Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Drama and Theatre Arts

Entry requirements


112 UCAS points from at least two A-levels or equivalent

Access to HE Diploma

M:30

Pass QAA Access to Higher Education course with at least 30 level 3 credits at Merit. We will normally require students have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

26

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

Perform an audition

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Drama

Informed by a mix of contemporary methods of performance making, current scholarly thinking and historical theatrical traditions, this course is ideal for those seeking a career in a range of arts-related areas. You will engage both creatively and critically with a range of topics including acting, performing, directing and theatre for social change, while being supported to develop your own artistic vision, personal interests and aspirations.

The course offers you the opportunity to learn about Drama in a rich variety of ways by working with professional researchers, research-active academics and visiting practitioners.

You will benefit from great facilities that have contributed to DMU being recognised as a Centre for Excellence in Performance Arts – an accolade that also reflects our commitment to innovative and excellent teaching and learning.

Real-life experience is offered through undertaking placements and internships, getting involved in professional performances, going on theatre trips at home and abroad, and showcasing your work to a variety of audiences.

You can select a route through this degree in Creative Writing, Education, English Language, English Literature, Film, History, Journalism or Media.

**Key features:**

* Benefit from our long-standing partnership with Leicester’s iconic Curve theatre. Opportunities include internships, work placements and the chance to work on or perform in an annual production, which have included Lorca’s Blood Wedding and Lucy Prebble’s Enron.

* DMU is recognised as a Centre for Excellence in Performance Arts, with great facilities providing specialist studios and rehearsal spaces designed specifically for drama and performance learning activities.

* Select a route through this degree in Creative Writing, Education, English Language, English Literature, Film, History, Journalism or Media. These carefully chosen routes will complement and enrich your understanding of your main subject, alongside broadening your skillset to give you a wider range of career paths available upon graduation.

* Extensive performance opportunities for all years of study, including Exit Souls: The Drama Festival, which showcases students’ diverse work to a public audience each year.

* Our graduates have gone on to work in theatre companies, community arts organisations and have forged careers in various aspects of media and technical theatre production.

* Benefit from the cutting edge research and practice carried out by Drama staff in the Research Institute of Drama, Dance and Performance Studies Research.

**If you are interested in advanced entry into Year 3 of this course, please visit the DMU website for the course details:** https://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/pre-edu-2030/drama-ba-degree/drama-ba-degree.aspx

Modules

**First year**
Block 1: Theatre Company: Ensemble
Block 2: Body, Text, Voice
Block 3: Shifting Stages OR you can select to study one route from the list below:
Creative Writing route – Writers Salon
Education route – Childhood, Social Justice and Education
English Language route - Evolving Language
English Literature route – Introduction to Drama: Shakespeare
Film Studies route – Disney, Warner Bros and the Business of the Film Studio
History route – Global Cities
Journalism route – Understanding Journalism
Media route - Media, Culture and Society
Block 4: Participations

**Second year**
Block 1: Engaging Audiences
Block 2: Making Theatre and Performance
Block 3: Theatre Revolutions OR continue with the route selected in the first year:
Creative Writing route – Story Craft
Education route – Preparing for Professional Practice and Cultural and Educational Transformations
English Language route - Sociolinguistics
English Literature route - Text Technologies
Film Studies route – Screen Archives - Preservation, Conservation and Usage
History route – Humans and the Natural World
Journalism route – Beyond News: Peace journalism and Opinion Writing
Media route – Public Relations and Strategic Communication
Block 4: Theatre Company: Collaboration OR Curve Company 1

**Third year**
Blocks 1 and 2: Select two from the list below:
Live Art
Staging Texts
Theatre Company: Production
Education and Performing Arts
Block 3: Performance, Identity and Activism OR continue with the route selected in the first year:
Creative Writing route – Uncreative Writing, Creative Misbehavior
Education route – Adult Learners and Lifelong Learning OR Gender and Education
English Language route – Language and Identity
English Literature route – World Englishes: On the page and Beyond
Film Studies route – British Cinema - Creativity, Independents and Interdependence
History route – The World on Display
Journalism route – Music, Film and Entertainment Journalism
Media route – Gender and TV Fictions
Block 4: Final Project OR Curve Company 2

Assessment methods

We want to ensure you have the best learning experience possible and a supportive and nurturing learning community. That’s why we’re introducing a new block model for delivering the majority of our courses, known as Education 2030. This means a more simplified timetable where you will study one subject at a time instead of several at once. You will have more time to engage with your learning and get to know the teaching team and course mates. You will receive faster feedback through more regular assessment, and have a better study-life balance to enjoy other important aspects of university life.

**Structure**
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, tutor and student led seminars, group work, practical workshops and self-directed study. You will be assessed through a variety of different methods to develop a range of skills including through critical essays, group and individual performances, group and individual presentations, oral vivas, creative portfolios and critical self-reflections and commentaries.

The first year provides you with a range of practical skills and combines performance-based understanding of texts with a theoretical approach that enables you to place your work in its historical context. In your second year you will develop your practical, professional and theoretical engagement, with the opportunity to perform at Curve theatre in a production. In your third year you can pursue your own interests and career aspirations by taking specialist modules. Your studies will culminate in a final project of your choosing or the opportunity to perform at Curve theatre in a production.

Our drama staff have expertise in a number of different fields, including: Shakespeare in performance, popular theatre, applied drama, directing, language and performance, performer training, performance and documentation, performance and the body, gender and performance, live art and contemporary performance practice. Visiting lecturers, actors, practitioners, directors and theatre companies further enhance your learning.

**Contact hours**
In your first year you will normally attend around 12 hours of timetabled taught sessions each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 25 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
International
£15,750
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Leicester Campus

Department:

Arts, Design and Humanities

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

75%
Drama

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Drama

Teaching and learning

81%
Staff make the subject interesting
87%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
73%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
68%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

88%
UK students
12%
International students
35%
Male students
65%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Drama

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£16,640
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
26%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

18%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
17%
Teaching and educational professionals
10%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Drama

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£14k

£14k

£19k

£19k

£20k

£20k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Share this page

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here