The course

Film, Television and Digital Production (MA by Research)

Independent researcher who wants to move on to a PhD? Just interested in what further study might look like?

Take a first step towards doctoral study: explore your area of interest in depth, test out a research topic, and learn the skills of longer scholarly writing and film production. You'll be supervised one-to-one, and then assessed entirely on your research dissertation.

Along with your one-to-one supervisions, you'll take part in an interdisciplinary course in critical theory and methodologies. There, you'll learn about the key thinkers in the field, and the critical approaches you'll need for your dissertation.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Teaching & assessment

The MA is assessed entirely on the research dissertation (maximum 40,000 words), which is supervised one-to-one. It is intended to give you scope to explore your area of interest in depth, test out a possible research topic, and learn the skills of extended scholarly writing and/or film production.

Entry requirements

2:1

UK 2:1 or high 2:2 Bachelor Honours degree or equivalent.

Normally UK 2:1 (Honours) or equivalent but we will consider high 2:2 or relevant industry experience. Students with relevant creative experience in the Media will also be considered. Where a ‘good 2:2’ is considered, we would normally define this as reflecting a profile of 57% or above.

International & EU requirements

English language requirements

MA Film, Television and Digital Production by Research requires:

IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
TOEFL iBT: 88 overall, with Reading 18 Listening 17 Speaking 20 Writing 26.
Duolingo: 120 overall, 135 in Literacy, 135 in Production and no sub-score below 100.

Your future career

This course is particularly attractive as a first step towards a PhD – many researchers who take this course go on to more advanced PhDs on the topic they study here.

Graduates have gone on to work in independent television and film production, for broadcasters like the BBC and ITV, interactive games development, and for distributors, exhibitors, talent agencies and entertainment lawyers.

Fees, funding & scholarships

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £4,786

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £21,500

Other essential costs***: There are no single associated costs greater than £50 per item on this course

How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, grants, scholarships and bursaries.

* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2025/26. Students studying on the standard part-time course structure over two years are charged 50% of the full-time applicable fee for each study year.

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually. Be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree (if longer than one year’s duration), and that this also means that the overall cost of studying the course part-time will be slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. The annual increase for continuing students who start their degree in 2025/26 will be 5%.  For further information, see the  fees and funding , and terms and conditions.

** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2025/26. Find out more

*** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2025/26 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.