BA Film Studies and East Asian Studies
About this course
BA Film Studies and East Asian Studies is an undergraduate degree exploring cinematic arts alongside the cultures, histories, and societies of East Asia. Core topics include Research Methods. The course is taught across three years with options to complete dissertations in final year. The first year covers foundations through Introduction to Chinese Studies, The Art of Film, Introduction to Early Film Histories, Introduction to Japanese Studies, and Introduction to World Cinema. Year two explores Screen, Culture and Society alongside optional modules in areas such as regional film histories, documentary practice, and screenwriting. The final year offers advanced study with options including Business Chinese, Docufiction Filmmaking, Global Television Industries, and multiple dissertation routes in drama, film, and modern languages and cultures.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: ABB including one essay based subject
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What students say
Based on about 34 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 92%
- Learning opportunities: 86%
- Assessment and feedback: 84%
- Academic support: 98%
- Organisation and management: 92%
- Learning resources: 83%
- Student voice: 83%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 20 students who started, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 95%
- Left higher education: 5%
What graduates do next
Based on about 8 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 60%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 5%
- Unemployed: 10%
Most common jobs
- Administrative occupations: 20%
- Elementary occupations: 20%
- Teaching Professionals: 10%
- Information Technology Professionals: 5%
- Secretarial and related occupations: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 73%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 70%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 40%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 135 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 38%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 3%
- East Midlands: 4%
- West Midlands: 8%
- East of England: 2%
- London: 26%
- South East: 8%
- South West: 4%
- Wales: 2%
- Scotland: 1%
- Northern Ireland: 2%
Who gets in
Based on about 25 students who started, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 90%
- Baccalaureate: 5%
- Foundation course: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Introduction to Chinese Studies
- The Art of Film
- Introduction to Early Film Histories
- Introduction to Japanese Studies
- Introduction to World Cinema
- Visual Cultures in China and East Asia
- Japanese History and Civilisation
- Empire and Culture in East Asia
- Screen, Culture and Society
- China's Borderlands: Culture, Ethnicity and History
- Introduction to Classical Chinese
- Contemporary British Cinema
- Black on Screen
- God at the Movies
- Introduction to Documentary Film Practice
- Horror Film: Genre, Periods, Styles
- Introduction to Screenwriting
- Discipline and Punish: The Modern Prison on Stage and Screen
- Media, Performance, & Digital Culture in Contemporary France
- Weimar Culture? Art, Film and Politics in Germany, 1918-33
- Spectres of Fascism: Literature, Film and Visual Arts in Germany and Austria since 1945
- Late Imperial China: the Great Wall and Beyond
- Bodies, Gender and Sexuality in Modern Japan
- Core Themes in Animated Film and Visual Culture of Postwar Japan
- Race, Class, and Gender in Japan and South Korea
- Visual Culture in Modern Spain: Film, Painting and Photography
- Socialism in China
- Navigation of Emotions in Chinese Culture
- Business Chinese
- Dissertation in Drama/Film (Semester One)
- Dissertation in Drama/Film (Semester Two)
- Docufiction Filmmaking
- Queer Bodies and the Cinema
- Screening the Holocaust
- Social Lives of Cinema
- Extended Dissertation
- Falstaff and Gandalf go to the Movies: Adapting Fantastic Texts to Screen
- Global Television Industries
- Contemporary Documentary Film Making
- Screen Acting & Stardom
- Science and Civilisation in East Asia
- Culture, Gender and Resistance in Contemporary Japan and East Asia
- Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures
- The Supernatural in Latin American Literature and Film
- Migration, Identity and Environment in Portuguese and Spanish Film
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Film Studies and East Asian Studies at University of Manchester earn?
The median salary is £26,000 after 15 months, £21,000 after 3 years, £29,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £24,500 and £35,500. The £29,000 median after five years is £2,000 less than the UK median for Asian studies.
What do graduates of BA Film Studies and East Asian Studies at University of Manchester do next?
80% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Film Studies and East Asian Studies at University of Manchester?
92% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Film Studies and East Asian Studies at University of Manchester?
The typical offer is ABB at A level. The average entrant had 150 UCAS points.
How many students continue on BA Film Studies and East Asian Studies at University of Manchester?
95% of students continued into their second year, and 5% left higher education.