to Asia’s unique contemporary screen culture
  • grasp the principles of quality scriptwriting and feature-film adaptation
  • explore the art of high-impact sound design
  • learn from experienced industry professionals.

You’ll also have the opportunity to gain invaluable real-world experience through an industry placement.

Where could it take you?
You might rack up thousands of loyal followers with your own review vlog or podcast. You could become an influential pop-culture analyst for BuzzFeed or Mashable. Perhaps you’ll write the definitive retrospective on your favourite genre’s golden cinematic period.


Journalism - SATAC code 334131

Nail the brief. Naturally inquisitive? Have a knack for storytelling? Journalists love to explore big issues and get to the bottom of things. They care about what’s happening in the world and are always on the hunt for reliable information. They love to tell the stories of people, places and events. As truth seekers and communicators, journalists can expose wrongs, celebrate achievements, and inform the debate.

Our Bachelor of Media (Journalism) equips you for success in today’s fast-paced, high-technology news environment. You will:

  • build research, interviewing and storytelling skills
  • study writing and production for key media platforms - online, print, video, audio, mobile, and broadcast, TV and radio
  • practise judging newsworthiness, quality and accuracy
  • explore issues relating to national and global politics, justice, and social change
  • consider journalistic integrity and ethics
  • develop your own long form journalism projects.

You’ll also have the opportunity to undertake an invaluable industry placement.

Where could it take you?
You could be a sports correspondent at the next Olympic Games, or interview celebrities and musicians for a lifestyle publication. You might find yourself reporting from conflict zones around the world. Perhaps you’ll investigate political corruption or big business.

Marketing - SATAC code 334121

The art of persuasion. Advertisements, newsletters, jingles, web campaigns—marketing uses media to give customers confidence in their decisions. It’s crucial to any brand’s recognition, reputation and growth. Marketers are strategists and relationship builders. It’s their job to know what people want and to reach out in innovative ways.
Our Bachelor of Media (Marketing) develops business and media skills relevant across all industries. You will:

  • understand buyer mind sets and behaviour
  • learn modern marketing theories and research techniques
  • analyse case studies and different marketing approaches
  • prepare marketing reports and plans
  • analyse consumer data to predict current and future trends
  • practise advising on pricing, advertising, promotion, product mix, and selling and distribution channels.

You’ll also have the opportunity to undertake an invaluable industry placement.

Where could it take you? You’ll emerge ready for all sorts of exciting roles in marketing and media. You could cook up international sales strategies for winemakers. You might manage companies’ creative teams, public relations or social media operations. Perhaps you’ll conduct in-depth market research for fashion giants and use it to make calls on advertising campaigns.



Please note: Majors are not
available with double degrees

 

Testimonial

The Bachelor of Media degree is a very hands-on degree. You study photography, videography and website building so you get a really practical experience.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Last updated: Wednesday, 20 Mar 2024