Program Overview

Drama and Film and Screen Studies

BA (Hons)

Undergraduate degree - combined honours

Overview

• Pursue your passions. Choose to specialise, broaden your skills-base or combine Drama with another subject you love.
• Experiment, reflect and innovate. Learn by making, producing, performing, directing and collaborating.
• Graduate with a host of skills valued in a range of industries, from theatre to media to education.

Drama

• Explore your creative identity through core and optional modules in areas of practice such as play production, performing, writing and directing, and topics such as Shakespeare, musical theatre, physical theatre, applied theatre and media and performance.
• Popular career paths for graduates of this programme include working in theatre, acting, directing, education, theatre production, arts administration, and arts therapies; you could also choose to progress to further study, for example in Directing, Creative Producing, Creative Writing and Scriptwriting.

Joint #2 in UK

• for Value Added in Drama and Dance (Guardian University Guide 2025)

#1 in South West

• for Satisfaction with Feedback in Media and Film Studies (Guardian University Guide 2025)

What you'll learn

• Overview
  • You’ll study plays, practitioners and genres that have been particularly influential in shaping contemporary theatre and performance.
  • We give you the opportunity to explore:
    • Theatre practitioners
    • Playwrights
    • Performance making
    • Writing, directing and performing.
• Course structure
  • Year one Build the foundations. You’ll gain skills in working with play texts as part of a theatrical ensemble, performing and directing, theatre production and performance; these will underpin your work in years two and three.
  • Year two Apply your skills. You’ll work with local practitioners, collaborate with a range of theatre experts and learn from visiting professional companies and artists.
  • Year three Develop your specialisms. Increasingly, you'll define and manage your own work, and carry out research into areas of drama or performance of your choice.

How will I be assessed?

• We use a variety of assessment tasks across the programme, including:
  • Public performance
  • Playwriting
  • In-class performance of devised or published work
  • Oral presentations
  • Performance of backstage/technical roles
  • Critical reflection
  • Working as part of an ensemble
  • Script analysis
  • Devising
  • Individual and group research projects.

How will I be taught?

• You'll be taught through a range of activities including lectures, workshops, seminars, skills classes, rehearsals, tutorials, work placements and theatre visits.

Opportunities

• Study abroad
  • As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.
• Work placements, industry links and internships
  • You’ll benefit from visits from industry professionals.
  • Previous visitors have covered a range of specialisms including: playwriting, directing, acting, television production, theatre in education, and children’s theatre.
  • We also have partnerships with local venues, local schools and local community groups.

Careers

• We equip you with creative, collaborative, writing, presentational and communication skills that are useful in many professional and vocational areas.
• Some graduates choose to pursue postgraduate study, especially in teaching, or vocational training.
• Recent graduates have gone on to study Master's degrees at Central School of Speech and Drama, Yale Theatre School and the Royal Academy of Music.
• Other graduates launch careers in the creative industries, including working with theatre and media companies.

Facilities and resources

• Where the subject is taught
  • You'll benefit from use of teaching and rehearsal facilities at the Newton Park campus.
• Facilities used by BA Drama include:
  • University Theatre
  • University Theatre studios
  • Ashton Drama studio
  • Commons lecture and seminar rooms
  • Michael Tippett Centre: auditorium / practice rooms
  • Library
  • TV Studios

Fees

• 2025 entry
  • Student | Annual tuition fee
    • UK full time | £9,535
    • UK part time | £4,768
    • International full time | £17,430

Additional course costs

• You may need to pay additional course costs over and above your tuition fees, for example, for specialist equipment or trips and visits.

Funding opportunities

• Please visit our Funding pages for an overview of the funding options that may be available, including scholarships and bursaries.

Interested in applying?

• What we look for in potential students
  • We’re looking for dynamic individuals with an interest in exploring a wide range of drama and performance forms.
  • You’ll typically have CCC or above at A-Level including a C grade, or above, in Drama, Performing Arts or English.
• Typical offers
  • We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes.
  • The main ones are listed below:
    • A Level – grades BBB-BCC including a grade B in Drama, Theatre Studies or Performing Arts preferred.
    • BTEC – Extended Diploma grades from Distinction Distinction Merit (DDM) to Distinction Merit Merit (DMM) in a related subject, or evidence of experience in Performing Arts.
    • T Levels – grade Merit preferred in a relevant subject.
    • International Baccalaureate – a minimum of 32 points are required in addition to evidence of involvement in drama or performing arts.
    • 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) together with evidence of involvement in drama and performing arts.

English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants

• IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.

Course enquiries

• For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at .

How do I apply?

• Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
• Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.

Interview and portfolio guidance

• Suitable applicants will be invited to audition at our Newton Park campus between December and March.
• The interview process will focus primarily on your:
  • Group skills
  • Aptitude for taking part in workshop activities
  • Spontaneity and creativity
  • Interest in drama practices.

Film and Screen Studies

• Immerse yourself in the study of film and the film industries. Understand theory, criticism and the relationship between film, media and culture.
• An immersive experience in studying film and the film industries.
• You’ll have the opportunity explore your film interests and enthusiasms.
• Combines film theory and scholarship with film practice.

#1 in South West

• for Satisfaction with Feedback in Media and Film Studies (Guardian University Guide 2025)

#1 in South West

• for Satisfaction with Teaching in Film Production and Photography (Guardian University Guide 2025)

What you'll learn

• Overview
  • We want you to develop a critical understanding of film and screen theory and criticism and to appreciate the relationship between film, media and culture.
  • But we also want to provide you with the conceptual tools for understanding how society and culture is mediated by cinematic, televisual and electronic images.
• Course structure
  • Year one You’ll investigate film as a specific academic discipline, alongside how meaning is conveyed through film form and content.
  • Years two and three In years two and three you can design your programme from a range of exciting modules.

How will I be taught?

• Our modules have well-defined teaching structures consisting of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, which give you wide opportunities to learn progressively, stretch your capabilities, test your ideas and methods and interact positively with staff and other students in the department.

How will I be assessed?

• Assessment includes essays, research reports, journals, group presentations and portfolios.

Opportunities

• Study abroad
  • As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.
• Fieldwork
  • Visits may include tours of famous UK film studios such as Pinewood and key film centres such as the BFI.

Careers

• The main focus of interest for our Film and Screen Studies graduates is the creative and cultural industries in the UK.
• These industries include advertising, journalism, publishing, film and film-related employments, television, radio and the heritage sector.
• However, there are also employment opportunities in local and central government and the voluntary sector.

Facilities and resources

• Where the subject is taught
  • You'll be taught on our Newton Park campus, with access to a range of facilities including:
    • Commons building
    • Newton Park Library
    • Our Virtual Learning Environment
    • Studio and post-production facilities

Fees

• 2025 entry
  • Student | Annual tuition fee
    • UK full time | £9,535
    • UK part time | £4,768
    • International full time | £17,430

Additional course costs

• You may need to pay additional course costs over and above your tuition fees, for example, for specialist equipment or trips and visits.

Funding opportunities

• Please visit our Funding pages for an overview of the funding options that may be available, including scholarships and bursaries.

Interested in applying?

• What we look for in potential students
  • We value applicants who are self-reflective, creative and have good teamworking skills.
• Typical offers
  • We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes.
  • The main ones are listed below:
    • A Level – grades BBB-BCC preferred.
    • BTEC – Extended Diploma grades from Distinction Distinction Merit (DDM) to Distinction Merit Merit (DMM) accepted in any subject.
    • T Levels – grade Merit preferred.
    • International Baccalaureate – a minimum of 32 points are required.
    • 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).

English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants

• IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.

Course enquiries

• For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at .

How do I apply?

• Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
• Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.

Get ahead

• We recommend these two introductory texts:
  • Jill Nelmes,Introduction to Film Studies , Taylor and Francis, 5th Revised Edition 2015
  • Richard Barsom and David Monahan,Looking at Movies , WW Norton, 5th Revised Edition 2015