This is an archived page and for reference purposes only
You study traditional theatre and contemporary performance practice, developing the skills and creative vision needed for a career as a theatre professional. Come to Kent if you want to shape the theatre of the future.
Overview
As a Drama and Theatre student at Kent, you benefit from the diverse research interests and professional backgrounds of our academic staff. We are innovators, devising modules that allow you to: create exhibitions or work in the community; write a stand-up routine or a theatre review; or produce a variety show or a site-specific performance.
Drama and Theatre students who graduated from Kent in 2015 were the most successful in the UK at finding work or further study opportunities (DLHE).
Our degree programme
At Kent, we challenge the distinction between practical and theoretical study, which means many of our modules include both written and performed assessments.
In your first year, you learn basic performance skills, technical theatre disciplines, and how to work creatively and safely on and behind the stage.
In your second year, you begin to shape your own degree with a wide range of modules to choose from. For example, you could focus on European theatre, costume and fashion, Shakespeare, avant-garde theatre movements or popular performance.
In your final year, you complete an independent or creative project and can choose modules on playwriting, performance or further develop the areas studied in your second year.
Study facilities
Facilities to support Drama and Theatre students include:
- studios with lighting rigs and a spacious control box housing the latest equipment
- the 120-seat Aphra Theatre
- the Lumley studio
- a fully equipped construction workshop
- sound studio
- 340-seat Gulbenkian Theatre
- rehearsal and teaching studios
- the University’s Templeman Library is renowned for its drama and theatre manuscripts, including collections of playbills, prints, programmes and other theatre ephemera
- the library also hosts Digital Theatre Plus, which provides full-length films of British theatre productions, in addition to interviews with the cast and the creative and production teams
- the Student Learning Advisory Service, which provides information on all aspects of effective learning and study skills.
Creative community
The School of Arts is a creative and academic hub for students in drama, film, media studies and art history. Special events within the School include symposia, seminars, conferences and exhibitions, as well as guest lectures by professionals from the world of theatre.
We offer you the best of both worlds with experienced academic teaching staff working alongside research and theatre professionals who have worked in theatre design, directing, stage management, stand-up comedy, acting and arts funding. You can also learn from our technical team, which includes a production manager and three technicians.
You may also like to join one (or all) of these student-run societies:
- T24 Drama – produces and puts on six shows a term
- Musical Theatre – produces musicals and musical showcases
- Circus – a collective of artists and creative characters
- Glee – a choir for people who love to sing
- Costume for Stage and Screen – design and sew costumes.
Professional links
The School of Arts has developed links with some of the major players in the industry:
- Bobby Baker
- C&T theatre
- Gulbenkian Theatre
- Little Bulb Theatre
- Marlowe Theatre
- Oily Cart
- Reckless Sleepers
- Shakespeare’s Globe.
Your options
We offer the option to study abroad for a term or a year at one of our partner institutions in Europe, the USA or South Africa. Alternatively, you could spend a year on placement gaining valuable workplace experience. You don’t have to make a decision before you enrol at Kent but certain conditions apply.
If you wish to combine drama with another subject, we offer a wide range of joint honours degrees, which lead to a combined BA (Hons) over three years.
Independent rankings
Drama at Kent was ranked 16th in The Complete University Guide 2017. In the National Student Survey 2016, 92% of students were satisfied with the quality of teaching.
For graduate prospects, Drama at Kent was ranked 9th in The Complete University Guide 2017. Drama and Theatre students who graduated from Kent in 2015 were the most successful in the UK at finding work or further study opportunities (DLHE).
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
Teaching and assessment
We use a variety of teaching methods including seminars, lectures, practical workshops, screenings and one-to-one tuition. Many modules include theatre visits, and theatre practitioners regularly visit us for guest lectures and workshops. We want our students to develop the creative competence to succeed in a future career in the theatre profession, or the wider creative industries.
Modules assessment is based on coursework, projects and presentations, performances, essays and dissertations.
Programme aims
This programme aims to:
- provide a stimulating environment which encourages and assists you to achieve your creative and intellectual potential.
- produce independent, motivated graduates who are equipped to meet the needs of, and to contribute creatively to, the theatre and associated media and professions.
- develop critical judgement and personal organisation skills to enable you to respond positively to the challenges of further study, training or employment in relevant career destinations.
- enhance the learning experience through a range of teaching and assessment methods that reflect and respond to the values and diversity inherent in drama and theatre studies.
- provide teaching that is informed by research and current developments in the pedagogy of drama and theatre as well as theatre practice and the arts.
- provide a broad grounding in the subject in the early stages of study, becoming increasingly specialist in the later stages.
- provide you with creative competence and understanding that is grounded in (and prepares for) professional practice.
- offer you the opportunity to apply to undertake a term or year abroad or a year’s placement in industry.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You develop knowledge and understanding of:
- key practitioners, practices and theorists of performance, including writers, critics, directors, actors, artists, designers and producers
- historical and contemporary contexts of the production and reception of performance
- the relationship of performance to its material, cultural and historical context.
- histories, forms and traditions of performance and theoretical explanations of their impact
- traditional and contemporary critical perspectives that inform the academic study of performance
- the interplay between theory and practice
- the processes by which performance is created, realised and managed including: the reading of written text and other source material; processes of rehearsal; writing and dramaturgy; devising, directing, design, stage and technical management and producing
- the impact of theatre and performance within a range of social, educational and community contexts
- the reading, analysis, documenting and interpreting of performance
- the role of the audience; the performance and production skills necessary to communicate with audiences.
Intellectual skills
You develop intellectual skills in how to:
- read, understand and engage analytically with a range of texts, performances and other source material
- research, evaluate and productively apply information from a number of sources (written, visual, aural) in order to develop and present a coherent understanding of the theory and practice of performance
- critique performance events and processes
- undertake and manage extended independent and creative research
- understand processes of creativity and deploy and critique these in your own work
- record, document and analyse processes of making performance
- understand and apply appropriate interdisciplinary practices, concepts and skills
- present coherent arguments verbally and in writing
- understand the relationship of performance to a range of critical, historical and cultural frameworks for its production and reception.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in:
- reading and evaluating scripts, performance texts and other theatre documents from a range of critical and practical perspectives
- envisioning the performance possibilities of a play text, script and other textual or documentary sources
- realising performances derived from a range of starting points (for example, a script; a theoretical position; documentary material; a specific location) and using a range of techniques, structures and working methods to develop those performances
- engaging and collaborating in production and performance
- engaging with current debates on theatre arts, productions, cultural policy and funding
- practising creative, physical and vocal skills for practice-based work, including appropriate warm-up exercises and techniques
- using technical apparatus and associated resources necessary to realise the demands of production in live and recorded performance safely, efficiently and effectively
- documenting performance processes and events
- engaging in research, whether independent, group or practice-based
- considering theories of spectatorship, developing an awareness of the audience or client group for performance, and an ability to respond and adapt to it through flexible means.
Transferable skills
You gain the following transferable skills:
- working collaboratively with others utilising a variety of team structures and working methods, understanding group dynamics and handling interpersonal issues
- developing and pursuing creative projects within specified resource constraints (for example, time, space and/or budget), therefore, developing problem-solving skills
- managing workloads to meet deadlines and sustaining focus for extended periods working on independent creative projects, developing autonomy and self-management
- using information retrieval skills to gather and critically evaluate material
- applying critical and creative skills in diverse forms of discourse and media
- identifying health and safety issues and undertake risk assessments.
- negotiating effectively with a variety of agencies (inside and outside the programme), developing interpersonal skills
- effectively and professionally communicating coherent arguments and propositions in a variety of media, verbally and in writing
- undertaking basic design, engineering, construction, and technical work
- demonstrating numeracy using scale, simple equations, simple geometry, basic arithmetic, data collection, presentation and analysis
- reflecting on your own learning and progress, identifying strategies for development, exploring strengths and weaknesses and developing autonomy in learning and continuous professional development.
Careers
You graduate with an understanding of theatre in all its forms and the creative competence to succeed in a future career. Alongside specialist skills, you also develop the transferable skills graduate employers look for, including the ability to:
- think critically
- communicate your ideas and opinions
- work independently and as part of a team.
Graduate destinations
Our graduates have gone on to work for major players in the West End including:
- Mark Rubinstein
- Sonia Friedman
- Bill Kenwright.
Others have gone to work with theatre companies such as:
- DV8
- Complicite.
We also support past students to set up companies and remain in Kent with the Graduate Theatre Scheme. Successful professional companies who started with us include:
- Little Bulb Theatre
- The Pantaloons
- The Noise Next Door
- Three Half Pints (stars of Spot Bots).
Our graduates have developed careers as journalists, authors, literary managers, directors, performers, scriptwriters for television, stand-up comedians, casting agents, event managers, arts administrators, community theatre officers for local councils, drama teachers, and many have gone on to postgraduate study.
Our graduates include:
- Lyn Gardner, theatre critic (The Guardian)
- Alan Davies
- Claire Marshall of Forced Entertainment,
- Charlotte Knight, literary agent
- Russell Bolam, director (Bristol Old Vic, Royal Shakespeare Company)
- Matthew Gordon, theatre producer (Associate Producer, Cameron Mackintosh Ltd)
- Kevin Walsh (Operations Director at Graeae theatre company)
- Louise Arnold, novelist
- Jimmy McGhie and Tiernan Douieb, comedians
- Matt Evans, scriptwriter (EastEnders, Law & Order, New Tricks)
- Adam Brace, playwright
- Julian Woolford, director (Head of Postgraduate Musical Theatre at Guildford School of Acting).
Help looking for a job
The School works hard to maintain strong links with professionals throughout the industry as well as with major players such as:
- Gulbenkian Theatre
- Marlowe Theatre
- Shakespeare’s Globe.
The School runs the Kent Arts Network (KAN), which connects students, staff, alumni and friends from the creative industries and gives you the chance to discover possible career paths and establish connections with current professionals.
The University’s Careers and Employability Service offers advice on how to:
- apply for jobs
- write a good CV
- perform well in interviews.
For more information on the services Kent provides to improve your career prospects visit www.kent.ac.uk/employability
Independent rankings
For graduate prospects, Drama at Kent was ranked 9th in The Complete University Guide 2017. Drama and Theatre students who graduated from Kent in 2015 were the most successful in the UK at finding work or further study opportunities (DLHE).
According to Which? University 2017, the average starting salary for graduates of this degree is £16,600
What our graduates say
“You learn a lot of theory but then you use that theory to make decisions in the practical work.”
Alex Smith
Drama and Theatre graduate
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | ABB |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
| BTEC Level 5 HND | Distinction, Distinction, Merit |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 16 at HL |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.