Creative Writing and Drama BA (Hons)

Program Overview

The Creative Writing and Drama BA (Hons) combines writing and performance skills, equipping students with the ability to write critically and creatively, and to engage with traditional and contemporary theatre forms. The program offers a range of modules, optional courses, and real-world experiences, preparing graduates for careers in creative writing, journalism, teaching, theatre, and related industries.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Creative Writing and Drama BA (Hons) is a combined honours program designed to develop skills and techniques necessary for aspiring writers and performers. The Creative Writing component focuses on poetry, drama, and fiction, equipping students with the abilities to write critically and creatively. Students will be guided on how to get their work published. The Drama component encourages engagement with traditional, contemporary, and alternative forms of theatre, allowing students to explore, critique, and practice different theatrical approaches. The program boasts a thriving performance environment, regular productions, and a dedicated "Creative Futures" event that connects students with industry professionals and provides work experience opportunities.

Outline:

The program is structured over three years, with distinct modules and optional courses that provide flexibility and specialization opportunities. The first year focuses on building a strong foundation in both Creative Writing and Drama:

• Year 1:
• Creative Writing:
• Writing Poetry: Finding Your Voice:
Introduces poetry writing techniques and criticism, exploring form and language.
• Writing Fiction: How to Craft a Story: Explores key elements of fiction like plot, character, and voice.
• Scriptwriting: Focuses on dramatic storytelling and scriptwriting for different mediums like stage, screen, and radio.
• Drama:
• Introduction to the Study of Performance:
Introduces academic performance studies, theory, and key practitioners.
• Technology for Performers: Explores lighting, sound, video, and performance technology integration.
• Introduction to Performance Skills and Techniques: Develops core performance skills in physicality, voice, and acting.
• Year 2:
• Creative Writing:
• Children’s Literature: Genres, Forms, Functions:
Explores various forms and genres of children's literature, including historical and cultural contexts.
• Flash Fiction: Focuses on the art of short-short stories, analyzing and practicing this genre.
• Poetry: Other Voices, Other Forms: Expands poetry writing techniques, exploring different voices and forms.
• Professional Writing and Publishing: Provides practical guidance on publishing, including submission strategies and industry insights.
• English at Work: Applies transferable skills to a work-based context through a placement.
• Experiential Overseas Learning: Offers an international placement experience, building global citizenship skills.
• Year abroad study exchange: Enables students to study at a partner university abroad.
• Introduction to TESOL/TEFL: Introduces English as a Foreign Language teaching methods and techniques.
• Experiential Project: Provides an opportunity for students to engage in a major, real-world project.
• Enhancing your Employability through Work Based Learning: Develops work-based learning skills through a placement.
• Drama:
• Experiential Overseas Learning:
Offers an international placement experience, building global citizenship skills.
• Year abroad study exchange: Enables students to study at a partner university abroad.
• Experiential Project: Provides an opportunity for students to engage in a major, real-world project.
• Applied Practices: Focuses on facilitating participatory workshops in various settings like education and community engagement.
• Landmarks in Performance: Explores historical, theoretical, and cultural underpinnings of contemporary performance.
• Body and Sound: Develops voice and movement techniques for performance.
• Dramaturgy: Examines the relationship between text and performance through analysis and practical application.
• Enhancing your Employability through Work Based Learning: Develops work-based learning skills through a placement.
• Year 3:
• Creative Writing:
• Science Fiction:
Analyzes science fiction texts, exploring the genre's historical, cultural, and ideological contexts.
• Crime, Deviance and Subversion: Explores literary representations of crime and social deviance within their historical and cultural contexts.
• Young Adult Fiction: Examines contemporary young adult fiction, its themes, and its representation of adolescent identities.
• The Writing Project: A major project where students create a substantial piece of writing (fiction, drama, poetry) in their chosen genre.
• The Script: Develops scriptwriting skills for performance, focusing on structure, dialogue, and staging.
• Developing Professional Practice: Provides skills for self-promotion and networking in the creative industries.
• Drama:
• Negotiated Study (single):
Allows students to create and develop their own major projects.
• Dissertation: Enables in-depth research and writing on a chosen topic within the performance field.
• Developing Professional Practice: Provides skills for self-promotion and networking in the creative industries.
• So, you want to be a teacher?
• : Offers an exploration of the national curriculum and teacher training pathways for those interested in education.
• Performance Perspectives: Analyzes various aspects of contemporary performance, including theories, practices, and aesthetics.
• Final Production: A major practical project where students showcase their skills through a significant performance.

Assessment:

The program utilizes a variety of assessment methods to evaluate student progress:

• Creative Writing: Portfolios of creative writing, critical and reflective essays, and other project-based assignments.
No formal exams.
• Drama: Practical performances, presentations, oral discussions, and written essays.
No formal exams.

Teaching:

The program employs a blend of teaching methods:

• Practical workshops: Hands-on experience in writing and performance.
• Lectures: Conveying theoretical knowledge and contextual information.
• Seminars: Discussion-based learning and critical analysis of texts and performance.
• One-to-one tutorials: Personalized guidance and support for individual projects.

Careers:

Graduates from the program have a range of career options:

• Creative Writing: Journalism, editing, teaching, copywriting, marketing, arts administration, librarianship, broadcasting, public relations, and further postgraduate study.
• Drama: Performing, teaching, theatre making, and related creative industries.

Other:

The program offers several opportunities for students to gain real-world experience:

• Work Based Learning: Students can spend five weeks working for a host organization, gaining practical work experience and building their CV.
• Experiential Overseas Learning: Students can participate in a short-term placement abroad, enhancing their global perspectives and skills.
• Year abroad study exchange: Provides a full academic year of study at a partner university overseas.
• Careers and Employability Service: The University offers support with career planning, CV writing, interview preparation, and job search resources.

Tuition Fees and Payment Information:

Home Students

Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2024/25 are £9,250 a year, or £1,540 per 20-credit module for part-time study. The University may increase these fees at the start of each subsequent year of your course in line with inflation at that time, as measured by the Retail Price Index. These fee levels and increases are subject to any necessary government, and other regulatory, approvals. Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.

International/EU Students

The tuition fees for international students studying Undergraduate programmes in 2024/25 are £13,950. This fee is set for each year of study. All undergraduate students are eligible for international and merit-based scholarships which are applicable to each year of study. For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section. Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.