Bachelor of Screen & Media

This is a three-year bachelor degree in screen and media, taught at Collarts in Melbourne. It sits at AQF level 7, the standard Australian bachelor qualification. You study full time over three years, usually across trimesters, and you graduate with a degree that puts you in the room with people who make film, television and online video for a living.

What you actually study

The degree covers the whole chain of making screen work: developing an idea, writing it, planning a shoot, running camera and sound, editing, colour, sound design, and getting the finished thing out to an audience. You choose a specialisation as you go, directing, producing, cinematography, editing, sound, or writing, and you build a body of work you can show people. Assessment is mostly practical. You make short films, documentary pieces, series pilots, or online content, and you crew on other students' projects. That last part matters. On a real set you learn how a call sheet works, what a first assistant director does, and why you check the card before you wrap camera.

How the degree is structured

Australian bachelor degrees are built from units of study, each worth a set number of credit points. You accumulate credit points across the three years and complete the required units for your specialisation. Most of your time is in production units, where you make work, plus theory units on screen history, story, and the business of the industry. In the final year you complete a capstone project, a major screen work that you develop, pitch, produce and deliver. Collarts has industry connections across Melbourne's production sector, and the course includes work-integrated learning: placements or industry projects where you work with a production company, broadcaster, agency or independent filmmaker. That is where a lot of graduates get their first paid job.

Skills you come out with

You learn to shoot on professional cameras, record and mix location sound, edit in industry software, and manage a production from script to delivery. You also learn to pitch, budget, schedule, and work inside a crew without drama. Those are the things employers actually ask about. The degree is not accredited by a professional body in the way law or nursing is, screen production does not work that way in Australia. What counts is your reel and your contacts.

Who this suits

It suits people who want to make things, not just talk about them. If you have been shooting on your phone, editing in your bedroom, or running a YouTube channel and you want structured training plus access to gear, crews and industry people, this is the shape of degree that does it. It also suits career changers who are prepared to do three years of full-time study and a lot of unpaid production work on other people's projects. International students should note the Student visa work rights: 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks. After you finish, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream lets eligible graduates stay and work in Australia. Check your eligibility with the Department of Home Affairs, because it depends on your visa subclass, your qualification, and where you studied. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 104508G. Confirm fees, intake dates and unit details on the official Collarts page before you apply.

Graduates work across film, television, streaming, advertising and online video. Typical roles include:

• Director or assistant director
• Producer or production coordinator
• Cinematographer or camera assistant
• Editor or assistant editor
• Sound recordist, sound designer or boom operator
• Screenwriter or script editor
• Content producer for agencies, brands or broadcasters
• Post-production coordinator
• Documentary maker

In Australia, the main employers are independent production companies, television networks, streaming platforms, advertising and content agencies, post-production houses, and the growing screen sector in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Many graduates start as freelancers and build a crew network, which is how the industry works here.