BA English and Drama
About this course
BA in English and Drama, an English and Drama degree centred on the study of literary works, theatre practice, and historical contexts. Core topics include Research Methods, Fieldwork, Critical & Analytical Thinking, and Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. Campus facilities house Special Collections, the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, and a Digital Humanities Lab. The first year establishes core foundations through compulsory modules such as Performance Analysis, The Creative Actor, Beginnings: English Literature before 1800, and Rethinking Shakespeare. Optional choices in the first year span subjects like poetry, novels, and digital cultures. The second year offers diverse optional modules including Acting Shakespeare, Applied Drama: Touring, Directing and Facilitating, Popular Performance Practices, and Entertainment Technologies alongside various historical literature and creative writing topics. Students further tailor their studies through numerous optional modules exploring drama across media, performance history, and cultural texts.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: AAB-ABB. Required subjects: B in an accepted Humanities or Social Science subject* (see below). *Accepted Humanities and Social Science subjects: Anthropology; Classics and Ancient History; Drama; English; Geography; Government and Politics; History; Law; Media Studies; Modern Languages; Philosophy; Politics; Psychology; Religious Studies; Sociology. IB: 34/665-32/655.
See the highest paying Languages & English degrees in the UK →
See the highest paying Art, Design, Music & Drama degrees in the UK →
Real offers for this course
Applicants have posted 2 UCAS decisions for BA English and Drama (WQ34) at the University of Exeter for 2027 entry so far. The published offer is ABB at A level.
Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 74%: 71 offers from 96 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 10 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 86%
- Learning opportunities: 68%
- Assessment and feedback: 56%
- Academic support: 66%
- Organisation and management: 75%
- Learning resources: 94%
- Student voice: 56%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 15 graduates who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 75%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 5%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Artistic, literary and media occupations: 15%
- Elementary occupations: 15%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 15%
- Managers, directors and senior officials: 10%
- Administrative occupations: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 90%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 80%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 30%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 115 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 2%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 2%
- West Midlands: 2%
- East of England: 3%
- London: 39%
- South East: 28%
- South West: 20%
- Wales: 3%
- Scotland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 95%
- Baccalaureate: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Gold for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Performance Analysis
- The Creative Actor
- Beginnings: English Literature before 1800
- Rethinking Shakespeare
- Digital Cultures: Narrative, Creativity, Industry
- The Novel
- The Poem
- Academic English
- Imagine This: Prompts for Creative Writing
- Writing for Stage, Screen and Across Media
- Acting Shakespeare
- Popular Performance Practices
- Applied Drama: Touring, Directing and Facilitating
- Approaches to Acting and Contemporary Performance Making
- Entertainment Technologies
- Performing Culture: Theatre, Media, Identity
- Audiences, Participation, Immersion
- Activism and Performance
- Musicals: Critical Perspectives in Contemporary Contexts
- Creative Producing: People, Culture and Collaboration
- Voices Across Stage and Screen
- Performance in the Age of Screens: Intermedial Theatre
- Desire and Power: English Literature 1570-1640
- Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England
- Chaucer and His Contemporaries
- Renaissance and Revolution
- Satire and the City: English Literature 1660-1750
- Revolutions and Evolutions 19C Writings
- Modernism and Modernity: Literature 1900-1960
- Romanticism
- Empire of Liberty: American Literature of the Long Nineteenth Century
- Adaptations: Text, Image, Culture
- Creative Writing: Building a Story
- Creative Writing: Making a Poem
- British Cultures: The Exeter Seminar
- Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres
- Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future
- Humanities after the Human: Further Adventures in Critical Theory
- Culture, Crisis and Ecology in a Postcolonial World
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA English and Drama at University of Exeter earn?
The median salary is £27,000 after 15 months, £21,000 after 3 years, £28,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £23,500 and £34,500. The £28,500 median after five years is £500 less than the UK median for English studies.
What do graduates of BA English and Drama at University of Exeter do next?
95% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA English and Drama at University of Exeter?
86% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA English and Drama at University of Exeter?
The typical offer is ABB at A level. The average entrant had 157 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BA English and Drama at University of Exeter?
74% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 71 offers from 96 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does BA English and Drama at University of Exeter include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year and an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BA English and Drama at University of Exeter?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.