Drama and Psychology
Entry requirements
A level
A Level - grades BBB-BCC including a grade B in Drama, Theatre Studies or Performing Arts preferred. If studying Psychology, then a Grade B or higher is required. If Psychology is not an option at your school or college, then another A Level subject will be accepted, but a keen interest in psychology will need to be described in your personal statement.
Access to HE Diploma
Access to HE courses – typical offers for applicants with Access to HE will be the Access to HE Diploma or Access to HE Certificate (60 credits, 45 of which must be Level 3, at Merit or higher). Applicants will need to show a keen interest in psychology in the personal statement together with evidence of involvement in drama and performing arts.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
A minimum of 32 points are required.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
BTEC – Extended Diploma grades from Distinction Distinction Merit (DDM) to Distinction Merit Merit (DMM) in a related subject. Applicants will need to show a keen interest in psychology in the personal statement and evidence of experience in performing arts.
T Level
T Levels – grade Merit preferred in a relevant subject.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
**Explore the human mind and discover your creative identity with our Drama and Psychology degree.**
- Research and analyse biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology.
- Produce, perform, direct and write in collaboration with your fellow Drama students.
- One of only a few combined courses accredited by the British Psychological Society.
Drama and psychology are complementary disciplines that share a core concern in analysing, interpreting, representing and understanding humans and the world we inhabit. Our combined Drama and Psychology degree exposes you to a wide variety of methods to explore and understand the human mind and behaviour, from both scientific and artistic perspectives.
In your study of Psychology, you’ll learn about research methods, data collection/analysis and critical thinking, while your Drama focus will be on creativity, working as part of a theatre company to develop your performance, writing and production skills.
Drama and Psychology have their specific career paths, but they also give you transferable skills that are sought by employers in a broad range of jobs and industries. Psychology develops your skills in research, critical analysis and communication, while Drama offers opportunities to learn about theatre, media, arts therapies and education. By combining the two subjects, you’ll develop highly valuable people skills and gain experience in communication and planning, project and event management, and working in diverse situations with a variety of collaborators and clients.
If you’re not yet sure what career you want to pursue, our British Psychological Society accreditation means you can keep your options open – you’ll be able to study Psychology at postgraduate level if you decide to become a professional psychologist.
Modules
In your first year, build the foundations and develop the core knowledge and skills you’ll need in both strands of your course. You’ll explore the main areas of psychological science, with an introduction to research and data analysis skills. During your Drama modules, you’ll work with other students as part of a theatre ensemble, with opportunities to perform, direct and produce.
In your second year you’ll take on further depth and challenges. In your Psychology modules, you’ll take a closer look at biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology, and advance your understanding of research design and analysis. In Drama, you’ll explore topics such as performance-making, applied theatre, playwriting, acting and directing, musical theatre and theatre production, with opportunities to work with students, specialist staff and visiting professionals and artists.
You can choose to take a professional placement year between your second and third years.
In your final year, real-world application of your skills becomes the focus of your study. In Drama, you’ll have the flexibility to choose optional modules in areas that are of particular interest to you, with an emphasis on collaboration, industry input, and creating work for a variety of audiences, including the general public. You’ll explore how Psychology is applied for the wider good but also used in business and enterprise for profit. Your consultancy project enables you to take what you’ve learned and apply it in a collaboration with an external organisation.
Assessment methods
Assessment varies across the two subjects and includes essays, debates, research reports and projects, presentations and performance, playwriting and script analysis, and exams.
Tuition fees
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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.
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
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)
Psychology (non-specific)
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
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Psychology (non-specific)
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
20 years ago, this was a specialist degree for would-be psychologists but now it is the model of a modern, flexible degree subject. One of the UK's fastest-growing subject at degree level, and the second most popular subject overall (it recently overtook business studies), one in 23 of all graduates last year had psychology degrees. As you'd expect with figures like that, jobs in psychology itself are incredibly competitive, so to stand a chance of securing one, you need to get a postgraduate qualification (probably a doctorate in most fields, especially clinical psychology) and some relevant work experience. But even though there are so many psychology graduates — far more than there are jobs in psychology, and over 13,800 in total last year — this degree has a lower unemployment rate than average because its grads are so flexible and well-regarded by business and other industries across the economy. Everywhere there are good jobs in the UK economy, you'll find psychology graduates - and it's hardly surprising as the course helps you gain a mix of good people skills and excellent number and data handling skills. A psychology degree ticks most employers' boxes — but we'd suggest you don't drop your maths modules.
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
£18k
£22k
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.
Psychology (non-specific)
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£17k
£22k
£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 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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