Drama and Film and Screen Studies
BA (Hons)
Undergraduate degree - combined honours
- UCAS codes: Institution B20, Course WW46
- Drama - Programme Document
- Film and Screen Studies - Programme Document
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.
Among many of the options open to you will be acting, directing, education, theatre production, arts administration, or arts therapies; you could also choose to progress to further study, for example in as Directing, Creative Producing, Performing Shakespeare, 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)
“The Drama department has been excellent in supporting us and offering advice and support when needed. The course was a springboard into the professional world of Drama.”
Simon Crispin, third year Drama student
What you'll learn
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.
The course also includes a focus on:
- Plays and musical theatre productions in the University Theatre
- Theatre in education performances and workshops in local schools
- New plays written by students
- New and existing works devised, directed and performed by students.
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 local venues 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 physical theatre, applied theatre, musical theatre and theatre production.
Year three
Develop your specialisms. Increasingly, you'll define and manage your own work, and carry out research into an area 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.
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.
You'll be taught through a range of activities including lectures, workshops, seminars, skills classes, rehearsals, tutorials, work placements and theatre visits.
To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.
Opportunities
As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.
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.
You'll also get the chance to take part in Dramafest – a festival of performance that's devised and run entirely by students. This event typifies our way of teaching, which is to enable you to experience a wealth of roles and approaches so that you can find your passions and choose to specialise in them if you wish.
Drama students create the material for Dramafest, then perform and produce it. They design and construct the sets. They take on roles in stage management, publicity, and health and safety. In doing this, they gain transferable skills such as project management, collaboration and teamwork, that they can use in a range of careers.
Dramafest will be a chance for you to discover your strengths and define your own roles within a project; an invaluable skill in the workplace. Find out more about opportunities within the Drama department.
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. Some of our Drama graduatesare now:
- Founder of an award-winning theatre company
- Executive Director of a theatre school
- Principal of an Academy of Performing Arts
- Dramatherapist and Tutor.
If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.
You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.
Facilities and resources
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
| Student | Annual tuition fee |
|---|---|
| UK full time | £9,535 |
| UK part time | £4,768 |
| International full time | £17,430 |
Professional Placement Year
During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. This applies to UK and EU/International students.
- UK: £1,907
- International: £3,486
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. Please check the course Programme Document (linked under the main image on this page) for details of any additional costs. You can also read our Additional Course Costs Policy for further information.
Interested in applying?
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.
On your application form you should refer to:
- Your experience, skills and interests
- Performance work, plays or the books that have influenced your thinking
- Shows in which you have performed
- Why you think Drama at Bath Spa is the right course for you.
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.
If you don’t meet the entry requirements above, we may be able to accept your prior learning or experience from outside of formal education. See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) page to learn more.
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 admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.
Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.
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.
More information will be sent via email on invitation to audition. We do not charge an audition fee.
Course leader: Roy Connolly
Email: r.connolly@bathspa.ac.uk
Three year course
With placement year
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)
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.
In choosing this course you’ll be starting on a journey of critical understanding of the institutions of film and screen production, distribution and exhibition. As part of this we’ll develop your understanding of reception and consumption practices in film and screen.
What you'll learn
Film and Screen Studies aims to produce graduates who have an informed, critical and creative approach to both understanding film and screen in contemporary society and to their own forms of critical, reflective and communicative practice. You’ll develop intellectual, analytical, research and creative skills that will help you to prepare for employment and have the opportunity to engage in practical filmmaking projects if you wish.
Year one
You’ll investigate film as a specific academic discipline, alongside how meaning is conveyed through film form and content. As part of your work you’ll analyse how films are constructed and be introduced to ways of writing effectively about film. You'll also undertake an advanced investigation of key theoretical and methodological issues involved in the study of cinema, and explore film as a commercial, cultural and aesthetic institution.
Years two and three
In years two and three you can design your programme from a range of exciting modules. You can also take part in organising LineUP, the annual Student Film Festival at Bath Spa University.
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.
As you would expect, Film and Screen Studies modules also use parts of the new media in their teaching practice. Students are encouraged to make use of the University's virtual learning environment, 'Ultra' and of the web in seminars and workshops.
To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.
Assessment includes essays, research reports, journals, group presentations and portfolios.
Opportunities
As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.
Visits may include tours of famous UK film studios such as Pinewood and key film centres such as the BFI.
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.
Since 2011, employers such as BBC Bristol, Argonon and The Sheffield International Documentary Festival have recruited graduates from this course. Students have also gone into roles including Unit Assistant, Festival Assistant and Film Location Manager.
Work placements are available within the programme through the second year Work Placement model. They can also be facilitated on an extra-curricular basis through members of the teaching team.
We encourage our filmmaking students to enter material for film competitions and festivals.
If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.
You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.
"The tutors support you throughout, bringing their own specialist knowledge to the course to make it interesting and engaging."
Claire Reynolds, Film and Screen Studies graduate
Facilities and resources
You'll be taught on our Newton Park campus, with access to a range of facilities including:
Fees
| Student | Annual tuition fee |
|---|---|
| UK full time | £9,535 |
| UK part time | £4,768 |
| International full time | £17,430 |
Professional Placement Year
During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. This applies to UK and EU/International students.
- UK: £1,907
- International: £3,486
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. Please check the course Programme Document (linked under the main image on this page) for details of any additional costs. You can also read our Additional Course Costs Policy for further information.
Interested in applying?
We value applicants who are self-reflective, creative and have good teamworking skills.
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).
If you don’t meet the entry requirements above, we may be able to accept your prior learning or experience from outside of formal education. See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) page to learn more.
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 admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.
Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.
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
Course contact: Suman Ghosh
Email: s.ghosh@bathspa.ac.uk
Three year course
With placement year
- Award
- BA (Hons) Drama and Film and Screen Studies
- School/s
- Bath School of Art, Film and Media, Bath School of Music and Performing Arts
- Campus or location
- Newton Park and Locksbrook Campus
- Course length
- Three years full time. Part time available.
- UCAS codes
- Institution Code: B20
- Course Code: WW46
- Campus Code: A,BSU
Entry requirements
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed under 'Typical offers' in the main column below. For combined courses, please check both subjects. If your qualification is not listed, please email admissions@bathspa.ac.uk with your specific details.