The Supplemental Application, the BMS Admissions Committee’s evaluation of your media objects and written responses, is the core component to determine admissibility to the BMS.
All applicants are required to submit a supplemental application in order to be considered for admission to the BMS. Applicants are encouraged to use the supplemental application as a way to express their current interests and involvement in all areas of media studies. Students who do not yet have a UBC student number must first ensure they apply to UBC through the EduPlannerBC platform and pay the application fee.
Supplemental applications consist of the following three components:
- Personal info and UBC student number
- Media objects
- Written Response
Additional criteria must be met to be eligible for Year 2 entry; the supplemental application will automatically request the information needed depending on your situation.
Supplemental application components and guidelines
Before accessing the application form, ensure you’re ready to submit your application:
- If you’re applying directly from high school, ensure you’ve applied to UBC and paid the application fee through the EduPlannerBC portal to receive your UBC Student Number
- If you’re applying for Year 2 entry, ensure you have all required components prepared and that you’re ready to submit; review the Year 2 Entry page for more details on validating your foundational preparatory academic requirement
- If you’re currently in another program at UBC Vancouver, you can apply under your current UBC student number
- If you’re currently at UBC Okanagan, apply under your current student number, and remember to submit your Change of Degree Program/Campus request through the SSC before January 15, 2025
- If you’re at an institution other than UBC, ensure you’ve applied to UBC and paid the application fee through the EduPlannerBC portal
- Closely review the application criteria below and prepare your media objects and compose your written responses
Media object submissions
The Bachelor of Media Studies is an interdisciplinary program that integrates theory with practice. Submission of a candidate’s original media work for consideration by the Admissions Committee is a critical component of the supplemental application.
Candidates must submit two self-produced, original works of media – discrete original works for the Committee to reflect upon individually, not a portfolio. The Committee looks for candidates capable of engaging in a variety of forms. It is encouraged, but not mandatory, to submit two different types of media for the two objects.
Examples of different media types you can include in your portfolio:
- Scholarly writing (academic essays, reports, etc.)
- Creative writing (poetry, fiction, game narrative, screenplay, etc.)
- Journalism (editorials, reviews, interviews, reporting, etc.)
- 2D visuals (drawing, graphics, paintings, photography, etc.)
- 3D visuals (sculpture, installation, augmented/virtual reality, 3D modelling, etc.)
- Moving Image/Time-based visual (film, animation, VFX, motion graphics, etc.)
- Data Visualizations
- Audio (podcast, sound design, etc.)
You will upload each media object individually. The upload type you select will determine what form of upload you will provide; in all cases, you will also be asked to indicate:
- Title of your work (maximum 150 characters)
- Specify the year it was completed (maximum 7 characters)
- Dimensions or duration of the work (maximum 30 characters)
- Name the medium(s) or materials you used, including software, materials, processes, etc. (maximum 30 characters)
- For longer text and video submissions, please highlight the passage (300 words) or indicate the time mark of a clip (2 minutes) you feel the committee must see, hear or read. (maximum 30 characters)
- Indicate whether the work was completed individually or part of a collaboration and what component(s) or contributions to the project you worked on. (It is suggested that you also credit your collaborators. AI should be credited as a collaborator.) (maximum 400 characters)
Keep in mind that you're submitting individual media objects representing your approach to media creation, not a portfolio showcasing the breadth of your work.
- Remember to submit samples in different mediums to illustrate your range of interests, skills, experience and dedication to being in an interdisciplinary program.
- Use your object submissions to show your interest, experience and familiarity with media studies.
- Be creative and feature work that is meaningful, critical and insightful about what is represented and the media it is represented through.
- You may submit more than one object together as one media object. For example:
- an authored screenplay with your directed short film of the screenplay, it will be considered as one (ambitious) media object.
- you can submit five photographs together as a single media object if they are a connected series that work in a purposeful way and fit within the 2000 x 2000 maximum dimensions.
- If a media object is the result of a collaborative effort, you must clearly state your role in its creation, and fully credit all collaborators. AI is considered a collaborator.
- Physical portfolios and letters of recommendation will not be accepted as part of the supplemental application.
- Again, make sure all your links are not password protected or inaccessible in any way—open your links in an incognito/in-private browsing window; if they don't display immediately for you, they won't be accessible to the Committee either.
- Template sites, such as SquareSpace, WordPress, and other web-design services, acting as your own design work, are not accepted: all content should represent your original work and not use of a template.
- External-site links are not an invitation to submit a more extensive portfolio through a personal site showcasing a candidate's work.
Written response submission
The written component of the supplemental application is used by the Admissions Committee to assess your approach and ability to analyze and think critically about media production. The 2025 entry questions are published below. Applicants are required to answer both questions and responses should be directly input into the application form, not uploaded as a separate document.
In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a dominant media technology. We want to hear your perspective on AI and how it has (or has not) impacted your role as a media-maker. Communicate your thoughts, in your own words, in the text box below, in 1200 characters or less. Consider the following when composing your response:
- What is your position on using AI for creative media outputs (such as image generation or story writing, etc.) and why?
- What ethical concerns, if any, do you have about the use of AI in media creation?
- Have you used AI tools in your creative process or work? How and why do you use them this way? What are the benefits and challenges of the use of AI in media creation?
- What attitudes or values does the AI-generated text reproduce? Do they align with your own?
- If you reference other sources (authors or AI) in your answer, please include them in text citations.
Address the following in 1200 characters or less. Describe why you chose the two pieces that you featured in the media object submission. Consider the following when composing your response::
- Reflecting on your submissions, what do you think is most important about being a media practitioner/theorist?
- How do your works embody or enact your values and the strengths of each medium?
- What aspects of your personal background or lived experience influence the work and how?
- What did you learn by making this work?
