Creative Writing and Drama
Entry requirements
A level
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: (Drama & Theatre Studies or Performing Arts) and a Humanities-based essay writing subject such as English Literature, English Language, English Language & Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, History or Classical Civilisation.
Access to HE Diploma (must include a relevant Humanities subject at Level 3), to include 45 credits at level 3, 30 of which must be at Merit
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
26 Points Including English and Theatre at HL 5 or above
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Including H3 in English and Drama/Performing Arts
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
BTEC in Performing Arts accepted in addition to an A Level in a Humanities-based essay writing subject such as English Literature, English Language, English Language & Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, History or Classical Civilisation.
Scottish Higher
Must include English and Drama/Performing Arts
UCAS Tariff
112 UCAS points from GCE A Levels or equivalent. Typical offer - BCC/BBC. Specific subjects/grades required for entry: (Drama & Theatre Studies or Performing Arts) and a Humanities-based essay writing subject such as English Literature, English Language, English Language & Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, History or Classical Civilisation.
About this course
A Combined Honours degree at Chester gives you the opportunity to study two subjects. You will spend a fairly even amount of time studying each subject area, with possible opportunities to declare a major – minor towards the end of your studies.
**Drama**
Study a unique course where you can creatively engage with both traditional and alternative forms of theatre and performance.
This degree will provide you with opportunities to engage with a wide range of approaches to making theatre and performance. You will study a broad suite of modules which will enhance your knowledge of performance making. This includes looking at traditional forms of theatre, while also engaging with alternative forms of making performance, such as devising.
The degree focuses on practice, theory and industry which allows you to explore performance critically and practically whilst gaining a deeper understanding of diverse performance, as well as creative and research practices. There are also regular guest workshops and talks, and opportunities for work experience through our extensive industry links and our resident, professional theatre companies.
You will work with specialist and highly experienced lecturers, a wide range of professional practitioners and visiting industry professionals with a wealth of industry experience. The team currently includes experienced theatre directors, applied theatre practitioners, and experts in actor training and physical theatre. Alongside this, you can work with specialists in areas such as live art and interactive digital performance. There are a number of extracurricular activities to get involved with, such as regular trips to theatres, galleries and other creative spaces.
**Creative Writing**
Unleash your creativity and discover what makes good writing great as you produce and reflect on your own fiction, poetry and drama.
This course helps you to develop the skills and techniques to become a creative writer in poetry, drama and fiction (flashes, short stories, novels), and also to write critically. We have a number of highly successful published writers of fiction and poetry in the Department, who can share their insights with you.
Learn how your own work fits into the wider world of literature and contemporary publishing. Study the works and techniques of successful poets, novelists and dramatists to inform your own writing; choose from a number of optional and specialist modules; and pursue and complete a writing project of your own choice.
The Department’s commitment to contemporary literature and its contacts with eminent authors allow us to place your degree studies in Creative Writing in an exciting wider context. We will also give you guidance on how you can get your work published, so that you can share your success with others. At Chester, we pride ourselves on teaching Creative Writing in a professional but supportive environment.
Modules
For the latest example of curriculum availability on this degree programme please refer to the University of Chester's Website.
Assessment methods
For Creative Writing, assessment varies from module to module: you will compile portfolios of creative writing; write critical and self-reflective prose; and also do a range of other kinds of assessed work. There are no formal written exams.
For Drama, assessment combines practical presentations and performances, and oral assessments in which you are invited to discuss your work. Written assessment takes the form of academic essays rather than unseen examinations.
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.
Creative writing
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?
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.
Creative 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.
Creative writing
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
£22k
£23k
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.
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
£17k
£19k
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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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?
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