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Drama and English Literature

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

To include A Level English Literature or A Level English Language and Literature

Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

6,6,5 in Higher Level subjects, to include Literature or Literature and Language.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

BTEC Extended Diploma: DDD, plus an A at A-level in the required subject/s mentioned above. BTEC Diploma: DD, plus an A at A-level in the required subject/s mentioned above. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A-level, including an A in the required subject/s mentioned above. Please note: we can only accept BTEC qualifications in Performing Arts, Performing Arts (Acting), Performing Arts (Dance) and Performing Arts (Musical Theatre).

Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.

UCAS Tariff

136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Drama

English studies

Studying Drama and English allows you to explore many aspects of culture, performance and society.

Your Drama modules will develop your practical theatre-making skills, as well as giving you an understanding of the historical and political context of theatre. On the English side of your programme, you will investigate the ways in which literary culture has engaged with and shaped society and continues to do so today.

At Birmingham you will benefit from internationally renowned research and teaching in both disciplines, as well as unparalleled resources, including those for the study of Shakespeare, through our world-leading Shakespeare Institute.

**Why study this course?**

**Get a Head Start in the Graduate Market** - We share a campus with the BBC Drama Village and take advantage of their exciting placement opportunities. Thanks to our Experience Arts internships and close links with the Birmingham Rep and Royal Shakespeare Company, you could follow in the footsteps of our successful alumni.

**Dedicated Campus** - With its own library, study areas, studio spaces, design, editing, lighting, sound and stage management work areas, as well as a professionally equipped 200 seat theatre. Our Selly Oak Campus provides everything you need to study, rehearse and perform in a professional setting and get the most out of your degree.

**Get on board with the bard** – where better to study Shakespeare than in the town where he was born! Make use of our internationally renowned Shakespeare Institute based in Stratford-upon-Avon and collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company and take part in fun and interactive study trips, such as this choreography workshop with Movement Director Tom Jackson Greaves.

**Active Student and Staff Population** – DTALiT, the Department’s own creative community and a wide variety of Drama societies, including everything from our own TV station, to musical theatre groups you’re sure to find something you want to get involved with.

**Local Theatre** - Birmingham is an ideal place to study Drama as it has one of the highest concentrations of live theatre in the country. It is home to many theatres ranging from the Birmingham Hippodrome and the Birmingham Rep, to the mac (Midlands Arts Centre) and the Old Joint Stock (which is a pub and a theatre), as well as being within a convenient distance of Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick. To learn more about the city of Birmingham visit our Discover Birmingham page.

**A City that Values Literature as Much as You Do** – Did you know that inspiration for parts of The Lord of the Rings came from our very own campus (our clock tower Old Joe is thought to be the black tower of Isengard)! Explore Birmingham’s literary scene and get involved with the numerous on-campus writers groups, including our very own newspaper, radio and TV stations. Delve into the various city-wide literature festivals and take advantage of our exceptional resources, including our special collections and archives in the Cadbury Research Library and the Library of Birmingham, Europe’s largest regional library.

**7th for Drama in the Guardian University Guide 2022**

**Top 10 for English in the Guardian University Guide 2022**

**Top 30 for English Language and Literature in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2022**

Modules

First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the ‘Course detail’ tab on the University of Birmingham’s coursefinder web pages.

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:

University of Birmingham

Department:

Department of Drama and Theatre Arts

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.

66%
Drama
75%
English studies

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

86%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
77%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
78%
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

69%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
69%
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?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
24%
Male students
76%
Female students
95%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
B

English studies (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
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

79%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
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?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
14%
Male students
86%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
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.

£16,800
med
Average annual salary
80%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

35%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
13%
Teaching and educational professionals
7%
Other elementary services occupations

English studies (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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
73%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

20%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
14%
Teaching and educational professionals
7%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

English is one of the most popular degree subjects and in 2015, more than 11,000 students graduated with English degrees - although this does represent a fall from recent years. As good communication is so important to modern business, you can find English graduates in all parts of the economy, although obviously, you can't expect to get a job in science or engineering (computing is a different matter - it's not common but good language skills can be useful in the computing industry). There's little difference in outcomes between English language and English literature degrees, so don't worry and choose the one that suits you best. More English grads took another postgraduate course when they finished their degree than grads from any other subject - this is an important option. Teacher training was a common choice of second degree, as was further study of English, and journalism courses. But many English graduates changed course and trained in law, marketing or other languages -or even subjects further afield such as computing, psychology and even nursing. This is a very flexible degree which gives you a lot of options

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.

£15k

£15k

£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.

English studies (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.

£19k

£19k

£25k

£25k

£29k

£29k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
Queen's University Belfast | Belfast
Drama and English
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-144
Lower entry requirements
Aberystwyth University | Aberystwyth
Drama and English
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 96-120

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here