Program Overview

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BA Drama and Film Studies

Overview

Benefit from our teaching and research in Drama while focusing on the study of film and television.

• Duration: 3 years
• Year of entry: 2026
• UCAS course code: WW46 / Institution code:M20

Entry Requirements

A-level

• ABB including one essay based subject.
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

A-level contextual offer

• BBC including one essay based subject.
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

UK refugee/care-experienced offer

• BBC including one essay based subject.
• Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
• Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.

International Baccalaureate

• 34 points overall. 6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects
• Applicants studying the International Baccalaureate Career Related Programme (IBCP) should contact the admissions team prior to applying so that their academic profile can be considered.

GCSE/IGCSE

• Applicants must demonstrate a broad general education including acceptable levels of Literacy and Numeracy, equivalent to at least Grade 6 or B in GCSE/IGCSE English Language and Grade 4 or C in Mathematics. GCSE/IGCSE English Literature will not be accepted in lieu of GCSE/IGCSE English Language.

Other entry requirements

• Other entry requirements exist for this course. You may view these by selecting from the list below.
  • Scottish requirements
  • Welsh Baccalaureate
  • Foundation year
  • Pearson BTEC qualifications
  • OCR Cambridge Technical qualifications
  • Access to HE Diploma
  • T Level
  • Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

Fees and Funding

Fees

• Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For entry in 2025 the tuition fees were £9,535 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2026 entry.

Policy on additional costs

• All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application.

Scholarships/sponsorships

• Scholarships and bursaries are available to eligible Home/EU students, this is in addition to the government package of maintenance grants.

Application and Selection

How to apply

• Apply through UCAS

Advice to applicants

• Potential candidates are expected to demonstrate why they have chosen this particular degree in their personal statement and express why the course interests them.

Home-schooled applicants

• If you are a student who has followed a non-standard educational route, e.g. you have been educated at home; your application will be considered against the standard entry criteria of the course for which you are applying.

Non-standard educational routes

• Mature students are some of our most well-equipped learners, bringing skills and attributes gained from work, family and other life experiences.

Returning to education

• We welcome applications from mature students and will consider them on an individual basis.

Deferrals

• We welcome applications from candidates who intend to defer entry.

Re-applications

• If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again.

Transfers

• We welcome applications from applicants transferring from other institutions.

Course Details

Course description

• BA Drama and Film Studies will give you the opportunity to benefit from our teaching and research in Drama while engaging also on the study of film and television.

Special features

• Placement year option
• Study abroad
• Societies

Teaching and learning

• Manchester is distinct from an acting conservatoire; rather than offering purely vocational training, we bring together theory and practice in the study of Drama as cultural process and artistic discourse.

Coursework and assessment

• Assessment includes:
  • coursework essays;
  • written examinations;
  • research reports;
  • practical tests;
  • learning logs;
  • web contributions;
  • oral presentations;
  • small-scale practical assignments;
  • a final-year dissertation or research essay.

Course content for year 1

• Study core units in the theory and practice of drama, focusing on historical, contextual and theoretical analysis.
• Gain a foundation in film through core units in dramatic form and content on screen and the essential theoretical concepts of cinema including narrative, genre, authorship, photography, mise-en-scene, editing, music, and performance.

Course content for year 2

• Choose to specialise more in film or theatre studies, building an awareness of the relationships between screen, culture and society or the developments of theatre in modernity.

Course content for year 3

• Continue to tailor your studies through optional units spanning subjects such as mockumentaries, movie adaptations, representation of gender on stage and more.

Facilities

• Home to Music and Drama at Manchester, the purpose-built Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama includes:
  • the John Thaw Studio Theatre, a flexible, fully equipped performance space with seating for 150 people;
  • workshops, rehearsal rooms, and screening rooms, including sound and video-editing suites;
  • the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, an acoustically designed auditorium seating up to 350 people;
  • the Lenagan Library, our dedicated performing arts library.

Careers

Career opportunities

• Study Drama with us and you'll learn to interpret and critically analyse theatre, performance and film, create original work for live performance and demonstrate a high level of transferable skills - especially in interpersonal communication, group work, leadership and creative problem solving.

Career paths

• Our graduates have gone on to work in a variety of industries, including positions in:
  • applied theatre;
  • television and radio;
  • theatre;
  • film and broadcast;
  • journalism;
  • teaching at schools, colleges, and universities;
  • community arts and arts administration;
  • law and business management.