Drama and Theatre (with integrated year in professional practice)
Entry requirements
A level
The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
Aberystwyth University welcomes the Welsh Baccalaureate as a valuable qualification in its own right and considers completion of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate to be equivalent to an A level grade.
About this course
On this degree, you will study what theatre has been, explore what it is, and imagine all that it can be. Through an innovative combination of theory and practice, you will develop your skills as a theatre-maker and creative thinker and prepare yourself for work in the creative industries and beyond. The integrated year in professional practice will enable you to gain hands-on experience in a professional setting whilst at the same time develop some key contacts in preparation for your time after graduation. Theatre asks questions and opens up experimental spaces for things to unfold and happen, all in the excitement of the shared time. Supported by internationally-recognised staff with a wide range of expertise, on this degree you will experiment with texts, practices and production work and encounter a wide range of historic and contemporary theatre forms, from scripted drama to site-specific performance and from Shakespeare to experiments in new media.
Students in Drama and Theatre gain the following valuable skills that are sought after by employers. Your year in professional practice will give you great insight into the industry and put you ahead of other like-minded graduates who may not have had the opportunity to undertake relevant work experience during the degree.
In your first year you will discover:
- Contemporary approaches to studio-based and site-based theatre-making
- Key historical moments, practices and methods in drama and theatre
- The analysis of drama, theatre and performance.
- In your second year, you will explore:
- Contemporary theatre-making through practical, historical and theoretical approaches
- Full-scale theatre production
- Acting techniques for stage and screen
- Directors' theatre and modern European drama
- Shakespeare in performance
- Theatre and contemporary society
- New media performance.
In your third year, you will undertake your year in professional practice.
In your final year, you will have the opportunity:
- To create independent creative work
- To undertake a major research project and engage in the advanced theoretical study
- To extend your skills in ensemble and solo production projects
- To develop your entrepreneurial skills in producing and curating cultural events
- To write your own play script
- To study specialist modules that may address: space, place and landscape, performance and philosophy, performance, politics and protest, theatre, gender and sexuality, performance and architecture, new music theatre, and contemporary British and Irish drama.
One of our notable and esteemed alumni is Alex Jones who is currently the longest-running female presenter on the One Show. During her time at Aberystwyth University, Alex Jones studied Drama and Theatre Studies.
Many of our students have been successful in obtaining employment in these fields:
- Acting and performing
- Directing
- Designing
- Scriptwriting
- Teaching and education
- Arts administration
- Marketing
- Management
- Public Relations.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
Aberystwyth University offers a valuable package of scholarships and bursaries to support students. Our long-established Entrance Examination competition means you could get up to £2,000 a year towards your living and study costs. You can combine that with any or all of our other awards, to make your financial package more valuable. Our awards include Sport and Music Scholarships, Bursaries for Care Leavers/Young Carers/Estranged Students and a range of department specific awards. Please visit our website for full details.
The Uni
Main Site (Aberystwyth)
Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies
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.
How do students rate their degree experience?
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Drama
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
£11k
£18k
£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.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
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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:
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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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