Drama

Explore your creative identity with our Drama degree.

• 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.

Studying Drama at Bath Spa gives you the performance, critical and creative skills you need to launch yourself into a variety of exciting careers.

You'll 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.

Professional Placement Year

A Professional Placement Year (PPY), traditionally known as a sandwich year, is where you undertake a period of work with an external organisation for between 9-13 months. The placement occurs between your second and final years of undergraduate study. You can engage in multiple placements to make up the total time and are required to source the placement(s) yourself, with support from the Careers team.

Course Modules

In 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.

In 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. You'll also have the opportunity to apply yourself in a variety of performance projects. Our focus is allowing you to create original work, while you explore your particular areas of interest such as puppetry, performance and media, devising, applied theatre, musical theatre and theatre production.

In your final year – 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. You may explore topics such as performance, staging gender, modern American drama, staging Shakespeare, musical theatre, theatre for social change, media and performance, and devising. There's also the opportunity to collaborate with staff on projects relating to their areas of expertise.