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Drama

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

English and/or Drama at A Level preferred. English required and Maths preferred at GCSE with grade C or 4.

English Studies Creative Industries Humanities

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

30

English required at Standard with grade 5. English and/or Drama at Higher level preferred.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H3,H3,H3,H3

English and/or Drama at Higher level preferred. English required and Maths preferred at Ordinary level O4 or Higher H5.

Scottish HNC

Pass

HNCs in relevant subjects considered on an individual basis.

Scottish HND

Pass

HNDs in relevant subjects considered on an individual basis.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B

English and/or Drama at Higher preferred. English required and Maths preferred at Nat5 grade C.

UCAS Tariff

120

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Drama

What is theatre? Why did it develop? What role does it play in society? To have a successful career in the theatre, you need to understand its historical context, techniques and craft. On this course you’ll learn the collaborative skills and process involved in creating and staging plays, and will experiment with key contemporary performance practices.

You’ll explore all aspects of theatre both front and back stage, including the audience. Who are they? (They may not be like you!) What do they want from a performance? How can you reach your audience? We challenge conventional assumptions of what the performing arts can be and who they are for – from both a practitioner and audience perspective.

You’ll engage with a vibrant diversity of practical and theoretical approaches that balance practice, history, research, critical thinking and employability skills. Whether you intend to be a theatre maker, scholar or teacher, the course will guide you in the development of your creative and critical prowess while providing very distinct routes into the professional world.

Creative entrepreneurship and employability is something we are passionate about and it is embedded throughout our course. Many of our students have formed their own theatre companies and are supported by QMU as they set up their businesses – including the chance to be located in our graduate start-up space called the Business Innovation Zone. The world’s largest arts festival happens right here in Edinburgh and many students successfully perform, produce or get involved in the Festival Fringe.

By the time you graduate you will know how and why a theatre team brings a performance to life, and the many ways in which drama can be understood and made relevant to contemporary audiences.

In Years One and Two you will work in collaborative experimental workshops, finding creative solutions to the staging and performance of classic and contemporary genres and texts. Bringing a range of interests and skills (performing, directing, playwriting, dramaturgy and scenography), students will share their different perspectives and insights. Lectures will also cover theatre history and critical and performance theory, which will inform the decisions students make in their creative work.

In Years Three and Four you will study core modules plus optional modules allowing you to focus your interests in specific areas. You’ll also have the opportunity to study abroad or go on placements. In Year Four you will complete a personal final project, which can be a practical or a written dissertation.

Modules

Year One

Play and Performance
Introduction to the Study of Theatre and Performance
Introduction to Theatre Production
The Origins of Theatre
Analysing Texts and Performance
Performance Practices

Year Two

Theatre of Ideas and the Stage (From Romanticism to Theatre of Absurd)
Making Theatre
Contemporary Scottish Theatre in Context
Practitioner Researchers
British Theatre Since 1945
Creative Writing for New Media

Year Three

Devising Practices
Current Debates in Performance Theory OR Arts Funding in its Policy Context
Performance Project
Designing a Research Project
Plus two optional modules

Year Four

Creative Practice and Enterprise
Honours Project
Plus two optional modules
Years Three and Four options

Photography and Visual Culture Screenwriting
Student Initiated Module
Scotland on Screen
Film and the Family
Photography Practice
Storytelling in Convergent Media
The American West in Popular Culture Problematic: Criticism, Culture and Social Justice
Experiential Learning Placement
The Only Way is Ethics: Art, Participation and Ethics
Performance Art Practices
Site and Sound
Playwriting
Writing for Radio
Creative Learning and the Community
Producing for the Stage
Directing for the Stage
Directing, Designing and Performing Shakespeare
Directing, Designing and Performing Contemporary Plays
Decoding Dress: The Cultural Significance of Costume
Staging the 20th Century: How Scenography Built the Modern Imagination
Advanced Theatre Production
Devised Physical Theatre
Devising Practices
Theatre Laboratory Practices
Drama in Education (Community Workshop Placement)
Arts Funding in its Policy Context

The modules listed here are correct at time of print (April 2021) but may differ slightly to those offered in 2022. Please check back here for any updates.

Assessment methods

You will be taught in lectures, seminars and through practical workshops. There is a strong focus on group work and on independent study outside timetabled sessions. You will be assessed in a variety of ways, including essays, reports, portfolios, vivas, post-show discussions and exams. You will complete a Year Four honours project. There will be individual and group assessments. Please check the course entry on our website for full details.

Below you can read about Teaching and Learning Activities and Assessment Activities. We believe this will give you a good indication of what the course will be like, but the exact balance of activities may differ depending on the academic year and on the modules you choose.

Teaching and learning activities

Our Teaching and Learning Activities are focused on building your confidence, developing your problem-solving skills and preparing you for a successful career. Here you can read about how much time you should expect to spend undertaking these activities for this course along with a general description of the activity for all courses.

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and in some cases practical workshops or laboratories. Seminars enable you to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures in smaller groups.

Year One: 20%
Year Two: 18%
Year Three: 15%
Year Four: 8%

Independent Learning

When not attending lectures, seminars, practicals or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the Learning Resource Centre, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations. You independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities, including the Learning Resource Centre and the Hub.

Year One: 80%
Year Two: 82%
Year Three: 79%
Year Four: 86%
Placement

Courses with placements give you the opportunity to put what you are learning into practice and to observe and work with a wide range of individuals and groups of people in diverse settings. Some courses offer placement opportunities in the UK and overseas.

Year One: 0%
Year Two: 0%
Year Three: 6%
Year Four: 6%

Assessment Activities

Assessment Activities provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of the subject and receive feedback on your performance. Here you can read about how much of your final mark is based on each type of formal assessment for this course along with a general description of the activity for all courses.

Exams

Assessment by written examinations normally takes place at the end of each module or semester, but they may also happen during modules.

Year One: 33%
Year Two: 17%
Year Three: 0%
Year Four: 0%
Coursework

Coursework assessments take place in a variety of ways, including assignments, essays, reports, portfolios, project output and your level 4 Honours project. We aim to provide you with feedback on your assessment within 20 working days of the submission date.

Year One: 25%
Year Two: 25%
Year Three: 67%
Year Four: 43%

Practical

Practical assessments can include oral presentations, performance, practical skills assessment, costume design and construction, film making, lab work or clinical practical skills depending on the nature of the course.

Year One: 42%
Year Two: 58%
Year Three: 33%
Year Four: 57%

NB This data is based on activity undertaken by students during academic year 2018/9. Updates will be made shortly.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
International
£8,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Queen Margaret University

Department:

School of Arts, Social Sciences and Management

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.

89%
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

96%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
92%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
88%
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

73%
Library resources
79%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
71%
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
23%
Male students
77%
Female students
83%
2:1 or above
3%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
A*

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
98%
high
Employed or in further education
40%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

27%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
16%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
14%
Teaching and educational professionals

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

£16k

£16k

£25k

£25k

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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?

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