Drama and Film

By studying Drama and Film, you'll benefit from exceptional teaching and industry links that will help you to launch your career. Covering a wide range of subjects and developing your practical skills as well as critical thinking, this dynamic course allows you to explore your own style and creativity and follow your passions and ambitions in the visual and performing arts.

We'll challenge you with theoretical and practical study, empowering you to shape your degree around your areas of interest. From acting to directing, screenwriting to documentary filmmaking, world cinema to popular performance and many more, you'll explore your subjects alongside fellow students, creating new work and discovering new ways of seeing established works. Our team of academics, professional practitioners and technical specialists will support you every step of the way as you analyse, create and critique, developing your understanding of drama and film, becoming a more confident performer and maker.

You'll study within an exciting and diverse environment, benefitting from our strong connections with industry and local arts venues, opportunities for workplace learning and our flagship Graduate Theatre Company scheme, all of which support you in kick-starting your career within the creative industries.

You can take this degree with a year of working or studying abroad.

Year 2

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations:

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Screenwriting

  Have you got what it takes to write a film? This module offers you an introduction to the concepts, terms, and skills involved in writing screenplays and to the craft of screenwriting. Screenwriting is a unique form of writing with very different concerns from novels, theatre and radio. Although the screenplay is a vital component of a film’s success, it tends to be neglected as an art form in of itself.

  In this module, you’ll explore the conventions of dramatic structure, and examine new narrative forms and short film variations. We’ll encourage you to think critically about screenwriting and you’ll have the opportunity to write your own screenplay.

• Documentary Filmmaking

  Developments in online streaming, film festivals and technical innovation have seen an unprecedented expansion in documentary filmmaking. Through practical exercises and analysis of film texts, this module will introduce you to the essential components of non-fiction filmmaking.

• Creative Careers

  Pursuing a career in the arts not only requires creativity and talent but also an understanding of how the UK arts sector operates. In this module, you’ll learn about all aspects of the creative industries and the various career paths that exist for arts graduates.

  Through tasks and exercises, you’ll develop both practical and critical skills, ranging from writing CVs and funding applications to managing your professional portfolio and using social media and networking to boost your career prospects and promote your work.

Optional modules may include the following:

• World Cinema

• Acting

• Introduction to Musical Theatre Dance

• Popular Performance: Alternative Cabaret

• Theatre and Adaptation

• Disability and the Arts

• Performance Design and Technologies

• Writing for Performance

• Cinematography

• Sound, Music and Cinema

• Genre Filmmaking

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.

Year in Industry (optional)

Year in Industry

You have the option to add a year in industry to this course. We already know you have the confidence and commitment to thrive in the workplace and kick-start your career. This is your chance to prove it, to yourself and to employers. This year in industry can be added during your studies.

Any questions? We have the answers!

When should I start looking? Companies will recruit at different times of the year based on their size. It's good to be application ready by the summer of your first year.

Where can I get help finding a placement? Book an appointment with a placement adviser via the careers service.

Will I get paid? Most of our placements are paid.

Do I have to pay tuition fees? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website.

Where can I get visa advice if I’m an international student? Kent Students' Union can help with any visa queries.

Does the University keep in touch? You receive four-weekly check-in emails, a visit from the team every three months and you can reach out to us any time by email or phone.

Do I work for a full year? The minimum requirement for an industrial placement is 44 weeks.

Year Abroad (optional)

Go Abroad

Taking a year abroad – whether you study at one of our prestigious partner universities or do an internship – is an amazing opportunity. This year abroad can be added during your studies at Kent.

Any questions? We have the answers!

Is there any additional funding for the year abroad? You may be able to apply for funding; check with our Go abroad team.

Do I have to pay tuition fees for the year abroad? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website. You don’t pay anything to the host uni.

Will I still get my maintenance loan? Yes.

When does the year abroad take place? Between your second and final year.

Do I have to learn a foreign language? You’re taught in English in many destinations, but you’ll get more out of your year if you learn the local language.

Does the University keep in touch? You have full access to all Kent’s support services as well as our dedicated Go abroad team.

Year 3

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations:

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Creative Project

  Do you feel inspired to create an original performance, in a form and style of your choice? Are you ready to apply the skills you have built across your degree to create your final show for a public festival?

  This module will give you the skills to initiate and carry out an independent project, working either as a soloist or in a small student company where you choose your own collaborators. You’ll take responsibility for devising an initial idea and bringing it to life by working with your classmates, lecturers and technical team. You’ll produce a high-quality piece of performance within real-world budget and resource limitations while applying safe and ethical working methods. You’ll gain project design and management skills that are essential for careers in the creative industries.

• Dissertation

  Have you developed a passion for a particular topic in drama, film or media? Do you love writing, researching, and exploring a subject deeply? This is your chance to develop your skills and create a piece of work about the topics you are passionate about.

  You’ll develop an in-depth independent investigation into a specific issue, guided by research questions, and establishing a dialogue with existing scholarship, practices and debates. You’ll start by conceptualising your project and work with an assigned supervisor. You’ll present your work in progress to get feedback from your peers in spring, and your final piece will be due in summer.

  By building on what you’ve learnt during throughout your degree, you’ll create a new piece of research that will allow you to pursue your interests and ideas, honing your independent critical thinking skills and further expanding your employability.

Optional modules may include the following:

• Film, Politics, & Identity

• Physical Theatre - Ensemble Devising

• Directing Theatre, Staging Ideas

• Stand-up Comedy

• Psychology of the Arts

• Arts Internship

• Acting Shakespeare

• Community and Participatory Performance

• Film & TV Adaptation

• Film Criticism

• Film Marketing and Distribution

• Microbudget Filmmaking

• Screen Space and Location Scouting

• Specialist Areas in Film Studies

• Factual Entertainment

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.

Year 1

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations:

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Making Performance 1: The Fundamentals

  Get ready to challenge yourself and be challenged, as you get to know the raw ingredients of contemporary performance.

  In this first of three Making Performance modules, you’ll experiment with space, text, physical acting and ensemble devising. You’ll encounter important practitioners and groundbreaking performances, while also gaining hands-on experience in the foundations of lighting, sound and stagecraft.

  The skills you’ll develop through your first performances this term, along with introductions to key concepts and practitioners, will provide a foundation for the rest of your studies and your career in the arts.

• Film and Media Practice #1

  Have you ever wanted to better understand film as a media form and learn how to make your own? Film and Media Practice 1 draws on concepts in film and media studies to introduce you to moving image production and the principles of audiovisual language.

  You’ll learn technical skills in pre-production, production and post-production along with skills applicable to both narrative and experimental screen production. Through a combination of lectures, screenings, creative and technical workshops, and peer reviews of work in progress, this module encourages experimentation, critical reflection, independent thought, and dialogue between theory and practice.

• Making Performance 2: Staging Texts

  Are you passionate about plays? Do you want to learn more about their history, and become confident understanding a variety of play texts?

  In this module, you’ll explore a range of performance texts, from Ancient Greece to the 21st century. Weekly lectures will ground your understanding contextually, and practical workshops will enable you to bring the scripts to life with embodied understanding.

• Film Theory

  What is film? What sort of questions do academics discuss in relation to this medium? You’ll engage in the systematic exploration of film offered by film theory, including competing definitions of film and discussions around what characterises the medium, how spectators engage with film, and the social, cultural, and political conditions and ideologies that film reproduces.

• Making Performance 3: The Festival

• Film Editing

  Why is editing a core element of the filmmaking process? Through hands-on work combining creative exercises and close analysis of films, you’ll explore how combining images can fulfil various functions including shaping stories, guiding points of view, creating emotions and aesthetic effects, and generating meaning.

  As well as focussing specifically on the work carried out by film/video editors, you’ll also engage with ‘editing’ as an approach to shaping raw material that extends across all aspects of film production, from screenwriting to directing and post-production. The module will situate this focus within the broader context of ‘montage’ and ‘collage’ as principles that extend across diverse art forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, literature, music, and digital media.

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.