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Drama [with placement year]

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

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

UCAS Tariff

96

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

Subject

Drama

**Explore drama and performance making in professional theatre venues and a wide range of community and industry contexts with our BA (Hons) Drama degree in Cambridge.**

If you dream of running your own theatre company, applying your creative skills to community or educational work, or developing as a performer, stage manager or theatre technician our BA (Hons) Drama degree is for you.

With a strong focus on practice-based learning, you will explore contemporary theatre and screen performance making. You will be supported and inspired to develop a portfolio of professional skills for working in the creative industries through collaboration with other creative students, your specialist tutors, community partners and industry professionals. Making performance for a range of professional and public contexts will also give you the confidence and knowledge to transfer your talents into a wide range of career options.

We’ll encourage you to create innovative and daring performance practice as you develop specialist subject knowledge and an awareness of how you might fit into and lead contemporary trends. We recognise each Drama student’s unique gifts and experience, valuing everyone’s contribution to the work we make together and to the success of the course. We will enable you to explore your own talents and to shape our Drama degree to fit your aspirations.

**What will studying drama be like?**

You’ll follow an experiential 'learning-through-doing' programme and your degree will see you choosing from a range of career-focused optional modules, completing a 100% practical Major Project, and graduating with a professionally produced showreel and portfolio.

As a student here, you’ll develop your performance, technical and production skills in our specialist facilities supported by your tutors, our expert technicians, and visiting professionals. You’ll get the chance to perform in public venues around Cambridge as well as in our performing arts spaces on campus, the Mumford Theatre and Covent Garden Studio.

You’ll be able to collaborate with other Cambridge School of Creative Industries students, such as our film students who need actors for their films and animators who need voice talent. We’ll also support you to find placements and work experience and you can also choose to study abroad for a semester, such as at Ramapo College, with funding available to help cover the cost.

Our students also develop a wealth of skills for educational, community or charity sector careers. Our students work on live briefs with external partners such as Great Abington Primary School, devising performances and workshop activities to enhance curriculum learning through interactive drama events. You can also 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.

Closer to home, you can connect with Cambridge’s performance scene through our visits to local venues Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge Junction and Town and Gown Theatre Pub, and links to local networks such as Cambridge Arts Network and Cambridge Live. As an ARU student, you can also get involved in the city’s thriving creative scene such as University of Cambridge's Footlights comedy events, The ADC Theatre, and Troup Artist Development scheme.

**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

You'll also have access to all our other creative facilities and equipment.

Modules

Year 1 core modules: Ensemble Performance; Applied Drama; Key Skills; Key Concepts; Popular Performance. Year 2 core modules: Making Performance; Community Theatre Performance; Practice as Research; Ruskin Module. Year 2 optional modules: Physical Theatre; Professional Theatre Practice 1; Performing Shakespeare; Performing New Writing. Year 3: Work placement. Year 4 core modules: Major Project; Festival of Performance. Year 4 optional modules: Site Specific and Immersive Theatre; TV Drama Production; Professional Theatre Practice 2; Workshop Facilitation; Provocations. Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment methods

You’ll show your progress mainly through performance and practical work, with some small written components or longer essays if you choose theoretical options. The methods of assessment will include studio and public performances, essays, presentations, critical reflections, and a Major Project, which can be practical or written work.

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

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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

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

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.

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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

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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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