BA Drama
About this course
BA Drama, a drama degree exploring theatre, performance, and screen media through both theoretical and practical study. Core topics include Programming, Research Methods, and Ethics & Professional Practice. Students create and deliver practical theatre work in prisons and community settings. The first year covers foundational concepts through Introduction to Theatre and Performance Studies, Theatre and Performance Histories, Performance Practices 1, and Performance practices 2, with options in film studies. The second year introduces historical theatre contexts in Theatres of Modernity, alongside optional modules covering devising, playmaking, and screen media. The final year offers advanced options in contemporary theatre-making, directing, applied theatre, and screen acting, plus a choice of dissertation formats.
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 including one essay based subject
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What students say
Based on about 10 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 93%
- Learning opportunities: 90%
- Assessment and feedback: 83%
- Academic support: 96%
- Organisation and management: 86%
- Learning resources: 94%
- Student voice: 74%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 20 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 8 graduates who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 65%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 5%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Elementary occupations: 30%
- Teaching Professionals: 20%
- Artistic, literary and media occupations: 20%
- Administrative occupations: 10%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 70%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 60%
- 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 East: 2%
- North West: 36%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 3%
- East Midlands: 3%
- West Midlands: 7%
- East of England: 2%
- London: 27%
- South East: 9%
- South West: 4%
- Wales: 3%
- Scotland: 1%
- Northern Ireland: 3%
Who gets in
Based on about 30 students who started
- A levels: 95%
- Baccalaureate: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Introduction to Theatre and Performance Studies
- Theatre and Performance Histories
- Performance Practices 1
- Performance Practices 2
- The Art of Film
- Introduction to Early Film Histories
- Introduction to World Cinema
- Theatres of Modernity
- Contemporary British Cinema
- Screen, Culture and Society
- Black on Screen
- Post-Thatcher British Theatre: New Writing Since 1992
- Performing America
- God at the Movies
- Devising for Performance
- Introduction to Documentary Film Practice
- Playmaking
- Solo Performance A
- Solo Performance B
- Drama in Education
- Horror Film: Genre, Periods, Styles
- Social Acts: Applied Theatre and Socially Engaged Arts Practice
- Theatres of Spontaneity
- Introduction to Screenwriting
- Discipline and Punish: The Modern Prison on Stage and Screen
- Archiving Culture
- Contemporary British Cinema
- Screen, Culture and Society
- Black on Screen
- Post-Thatcher British Theatre: New Writing Since 1992
- Performing America
- God at the Movies
- Horror Film: Genre, Periods, Styles
- Social Acts: Applied Theatre and Socially Engaged Arts Practice
- Discipline and Punish: The Modern Prison on Stage and Screen
- Dissertation in Drama/Film (Semester One)
- Dissertation in Drama/Film (Semester Two)
- Docufiction Filmmaking
- Applied Theatre: Theatre in Prisons
- Writing For Performance
- Performance and Public Space
- Professional Practices: Dramaturgy, Curation and Creative Programming
- Queer Bodies and the Cinema
- Directing Theatre
- Screening the Holocaust
- Activist Performance
- Social Lives of Cinema
- Extended Dissertation
- Falstaff and Gandalf go to the Movies: Adapting Fantastic Texts to Screen
- Contemporary Theatre-Making
- Global Television Industries
- Contemporary Documentary Film Making
- Screen Acting & Stardom
- Theatre, performance and care: studying artful care and careful art
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Drama at University of Manchester earn?
The median salary is £25,500 after 15 months, £21,000 after 3 years, £29,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £25,000 and £36,000. The £29,000 median after five years is £5,000 more than the UK median for Drama.
What do graduates of BA Drama at University of Manchester do next?
85% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Drama at University of Manchester?
93% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Drama at University of Manchester?
The typical offer is AAB at A level. The average entrant had 162 UCAS points.
How many students continue on BA Drama at University of Manchester?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.