Key information
- Duration:
- 3 years full time
- Typical A-level offer:
- BBB
View full entry requirements - UCAS code:
- MVN1
- Start date:
- September 2025
“As an artist and academic, I’m excited to teach on this course. You’ll gain the practical skills and creative ingenuity to realise ambitious projects with significant cultural impact.”
Ryann Donnelly Lecturer in Art History
Performing arts, music, film, festivals and publishing – the creative industries are a diverse and growing sector. On this BA, you’ll find out what the creative industries are. In addition, you’ll also learn to produce successful arts events, and to think imaginatively about building sustainable and inclusive futures for the cultural sector.
This course is developed and delivered with our industry partner and England’s largest arts festival, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival. This means that the BA pairs practical experience with critical and imaginative thinking about pressing issues shaping the sector today: How does culture work? How is it funded? How can the creative industries respond to the climate crisis? What does new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) mean for cultural production?
During your studies, you’ll:
- gain industry knowledge and experience from working with our industry partner, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival
- develop crossdisciplinary skills and knowledge in the arts and humanities
- learn how to use digital tools and platforms used in the sector
- benefit from our facilities including the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts
- take electives from other subjects – from philosophy to law and modern languages – to open your mind to other disciplines and tailor your degree to your interests
- have the opportunity to apply to study abroad or go on an optional placement.
When you graduate, you’ll have knowledge and experience of all aspects of creative production – from finding funding to supporting artists. And Brighton, with easy access to London, is an ideal place for starting your career.
We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities described in this prospectus. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to government or regulatory requirements, or unanticipated staff changes, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.
Course content
Find out about our types of undergraduate degrees, their structure, modules and credits
Your degree
You’ll be introduced to the creative industries. Experts from our partner Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival will talk with you about their careers and coach you to work in their industries. You’ll also have a chance to explore digital media and society, culture and ecology, and areas of creative practice including production and curating.
Teaching
Teaching methods typically include workshops and masterclasses.
18%: Lecture
17%: Seminar
65%: Practical
Assessment
Assessment methods typically include a public resource and a portfolio.
67%: Practical
33%: Written assessment
Contact hours and workload
This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 198 hours of contact time and about 1,002 hours of independent study.
Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course.
Your modules
Core modules
Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.
Autumn teaching
- Creative Practice: Ideas and Exploration
- Culture in Context: Introducing the Creative Industries
- Digital Technology, Media and Society
Spring teaching
- Communication Design
- Making in the Creative and Cultural Industries
- Researching, Creating and Communicating in the Humanities 1
Explore modules from other subjects as part of your course
At Sussex, you can choose to customise your course to build the sort of degree that will give you the knowledge, skills and experience that could take you in any direction you choose.
As part of this degree, you explore subjects that are different to your course through electives and pathways that complement your main subject. Exploring different disciplines in four electives across Years 1 and 2 helps enrich your learning experience.
We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.
We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.
Check back in January 2025 for more module details.
Your degree
You plan and manage a hypothetical arts project in response to a creative brief devised by our colleagues at Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival. You’ll gain real-world experience on a placement at Brighton Festival. This gives you the opportunity to make a genuine contribution to the Festival’s activities and develop a detailed understanding of what creative work entails. You’ll also get to choose options to broaden your understanding of culture and creativity.
Teaching
Teaching methods typically include workshops, tutorials and on-site placements.
28%: Lecture
28%: Seminar
44%: Practical
Assessment
Assessment methods typically include a small-group presentation and a reflective learning journal.
83%: Practical
17%: Written assessment
Contact hours and workload
This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 220 hours of contact time and about 980 hours of independent study.
Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course.
Your modules
Core modules
Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.
Autumn teaching
- Interactive Design
- Project Management in the Creative and Cultural Industries
Spring teaching
- Professional Experience in the Creative and Cultural Industries
Options
Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.
While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.
Spring teaching
- AI, Culture and Society
- Contemporary Literature and Culture
- Digital Culture and Algorithmic Society
- Pop Life: After Modern Art
- Practice, Sustainability and Music Cultures
- Screenwriting
Explore modules from other subjects as part of your course
At Sussex, you can choose to customise your course to build the sort of degree that will give you the knowledge, skills and experience that could take you in any direction you choose.
As part of this degree, you explore subjects that are different to your course through electives and pathways that complement your main subject. Exploring different disciplines in four electives across Years 1 and 2 helps enrich your learning experience.
We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.
We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.
Check back in January 2025 for more module details.
Study abroad (optional)
Apply to study abroad – you’ll develop an international perspective and gain an edge when it comes to your career. Find out where your course could take you
If your application to study abroad is successful, you’ll have to meet the academic requirements at Sussex and also at the partner university. Find out more about studying abroad as a Sussex student
Placement (optional)
To help you gain experience and increase your employability, you can apply for an optional placement as part of your course. You’ll be responsible for applying for and securing your placement. Our dedicated careers team can provide you with information and advice. If you’re successful in obtaining a placement, this will form part of your course.
Find out more about placements and internships
Please note that if you’re receiving – or applying for – USA federal Direct Loan funds, you can’t transfer to the version of your course with an optional study abroad period in any country or optional placement in the USA if the number of credits for the placement/internship exceeds 25% of the total credits for your course. Find out more about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid
Your degree
This is where stuff gets real! You work on devising and delivering an arts project as part of a week-long arts festival on campus. You also work on your own project in response to this year’s Brighton Festival theme. You’ll also get to choose options to broaden your understanding of culture and creativity.
Teaching
Teaching methods typically include workshops, tutorials and practicals.
50%: Seminar
50%: Practical
Assessment
Assessment methods typically include a portfolio and an individual final project.
60%: Practical
40%: Written assessment
Contact hours and workload
This year of study includes approximately 1,200 hours of work. This breaks down into about 132 hours of contact time and about 1,068 hours of independent study.
Engage and actively participate throughout your studies to get the most out of your course.
Your modules
Core modules
Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.
Autumn teaching
- Creative Industries: Real-Time Production
Spring teaching
- Creative Industries: Final Project
Options
Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.
While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.
Autumn teaching
- Art and Politics in Britain 2008-Today
- Histories of Women in Music
- Race and Ethnicity in Popular Cinema
- Social Media and Critical Practice
- Writing Race, Gender and the Social
Spring teaching
- Art and Place: Sites, Spaces and Identities
- Hollywood Industry and Imaginary
- Media, Publics and Protest
- Public Relations
- Queer Fictions
We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.
We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown here.
Check back in January 2025 for more module details.
Silver
The student experience and student outcomes are typically very high quality.
This rating was awarded in 2023, for four years.
(Teaching Excellence Framework 2023)
Find out more about our approach to teaching and supporting you to thrive
Our staff
Careers
Employability is at the heart of this course, with masterclasses, workshops, specialist mentoring, work shadowing on location and live project briefs with industry partners. While developing your critical and academic skills. You’ll enjoy many opportunities to engage with a wide range of cultural forms such as:
- digital design
- visual art
- creative writing.
When you graduate, you’ll have knowledge and experience of all aspects of creative production – from finding funding, budgeting and marketing, to supporting artists, working with audiences and event curation. This will allow you to either continue combining those different aspects or specialise in a particular area.
You’ll be well prepared to work in a range of roles in the creative and cultural industries. Many of our graduates will go into festival and event production. Others will go on to become artists, makers, thinkers and creators across the creative and cultural industries.
And you’ll be ideally situated for your future career. Brighton as well as Sussex are vibrant, creative places. There are plenty of opportunities for field trips to arts organisations and career inspiration. You’ll also enjoy easy access to London, which is less than an hour away by train.
Find out more about careers in creative arts at Prospects: Overview of the UK’s creative arts sector
Working while you study
Our Careers and Entrepreneurship team can help you find part-time work while you study. Find out more about career development and part-time work
Design your future at Sussex
Taking the next step in your career can feel daunting, but we’ll help you to explore, connect and flourish throughout your studies and beyond.
As a Sussex student, you’ll learn how to tackle real-world challenges and have access to tailored programmes of careers support:
- our Career Lab helps you to explore your options, build key skills and connect with employers. Take part in internships, community consultancy projects and insight visits, where you can learn about life at organisations including Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, Gatwick Airport and the Knepp Rewilding Project
- one-to-one coaching with your Faculty Careers Consultant can enable you to identify your career goals, write an effective CV and prepare for future interviews
- entrepreneurship initiatives like StartUp Sussex and Ideas Lab can empower you to turn your concepts into reality.
Explore how our Careers and Entrepreneurship team can support you
Winner
Supporting Student and Graduate Employability Award
AGCAS Awards for Excellence 2024
Winner
Entrepreneurship Catalyst Award
National Enterprise Educator Awards 2024
A-level - contextual offer
BCC
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma and one A-level - contextual offer
Grade C in A-level and Distinction, Merit in Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate and two A-levels - contextual offer
Grades BC in A-levels plus Merit in BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma) - contextual offer
DMM