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Drama and English Literature [with placement year]

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above.

UCAS Tariff

92

from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent), preferably to include Drama, Theatre Studies or a related subject.

About this course


Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2024

Subjects

Drama

English literature

**Discover how our societies have shaped and been shaped by English literature, and explore different modes of performance with our BA (Hons) Drama and English Literature degree in Cambridge.**

Performing is at the core of our Drama and English Literature degree at ARU.

Grow into a confident, versatile and exciting drama practitioner, while exploring classic literature and genres ranging from sci-fi to children’s books.

You’ll work on public-productions and smaller-scale projects, exploring drama practices and texts from the 20th century onwards as well as working on original pieces. Alongside this, you’ll explore many other subjects including history, politics, philosophy and religion as well as developing your literacy and communication skills.

Your deeper understanding of literary texts will improve your ability to interpret dramatic texts and your performance skills.

Our BA (Hons) Drama and English Literature degree lets you weight your studies to your own interests and career goals. Prepare for a career in the arts or fields such as teaching – and get ready to change the way others see the world.

Our English courses ranked 11th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2024.

Understanding the importance of literature and drama to society is the main focus of our BA (Hons) Drama and English Literature degree.

Here at ARU, the focus is on an experiential, 'learning-through-doing' programme. Your degree will see you choosing from a range of career-focused optional modules, completing either a 100% practical drama Major Project or an English literature one, and graduating with a professionally produced showreel and portfolio.

Connect with Cambridge’s performance scene through our links to local networks such as Cambridge Arts Network and Cambridge Live. You’ll get the chance to perform in public venues around Cambridge as well as on campus, in the Mumford Theatre and Covent Garden Studio.

Experience being part of a professional troupe with our very own Community Theatre Company and take the chance to perform and collaborate with other creative industries students.

Take the opportunity to go on field trips and attend productions to broaden your real-world experience. We’ll also support you to find placements and work experience – our students recently took part in a live brief with Great Abington Primary School, devising performances and workshop activities to enhance curriculum learning through interactive drama events - and you can take an optional placement year as well.

Improve your creative and critical writing skills, and develop your technical and production skills in our specialist facilities. Our technical officers will be on hand to offer help and support.

You can also choose to study abroad for a semester, with funding available to help cover the cost.

As an ARU student, you can also get involved with the University of Cambridge's Footlights comedy events as a writer, performer or member of the production team.

**Professional Facilities**

As part of your studies at ARU, you’ll have access to all of our creative industries facilities including:
- Dedicated drama studio, with highly flexible black-box performance space

- Full-size on-campus professional Mumford Theatre

- Large rehearsal space with audio playback facilities, piano, LED lighting rig, portable dance mirrors, gym mats and rostra/modular staging

- Students’ Union-run dance studio

- Podcast and video capture system

**Careers**

Our Drama and English Literature BA (Hons) degree will give you practical experience as a performer or technician, and the academic understanding to be a director or a teacher.

Graduation doesn’t need to be the end of your time with us, of course. You might decide to stay at ARU and study for a Masters, such as our dramatherapy or MA English Literature. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get 20% off your fees.

Modules

Year 1 core modules: A History of English Literature 1: Writing Matters; A History of English Literature 2: Reading Literature and Theory; Ensemble Performance; Key Skills. Year 2 core modules: Reading Beyond Britain; The European Novel: Desire and Transgression; Making Performance; Community Theatre Performance; Ruskin Module. Year 2 optional modules: Victorian Literature and Culture; Dialogue and Debate: Renaissance Literature; Modernism and the City; Performing Shakespeare; Practice as Research; Performing New Writing; Anglia Language Programme. Year 3: Work placement. Year 4 core modules: Major Project in Drama or English; Festival of Performance. Year 4 optional modules: Anglia Language Programme; Careers with English; Contemporary Fiction; Elizabeth Gaskell and the Brontës; Literature and Exile: Displacement, Identity, Self; New Media Discourse; Renaissance Magic; Romantic Ideals; Site Specific and Immersive Theatre; Spectacle and Representation in Renaissance Drama; Theorising Children's Literature; TV Drama Production; Provocations; Workshop Facilitation. Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment methods

You’ll show your progress on the course through a combination of essays, reports, oral presentations, and studio/public performance, as well as a major project involving practice-based research techniques.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Cambridge Campus

Department:

Cambridge School of Creative Industries

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.

50%
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

59%
Staff make the subject interesting
56%
Staff are good at explaining things
62%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
53%
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

59%
Library resources
75%
IT resources
84%
Course specific equipment and facilities
28%
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?

76%
UK students
24%
International students
25%
Male students
75%
Female students
98%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

Literature in english

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
16%
Male students
84%
Female students
77%
2:1 or above
2%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
B

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.

£14,000
low
Average annual salary
92%
low
Employed or in further education
27%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
19%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Other elementary services occupations

Literature in english

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
91%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

15%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Teaching and educational professionals
12%
Childcare and related personal services

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.

£12k

£12k

£17k

£17k

£24k

£24k

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.

Literature in english

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

£16k

£16k

£22k

£22k

£24k

£24k

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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