Drama and Creative Writing
Entry requirements
A level
Minimum number of A Levels required: 2 Subject specific requirements: Prefer English Literature, English Language, or English Language & Literature Is general studies acceptable? Yes Are AS level awards acceptable? Acceptable only when combined with other qualifications Average A Level offer: BCC Maximum AS Level points accepted: 20
Access to Higher Education Diploma acceptability: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications Further information: Pass Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject - (preferably including English Literature, English Language, or English Language & Literature at Level 3)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
International Baccalaureate: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications Additional information: 24 IB Diploma Points preferably including Grade 5 in a ‘Language A’ subject at Higher Level in ‘Studies in language and literature’
Irish Leaving Certificate: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications Grades / subjects required: 104 UCAS tariff points including 5 Highers preferably including English Literature, English Language, or English Language & Literature at Higher level
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Extended diploma (QCF): Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications Extended diploma subjects / grades required: DMM from a relevant subject area if no other Level 3 qualifications are taken
UCAS Tariff
All applicants should possess the following essential criteria: You will have a strong desire to develop your breadth and depth of reading fiction and/or poetry, and/or a strong interest in film, theatre, or radio. You will have a desire to write in different forms and genres and be open to the idea that, through reading and writing and studying the craft of writing, you can become a better writer. Evidence of an enthusiastic and sustained interest in Drama.* Good performance skills: vocal, physical and intellectual.* *These qualities will be assessed through an interview and an audition for Drama after having initially been assessed from your UCAS application. Your initial UCAS application will inform our decision on whether to offer you an interview and audition, but will by no means wholly inform our decision on whether to offer you a place to study Drama or not. Therefore, any information that you can give on your UCAS form which allows us to get a sense of how you manage your time, how engaged you are with external activities and how proactive you have been in seeking out interesting challenges (of all sorts!) and creative engagements would be very useful as they will inform the above-mentioned essential criteria. Drama Audition and Interview Criteria Solo Audition - We'll be looking for: Vocal presence: How well you deliver your piece and what light, shade and emphasis you sustain. Interpretation: How well you create the character, deliver the role and interpret the text and its meaning. Performance: How effectively you "hold" your audience. You should exhibit confidence, clarity and vitality. Workshop Audition - We'll be looking for: Ensemble skills: How well you work with other people in a group - are you co-operative and proactive? Creativity: What creative qualities did you bring to the group? Did you generate ideas and suggestions? Seminar Interview - We'll be looking for: Presence: How well you listened to others and made rational and supportive contributions. Critical ability: How well you knew your subject area. Academic potential: Do your grades or predictions marry with your performance when discussing Theatre Commitment: What evidence did you supply to show that you are keen to study at LJMU? Further information about the Drama audition and interview process can be found at: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/applicant-login/interviews-auditions-and-aptitude-tests/faculty-of-arts-professional-and-social-studies Applications are welcomed from mature and non-standard applicants, who will be considered on an individual basis. These applicants may be required to submit an essay and/or attend an interview, and should demonstrate potential and motivation and/or have relevant experience. International applicants will be considered in line with UK qualifications.
You may also need to…
Attend an interview
Perform an audition
About this course
The BA (Hons) Drama and Creative Writing at Liverpool John Moores University is taught by published authors and staff with extensive professional theatre experience.
- Opportunities to perform your own work in theatre productions all over Liverpool
- Paid or voluntary work placements to improve your employability
- Three-day residential writers’ retreat at a country house in rural Wales
- Guest lectures from practising writers and performers
- More theatres, cinemas, literary events, arts centres, galleries and museums than any city outside London
Modules
Please visit the Liverpool John Moores University website for detailed module information.
Assessment methods
This degree is 65% practical and 35% theory and this is reflected in the way you are assessed in each module.
Practical assessments could be in the form of:
original, creative work in poetry, playwriting, prose and screenplay
presentations (performing in or directing a show)
a pitch (selling your ideas)
a treatment (a précis of your creative work)
painting a set,
designing lights or costumes
Theoretical assessments could be:
exams
essays
logs
commentaries
seminar presentations
class tests,
viva voces
portfolio work
Constructive feedback is always useful in helping you to identify your strengths as well as the areas where you may need to put in more work, and this is provided either online, in writing or at a one-to-one meeting with your tutor.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Liverpool John Moores University
Faculty of Arts, Professional and Social 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?
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.
Creative writing
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)
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
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.
Imaginative writing
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
The jobs market for this subject - which includes creative writing and scriptwriting courses - is not currently one of the strongest, so unemployment rates are currently looking quite high overall, with salaries on the lower side. But nevertheless, most graduates get jobs quickly. Graduates often go into careers as authors and writers and are also found in other roles where the ability to write well is prized, such as journalism, translation, teaching and advertising and in web content. Be aware that freelancing and self-employment is common is common in the arts, as are what is termed 'portfolio careers', having several part-time jobs or commissions at once - although graduates from this subject were a little more likely than many other creative arts graduates to be in conventional full time permanent contracts, so that might be worth bearing in mind.
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.
English studies
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
£20k
£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.
Performing arts
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£13k
£17k
£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.
- What's it like studying a degree in Language and area studies
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- What's it like studying a degree in Creative writing
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- What's it like studying a degree in Design, and creative and performing arts
- What's it like studying a degree in Drama
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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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