Social Media Management BA (Hons)

Create engaging content from video to graphics. Manage social media channels and develop strategies and campaigns for brands, using analytics to grow and engage your audience. Build skills as a content creator and excel in a career in social media.

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Overview

Almost every employer, from Nike to Netflix, has a social media presence. Develop the skills and experience you need to meet the growing demand for social media managers across a wide range of industries, and learn how to grow and engage your audiences as a content creator.

You'll experiment with your own social media channels, and grow and engage your own digital communities. Learn to create engaging content and use analytics and attribution to prove impact and understand your audience. Develop social media strategies and organic and paid campaigns, combining integrated communications approaches across public relations and digital marketing. Delve into ideas about how to communicate, influence and persuade, and explore what makes content shareable and engaging.

Throughout the course, you'll get hands-on experience, including managing social media channels and planning social media and PR campaigns and strategies for real clients. You'll also undertake a week-long placement, building contacts and connections in the industry.

You'll study a degree with multiple accreditations: the course is accredited by the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI); our public relations modules are accredited by the CIPR, the industry’s leading body; and the Media Law module is accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). You can graduate with an extra qualification from the NCTJ, proving you are legally and ethically safe to publish content.

By the end of this course, you'll have the skills, knowledge and experience you need to pursue a career in social media, content and communications, whether that's as an employee, a content creator, freelancer or digital nomad, or business owner and entrepreneur.

Why us?

This course is accredited by the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI), the global standard in Digital Marketing Certification. As part of this accreditation, you'll study an Associate Level qualification that will provide you with the foundations of digital marketing
Work alongside our RTS and CIPR award-winning content creators, media law experts, and public relations practitioners who have industry experience with companies including Sky, Grazia, The Guardian and Daily Mirror
Superb industry contacts with regular masterclasses, educational trips and links with YouTube and Twitch entertainment company The Yogscast
Cutting-edge kit and facilities including high-end video, stills and 360 cameras, photography studios, radio studios, mediaHUB newsroom, gaming and VR facilities, 4K TV studio for livestreaming, 200-seater cinema
Our Media and Film Studies courses (which include BA (Hons) Social Media Management) are 3rd in the UK (Guardian University Guide, 2025)

Modules ‘Introduction to PR Theory and Practice’; ‘Practical Public Relations: Strategy and Theory’; and ‘Advanced Public Relations’ are accredited by the CIPR, the industry’s leading body
Opportunities to meet staff from BBC Newcastle and Tyne & Wear TV, and get involved with international award-winning Spark Sunderland community radio, all based in our dedicated Media Centre
Career and entrepreneurial development support and opportunities from the Employability and Enterprise Hub, the Marketing Hub, and Enterprise Place. Our graduates currently have social media, community management, public relations, and content creation roles at Ubisoft, Tombola, Sunderland City Council, SAFC, Rangers TV, What Culture, Stylist, MTV, Elle, and more

Join our creative community: @SunderlandCreative #WeAreCreative

Get to know Spark, Fashion North and Sportsbyte, our students' award-winning websites for local news, local sport, fashion and arts and entertainment.

Course structure

Over the three-year degree you'll develop the skills, knowledge and personal attributes that employers are looking for, as you work both individually and as part of a community to develop your experience and confidence. You’ll take part in lectures, workshops, practical projects, client-briefs and presentations, and you’ll also write essays, case studies and critical reflections.

In your first year, you'll realign your understanding of social media as a professional business tool. You’ll learn introductory content creation and analytics skills and use them to create content and analyse performance across a wide range of social and community platforms. You'll also learn introductory public relations skills, study media law to ensure you are safe to publish, take a module in journalism to understand essential written communication skills, and take a module in media theory to understand the current debates around digital media.

In your second year, you'll continue to build on your existing skills, creating social media strategies and campaigns for real clients, taking your public relations skills to the next level, learning about data analysis and visualisation for both content creation and social media reporting, and taking a module in short-form video production. You’ll also go on a work placement and take an optional module of your choice.

In the final year, you’ll draw on all of your theoretical and practical social media knowledge and skills to create a social media management project of your choice, which you’ll complete over the course of the academic year. You’ll also consolidate your existing PR skills, complete your training in online community engagement, and take a module in e-commerce video production to complete your degree. By the end of your degree, you’ll have a wide range of skills across social media, content creation and public relations, and will have a body of existing work and work experience to support your transition into your social media career.

Assessments include practical projects, critical reflections, case studies, essays and presentations. There is also a Media Law exam as part of the NCTJ certificate.

Part-time study

If you study this course on a part-time basis, you will typically complete 40-80 credits in a year, rather than the 120 credits of full-time students. All modules are taught during the daytime and you will be studying alongside full-time students.

Year 1 (national level 4):

Core modules:

Introduction to Social Media (40 credits)

Make the transition from being a social media user to a social media content producer capable of the introductory skills necessary to run a social media account professionally. Learn social media content production and analytics skills and begin to examine the relationship between content and audience. Work with fellow students to share, consolidate and develop your existing knowledge of the current tools, uses and best practices of a wide range of social media platforms.

Essential Media Law and Regulation (20 credits)

Learn the laws and ethical codes journalists must consider when preparing and publishing legally safe and ethically responsible content for print, online, broadcast and social media platforms. Explore areas including anonymity, libel, privacy, copyright, contempt of court and other statutes which affect journalistic practice and output.

Essential Journalism (20 credits)

Learn role of the journalist and the range of practical skills needed to produce news, magazine and sports content, including research, newsgathering, interviewing, copy presentation and writing style.

Introduction to PR Theory and Practice (20 credits)

Gain an introduction to the theory and practice of public relations, enabling you to position PR within a business context. Trace the emergence and development of PR through analysis of case studies and theoretical models. Develop key skills in planning, strategy, team working, news release writing and communication skills across a range of media.

Community Engagement (20 credits)

Develop essential knowledge and skills required to effectively build and participate in digital communities. Build your awareness of the historical trajectories, current, and future trends affecting and shaping the digital community sector. Explore examples of both good and bad practice when considering community relations across a range of digital platforms.

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

Year 2 (national level 5):

Core modules

Placement and Practice (20 credits)

Organise and carry out a continuous one-week placement. Analyse the organisation you are with by either critically evaluating their portfolio of work or writing an essay analysing an aspect of the organisation. Complete a placement log/diary which reflects what you did and what you learnt.

Social Media: Theory and Practice (20 credits)

Develop and implement a social media strategy using professional scheduling software and analytics tools. Learn the skills necessary to create and pitch a social media campaign in response to a live client brief. Explore the latest theoretical arguments around social media and communication in order to develop your thinking around the subject and inform your decision-making.

Practical Public Relations: Strategy and Theory (20 credits)

Build on the theoretical and practical foundation you developed in your first year to learn the key elements in the process of creating a PR strategy for a real-world client or employing organisation. Engage with a critical review of PR planning models and gain an understanding of the importance of research and the study of a variety of case studies. Learn about the importance of ethical codes that aim to guide practitioners in the minefield of modern-day PR practice.

Ready Player One: Operating within the Streaming Industry (20 credits)

Develop both a practical and critical understanding of one of the fastest growing media sectors in the 21st century: the livestreaming economy. Research the live streaming economy and create content for a unique product through a variety of pre-recorded and live stream videos. Complete the module with an understanding of the importance of the relationships between content creator and intended audience, effective branding and planning, as well as a critical awareness of ethical practices and broadcast regulations.

Data Analysis and Visualisation (20 credits)

Learn to create visual, interactive and written data-driven content suitable for a range of organisations and platforms. Develop your knowledge and practical skills in relation to statistics, data analysis, spreadsheet functions, database management, data scraping, programming languages, big data, statistical software, visualisation tools and data storytelling techniques.

Optional module (choose one) (20 credits)

Choose from a range of modules including: Fashion Styling; Moving Camera; Ready Player One: Operating Within the Streaming Industry; Experiencing the Creative Industries; Club Journalism; Advanced Feature Writing.

Final year (national level 6):

Core modules:

Advanced Community Engagement (20 credits)

Develop your understanding of user behavior within the context of digital communities and community engagement. Analyse how social media platforms serve as listening and outreach tools for building awareness and promoting issues, as well functioning as sources of valuable data-generation. Develop skills to leverage social media applications as powerful alternatives to mainstream communication channels.

Advanced Public Relations (20 credits)

Learn about the economic value of corporate reputation and goodwill along with the implications for corporate responsibility and community relations. Continue to develop your practical skills in a wide range of PR techniques, including speechwriting and acting as a spokesperson.

Social Media Management Practical Project (40 credits)

Create a substantial social media strategy and management project, in a culmination of the community management, content production and digital communication skills developed throughout your course. Generate an original idea for a social media management project suitable for a client, brand or media organisation of your choice. Build and engage with audiences throughout the production and the dissemination of your project.

Branded Content and E-Commerce Video (20 credits)

Increase your awareness and knowledge of branded content and current trends in ecommerce. Further develop your video production skills for a growth area of employment and freelance enterprise. Work on live briefs which will enhance the skills needed to work with clients and build commercial relationships. Learn how to produce a video marketing strategy for an external client and plan, budget and produce a range of branded video content for a business.

Optional module (choose one) (20 credits)

Choose one from a range of modules including: Broadcast Sports Reporting; Advanced Fashion Styling; Narrative Documentary Podcasting; High-end Video Project; E-Commerce Fashion Journalism.

Facilities

You’ll study in the David Puttnam Media Centre, which has a 4K TV studio and gallery which you will use for live-streaming on social media. You also have access to radio studios, video editing suites, gaming and VR facilities. You can get involved in award-winning community radio station, Spark Sunderland which is based in the building, and create online and social media content for our fashion, news, sport and culture websites in our mediaHUB. You can also join our CineClub which screens films in our 200-seater cinema.

Entry requirements

Our typical offer is:

Qualification	Minimum grade
High School Diploma along with one of the following at the required grade: SAT I and SAT II, ACT or Advanced Placement	GPA 3.0 or above and: Sat score of 1100/1600 from SATs AP (Grades 3+ in at least 2 subjects) ACT (score of 26+)

If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, you can take one of the foundation pathways at our partners ONCAMPUS Sunderland. Find out more information and whether your course is eligible on our ONCAMPUS page.

If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.

Our admissions policy uses a range of flexible options to support you in studying with us. This may include a reduced offer of up to 16 UCAS tariff points, (or equivalent). Find out if you are eligible.

If English is not your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

The annual, full-time fee is:

£9,535 if you are from the UK*/Europe
£16,500 if you are an international student

*Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. The fee for your first year of study for 2025/26 will be £9,535. You will pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

Tuition fees for part-time students are £7,145 per 90 credits. Please note that part-time courses are not available to international students who require a Student visa to study in the UK.

Read more about EU fees and funding in our Help and Advice article.

Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

A Social Media Management student filming something on their mobile phone

Career ready

This degree will equip you with the skills you need to be a social media manager across a wide range of businesses and organisations – working in social media means you can work in almost any sector that you’re interested in, or you can choose to work for yourself.

You’ll also have the skills and qualities to pursue a career in other social media, content creation, community management and public relations roles, and you’ll have work experience and a media law qualification to help set you apart.

Graduates working in social media and PR have been employed by companies including Ubisoft, Tombola, Sunderland City Council, SAFC, Rangers TV, What Culture, Stylist, MTV, Elle and more.

Real-world experience, right on-campus

During the course, you’ll be working on live briefs for real clients, developing social media campaigns and strategies, PR campaigns and branded video marketing campaigns.

In our mediaHUB you can create social content and develop strategies for our public-facing fashion, sport, news and culture websites and award-winning community radio station Spark.

You also have the opportunity to get involved in the Marketing Hub which matches students with marketing clients. You can get support from The Enterprise Place to develop your own social media business ideas with office space and funding.

Superb industry links

The academics teaching you on this course are RTS and CIPR award-winning content creators, media law experts, public relations practitioners, tv producers, journalists and industry researchers, and have excellent relationships across a broad range of social media, fashion, sport, PR and media industries.

We have links with Rich Keith from Yogscast who also runs influencer marketing company Fourth Floor. Our faculty’s visiting professors also include video and e-commerce entrepreneur Dr Alex Connock and Good Morning Britain news editor Neil Thompson.

Work placements

You'll complete a week-long placement in the second year but you can get support from the Employability and Enterprise Hub to set up work experience, get an industry mentor, and even find relevant paid work at any time during your degree. We regularly get offers for our students to take on placements and internships and work on CV-boosting projects. We’ve had opportunities to work with travel bloggers, create social media campaigns for stately homes, create videos for food companies, and much more.

Become a content creator and strategist

During the degree, you'll work on creating content and strategies for your own social media channels and communities, as well as projects for real clients. Have a look at North East brunch Insta channel BrunchNE1 which was featured in Living North's "one-to-follow" section, Twitch stream ImpliedLies, and online community What the Flix which helps viewers find the best shows on Netflix – all created by our current students as part of their studies.

Meet the students

I’m very fortunate to benefit from all the support that the University of Sunderland offers.

Ana Maria Pintilie
The University has so many connections to huge brands and businesses across the UK and worldwide.

Charlotte Falloon
My favourite part of the course is exploring the world of PR and learning to write press releases.

Dillon Hall

Related courses

Contact

Come and see for yourself, speak to our academic team, feel at home in our facilities. For further information about the course or to arrange your tour contact:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries.

Page last updated: 03 December 2024

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.

Overview

Why us?

Join our creative community: @SunderlandCreative #WeAreCreative

Course structure

Year 1 (national level 4):

Core modules:

Introduction to Social Media (40 credits)

Essential Media Law and Regulation (20 credits)

Essential Journalism (20 credits)

Introduction to PR Theory and Practice (20 credits)

Community Engagement (20 credits)

Year 2 (national level 5):

Core modules

Placement and Practice (20 credits)

Social Media: Theory and Practice (20 credits)

Practical Public Relations: Strategy and Theory (20 credits)

Ready Player One: Operating within the Streaming Industry (20 credits)

Data Analysis and Visualisation (20 credits)

Optional module (choose one) (20 credits)

Final year (national level 6):

Core modules:

Advanced Community Engagement (20 credits)

Advanced Public Relations (20 credits)

Social Media Management Practical Project (40 credits)

Branded Content and E-Commerce Video (20 credits)

Optional module (choose one) (20 credits)

Facilities

Entry requirements

Fees and finance

Career ready

Real-world experience, right on-campus

Superb industry links

Work placements

Become a content creator and strategist

Meet the students

Ana Maria Pintilie

Charlotte Falloon

Dillon Hall

Meet the team — BA (Hons) Social Media Management

Related courses

Contact