Drama BA (Hons)

Why choose this course?

The core philosophy of the BA Drama degree is to facilitate exploration of practical, academic and technical skills through applying learning in the context of creative practice. The diversity of the UK drama sector and its working practices informs our approach. The course is aimed as aspiring drama practitioners from actors, directors, devisors, playwrights, to technical theatre managers, educators, researchers, facilitators, workshop leaders, and producers. Working within the Kingston School of Art, the drama degree's core philosophy is to demonstrate thinking through making.

If you have a passion for the craft of theatre, this practical course could be for you. It covers skills and methods in theatre making and performance, key approaches to interpreting performance and theatre design. You'll be taught through inspirational workshops, public performances and theatre-based lectures.

On this course, you'll explore important phases in theatre history as well as contemporary plays, devising companies, directors and other practitioners. The course culminates in a major Production Project module.

This degree can be tailored to your own interests. You'll be able to choose your modules from a wide selection, including cabaret, stand-up comedy, directing, Shakespeare, scriptwriting and theatre in the digital age.

Check out what we are up to on our Drama Instagram.

Attendance UCAS code Year of entry
3 years full time W400 2023 (Clearing)
2024
4 years full time including foundation year W401 2023 (Clearing)
2024
6 years part time Apply direct to the University 2023 (Clearing)
2024
Location Penrhyn Road

Reasons to choose Kingston

  • You'll learn and perform in The Rose Theatre, the largest producing theatre in south-west London, and benefit from its resources and expertise.
  • Our academic staff are active industry professionals, writers, directors, performers and dramaturges. Guest speakers, such as voice coaches, theatre directors and actors, also contribute to the course.
  • You'll develop your skills as a theatre-maker in professional facilities such as the Reg Bailey Theatre, The Rose Studio, and two new theatres in Town House.
  • 97.4% of students thought staff were good at explaining things (NSS 2023).

The Art School Experience

As part of Kingston School of Art, students on this course benefit from joining a creative community where collaborative working and critical practice are encouraged.

Our workshops and studios are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.

Two students collaborate on a design project.

Gallery of student work

Kingston on Stage: Watch our Drama and Dance students performing at their end of year show, in the Rose Theatre.

Under the Knife: Full-length, original piece created by second-year students for the module Devising in Context in response to the history of plastic surgery.

Drama BA at Kingston School of Art

What you will study

You will explore the ways in which theatre and performance can both shape, and be shaped by, surrounding artistic, political and historical contexts.

As you progress, you will work on projects that draw together different strands of your learning. Across the three years of the course, you will have increasing independence in the design and delivery of these projects and you'll specialise in one or more of the following areas: playwriting, directing, devising, performing (in a variety of modes).

Each level is made up of four modules, each worth 30 credit points. Typically, a student must complete 120 credits at each level.

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list. Those listed here may also be a mixture of core and optional modules.

Foundation year

Year 1

Year 2

Optional Year

Year 3

Core modules

Becoming an Independent Learner

credits

This module aims to prepare you for undergraduate study and to give you the skills and knowledge related to the study of humanities, arts and social science subjects. The main areas covered will include research skills (like using a library and electronic resources), planning, note taking, building a bibliography, and avoiding plagiarism. You will also develop your communication skills, especially focusing on essay and report writing, delivering presentations and being an active participant in debates and discussions. The module will encourage you to develop the independent learning, critical analysis, and reflective skills crucial to succeeding in a degree.

Radical Imaginations

30 credits

Introducing ways in which written texts are reimagined, adapted and transformed by creative artists, including writers, theatre makers, choreographers and film directors, this module explores in both theory and practice the relationship between page and stage, word and image. In doing so, it enables you to explore creative imagination at its most radical and relevant.

How and why do television dramas such as Sherlock and Elementary create dramatic interventions into established narratives? How has innovative, controversial and experimental work, made by contemporary playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, debbie tucker green and Sarah Kane, drawn on classic texts to challenge and alter our perceptions of the world? What does The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter's creative appropriation of various fairy tales, reveal about this genre and by extension what does Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves tell us, both about Carter's stories and the tales that informed them?

Questions such as these, addressed in a series of interrelated case studies, will enable you to examine the practices and negotiations involved in work of transition and appropriation. You will develop skills in textual analysis required for writing effective argumentative essays that engage with diverse literary and cultural materials. In addition, the module will harness and develop your creative skills: through a series of workshops you will work on short creative writing and group performance projects that respond to the texts and contexts introduced on the module.

Being Human: History and the History of Ideas

30 credits

Throughout time, people have drawn on history and on ideas to explore, question and record the experience of being human.

This module provides an introduction to the study of that experience, in all its variety. It considers how people, events and ideas, past and present, shape our thinking about society, politics, race, gender, art, culture - and life. It enables students to learn how knowledge and awareness of the past is formed and shaped; how it changes and yet in some ways also remains the same. Students debate and reflect critically on the nature of historical knowledge and how 'history' may differ from 'the past', and they consider the ways in which contemporary cultures and societies are shaped by histories of ideas.

The module draws on a rich store of experience, knowledge and expertise relating to history, philosophy and the history of ideas. It asks students to consider how history relates to memory and how history is used and mis-used. History is personal and communal. It is national, international and global. How are all those histories linked? How did people in the past experience things in terms of equality and inequality, in terms of gender, sexuality and race? Why and how was that experience documented, if at all? What can we learn from it?

Artists, writers, historians, philosophers, musicians, filmmakers and journalists: all have responded to those and other questions. For this module we introduce students to a range of texts and other representations, using history and the history of ideas to explore and debate what it means to be human. 

Communication in Context and Practice

30 credits

This module introduces you to media communication and will explore a range of texts on a variety of subjects and forms, for varying audiences and purposes across a range of popular media genres and specific texts. You will look at texts from a variety of genres and forms. You will learn ways of classifying these texts and how to describe significant features using concepts from media analysis. You will demonstrate your new knowledge in an assessed presentation.

You will also explore the importance of the audience, aka the reader or listener, for effective media communication in different contexts. Through considering and critically analysing the structure, style content of articles published on websites, in newspapers and magazines you will begin to develop an understanding of how journalism is directed at specific readerships.

You will also learn the practical conventions, contexts and functions of written journalism. You will study how to: originate ideas, undertake journalistic research, interview, organise your material, write well, develop your presentation skills and adhere to house style.

Year 1 introduces approaches and ideas that are central to the study of drama and theatre and culminates in a performance project. You will develop your skills as a performer and enhance your knowledge of a variety of methods of theatre-making. You will study key approaches to interpreting performance by examining play texts and productions, and you will acquire understanding of basic principles in theatre design and explore significant phases in theatre history.

Core modules

The Actor and the Text

30 credits

This module complements and extends knowledge and understanding of key concepts of performance developed in Making Theatre Happen by focusing on the relationship between the actor and the written playtext.

There are two interweaving strands and each is designed to serve as a foundation for your ongoing studies. You will explore fundamental components of drama such as plot, action, character and dialogue and examine ways in which each is presented in a series of written playtexts. These plays are studied in detail and each is identified as a pretext for performance. You are introduced to ways of interrogating the texts and develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the relationship between what is written on the page and what is presented on the stage. The same playtexts are also used to explore a range of differing performance methodologies that can be utilised to identify the performance potentials of a text in a workshop environment. You are led through cycles of Preparation, Exploration and Realisation – understanding what these terms mean and the actions they consist of will be an important aspect of the module. You will not only learn appropriate ways in which to create intelligent and imaginative performance informed by a written text but also develop a range of acting skills necessary to perform them effectively.

Throughout the module you are also introduced to the basic principles of theatre lighting and sound and will be encouraged to explore the impact of these technical elements when used in a performance context.

Popular Performance 1: Making Performance

credits

This industry-focused module will introduce you to skills, vocabularies and methods associated with making theatre, creating performance and exploring ways in which these may be applied within a range of dramatic and theatrical contexts.

Professional skills such as creative problem solving, collaboration, adaptability and enterprise are developed alongside theatre-making skills. The main features of this module are the study and practice of key elements of performance such as: the use of movement and voice, play, ensemble collaboration onstage and off, devising methods, professionalism, critically reflective practice, performance structure and dynamics, connecting to an audience, and the creation of dramatic meaning and theatrical effect.

In the first part of the module, you will participate in a variety of tutor-led exercises to develop your understanding and skills in these areas. These are drawn from methodologies and techniques developed by 20th- and 21st-century practitioner-theorists, such as Jacques Lecoq, Anne Bogart, Ellen Stewart, Philippe Gaulier, Rudolph Laban, Keith Johnstone, Joan Littlewood and Augusto Boal.

In the second part of the module, you will apply what you have learnt in a student-led, staff-supervised project: a 15-minute ensemble-devised performance that draws on the methods and techniques explored in the module.

Staging Contexts 1: Histories

30 credits

This module introduces you to approaches and research methods associated with the study of World theatre histories, organised across 4 sections: rituals, formalisations, popularisations and reactions.

Within these separate thematic sections, you will study a variety of global historical practices which may include ancient Greek choral practices, Yoruba ritual processions, the Spanish Golden Age, Noh Theatre, Beijing Opera Victorian Melodrama and early twentieth century experiments. You will study a wide range of performance texts and styles to investigate how we make theatre history, what evidence we draw upon and what implications these histories have for our current performance making.

In the first part of the module, you will investigate key periods in theatre history, which might include English renaissance, classical Indian dance, the popular Victorian stage, Nritya, postcolonial formal interventions the post-war theatre of the absurd or British and American Black theatre. Particular attention will be given to the material conditions in which theatre artists worked and the relationship with the theatre and the culture at large in any given period and place.

In the latter part of the module, you will apply your knowledge and research skills in a performance presentation.

Navigating Performance Production

30 credits

In this module, you will be introduced to the technical skills which form part of theatre production: lighting and sound design, scenography and stage management, as well as basic marketing skills. This will be supported through skill specific workshops leading to a collaborative performance production which fully considers the role of technical elements which make for effective theatre practices. You will be specifically encouraged to reflect in practice on your work's ecological impact and openness to diversity.

Year 2 develops your understanding and practical knowledge of theatre arts. Core modules offer practical experience of devised performance and the impact of naturalism on the work of the actor. You will study modernist directors and playwrights such as Stanislavski, Ibsen and Brecht, and you will consider the impact of these practitioners on contemporary performance practices. Optional modules allow you to focus on clowning, scriptwriting, directing, Shakespeare, and contemporary British drama.

Core modules

Actor/Director: Stage and Screen

30 credits

This module gives you the opportunity to continue advancing your acting training and begin exploring the discipline of directing for live and filmed performance. These two electives complement each other allowing the student actors to be directed by the student directors.

This module will advance your understanding of the theatre industries through collaborative practice which develops specific skills and experience in direction, devising, script reading, but also transferrable skills of time-management, producing, critical thinking, active listening, communication, and presentation skills.

Within the acting elective you will explore the themes and principles of Naturalism in theory and practice on stage and screen.

Within the directing elective, student directors navigate contemporary theatre practitioners and theoreticians, and are given the opportunity to lead a group of creative artists towards their own unified vision for a performance. The role of the stage and film director is examined through the lenses of design, script analysis, working with actors, proxemics and semiotics.

Devising and Professional Development

30 credits

Devising and ensemble practice support the development of skills and competencies that are not only applicable for theatremakers of all kinds but also valued by employers in a range of different professional sectors.

Exploring the work of ensembles embracing a collaborative approach to the creative process and supporting the acquisition of skills and methodologies they engage with; the module demonstrates the value of motivation and commitment; self-discipline; adaptability and flexibility; creative problem solving and an ability to work under pressure.

Ultimately, these skills and attributes are brought to bear in the Explore element of the module which enables you to engage with students from other courses, schools and faculties, to create new and original interdisciplinary dramatic work.

Staging Contexts 2: The play

30 credits

This module explores the centrality of the play in the Anglophone world across two elective strands: Global Shakespeares and Contemporary Plays and Playwrighting. Each of these strands will serve to investigate the primacy of dramatic literature in the context of historical and contemporary Anglophone theatre production, through a mix of academic research methods as well as a creative portfolio of work in written or performed form.

You will delve into details and questions raised by plays assigned over the module, covering the playwright's intention, style of writing, dramatic structure, characters along with the context in which the work was completed – whether this be the social and historical climate or the production environment. Specific attention will be given to the production of Anglophone plays in a global context to reflect on the role of theatrical culture in either maintaining or challenging global hierarchies of power.

Popular Performance 2: Mask and clown

30 credits

For some, popular performance is simply a style of performance that is well liked by many people. For others it is commercial performance that is produced and sold for mass consumption. Others still believe it is an "authentic" style of performance made by "the people" for "the people". These are just some of the definitions of popular performance examined in this highly practical module.

This module explores the history, theory and practice of theatre and performance traditions that might include but are not limited to: commedia dell'arte and other forms of masked performance; clown, pantomime and physical comedy; bouffon and political satire; carnival, festival and pageantry.

The practical exploration of these traditions, through games, exercises, improvisation, and performance, will enable you to encounter concepts such as presence, play, and the role of the spectator in the creation of meaning as well as common themes such as marginality, transgression, and chaos.

This embodied learning will be supported by critical engagement with the work of artists and academics such as Jacques Lecoq, John Rudlin, Dario Fo and Franca Rame, Natalie Palamides, Carlo Mazzone-Clementi, Red Bastard, Domnica Radulescu and Louise Peacock.

You have the option to take an additional year to study abroad.

Find out about study abroad opportunities.

Year 3 allows for both greater independence and specialisation and culminates in a major production project in which you will be able to showcase the skills acquired on the course. Alongside the production module you will undertake a focused study of avant-garde and experimental performance practices. You will also be able to choose modules that cater to your own interests. Optional modules include cabaret and stand-up comedy, applied theatre, tragedy, advanced playwriting, and performance and identity politics.

Core modules

Drama Production Project

30 credits

This module is a core requirement for single honours students. It enables students to develop ideas and research and carry them through to realisation. The assessment for this module is a capstone project which allows students to draw together their learning from across the degree and apply it in a 'real-world' context through the creation, rehearsal and performance of a theatre production.

This module is largely undertaken through independent group-based rehearsal, although there is also a series of presentations and workshops addressing specific areas such as group work strategies, problem-solving, rehearsal planning and scheduling, managing budgets and publicity and marketing. Students form groups, select roles and choose scripts, themes and modes of performance based on a 'pitch' they make and the feedback received at the end of Teaching Block One. The size of groups may vary but groups should not be made up of fewer than five students or more than 12. Each group will have a designated supervisor and a budget allocated on the basis of group size. The rehearsal process will be constructed around a series of formatively and summatively assessed stages such as work in progress performances, group and individual reflective exercises, submission of design and technical plans and presentation of publicity materials. Performances will be scheduled across a number of weeks in consultation with the Drama Technical Production Manager.

Popular Performance 3: Cabaret and variety

30 credits

This module provides an opportunity to study a range of contemporary popular performance forms such as cabaret, variety, music hall, revue, stand-up comedy, drag and burlesque from historical, theoretical, and practical perspectives. You are supported to develop relevant techniques and performance skills, such as crafting a stage persona, creating rapport with the audience, generating material, presence and spontaneity.

You will have the opportunity to apply ideas and creative skills to explore the role of performance in identity construction, the significance of liveness in performance, perceptions of theatre's agency and issues of power and representational visibility. It therefore enables you to investigate issues such as the impact of Modernism and the emerging Avant Garde on the cabaret culture that spread throughout Europe and Africa; the importance of these forms in the development of popular culture; the birth of alternative cabaret and subsequently alternative comedy and the current popularity of neo-burlesque.

You are responsible for the overall development of a popular performance piece, enabling you to develop key industry skills related to collaborative working practices as well as practical performance experience in the arts industry.

Staging Contexts 3: The experimental

30 credits

This module explores the breakdown of boundaries between different theatre and performance forms in the late-20th century, focusing on avant-garde performance and how it has developed from the mid-20th century to the present day.

Postmodern cultural theory and Hans-Thies Lehmann's notion of the ‘post-dramatic' provide context for the study of a range of avant-garde approaches to performance such as conceptual performance art, live art, site-specific and autobiographical performance, and a wide array of post-dramatic, experimental theatre practitioners. For example, Forced Entertainment, Gob Squad, Peeping Tom, Rimini Protokoll, Jérôme Bel, Blast Theory and Belarus Free Theatre.

The first part of the module is a practice-based study of live art and performance art lineages. You will explore how, for example, feminist, postcolonial, critical race, queer, crip, and performance theory intersect with your own work and that of artists such as Marina Abramovic, Tehching Hsieh, Hannah Wilke, Coco Fusco, Adrian Piper, Bob Flanagan, Franko B, Maurizio Cattelan, Senga Nengudi, Noemi Lakmaier, and ORLAN.

The second part of the module allows you to explore post-dramatic approaches to text across two elective strands: Experimental Playwriting: Beyond Text and Post-dramatic Performance: Creative Research. Each of these strands investigates how avant-garde performance since the mid-20th century evolved toward contemporary practice through a mix of academic research methods and creative textual responses.

Preparing for the Industry: Applied theatre and performance

30 credits

This is an employability-focused module that encourages students to consolidate their individual approaches to career management and future learning by continuing to enhance their reflexivity, plan their own personal and professional development, and formulate their exit strategy from the university.

Please note

Optional modules only run if there is enough demand. If we have an insufficient number of students interested in an optional module, that module will not be offered for this course.

Foundation year

You can choose to study a Foundation year Humanities and Arts, with some of the Drama combination courses. The Foundation year will provide you with the essential skills needed to study for an undergraduate degree.

Future Skills

Knowledge to give you the edge

Embedded within every course curriculum and throughout the whole Kingston experience, Future Skills will play a role in shaping you to become a future-proof graduate, providing you with the skills most valued by employers such as problem-solving, digital competency, and adaptability.

As you progress through your degree, you'll learn to navigate, explore and apply these graduate skills, learning to demonstrate and articulate to employers how future skills give you the edge.

At Kingston University, we're not just keeping up with change, we're creating it.

A female engineering student, in the engineering lab.

Gallery of student work

Entry requirements

If you would like to join us through Clearing 2023, please call our Clearing hotline on 0800 0483 334 (or +44 020 8328 1149 if you are calling from outside the UK) and speak to our friendly and knowledgeable hotliners who will be able to provide information on available courses and will guide you through your options.

Please note the entry requirements listed below are for 2024 entry only.

Typical offer 2024

UCAS tariff points: 112-128 for BA (Hons); 64 for BA (Hons) including foundation year.

Level 3 qualifications, including Drama, Drama and Theatre Studies, Performance and Production Arts, English Language/Literature (A-levels, BTEC Diploma, Access Diploma, IB Diploma, etc.).

Typical offer 2023

UCAS tariff points: 104-120 for BA (Hons); 48 for BA (Hons) including foundation year.

Level 3 qualifications, including Drama, Drama and Theatre Studies, Performance and Production Arts, English Language/Literature (A-levels, BTEC Diploma, Access Diploma, IB Diploma, etc.).

Additional requirements

Entry onto this course will require submission of a digital portfolio as part of the application process. Further details about the portfolio will also be sent via email after submission of application.

See portfolio guidance below for more information about how to prepare your portfolio.

International

All non-UK applicants must meet our English Language requirements. For this course it is Academic IELTS of 6.5 overall, with no element below 5.5.

Make sure you read our full guidance about English language requirements, which includes details of other qualifications we consider.

Applicants who do not meet the English language requirements could be eligible to join our pre-sessional English language course.

Applicants from recognised majority English-speaking countries (MESCs) do not need to meet these requirements.

Country-specific information

You will find more information on country-specific entry requirements in the International section of our website.

Find your country:

Portfolio guidance

A digital portfolio/performance video is required for this course and should consist of two contrasting pieces of performance.

For example, that could be a self-taped dramatic monologue of your choosing with a devised physical performance or a spoken word poem/Rap and a piece of stand-up comedy. Each piece should be a maximum of two minutes long.

Typical offer and UCAS points explained

Like most universities, we use the UCAS Tariff point system for our course entry requirements.

Find out more about UCAS Tariff points and see how A-level, AS level, BTEC Diploma and T-level qualifications translate to the points system.

Teaching and assessment

Timetabled learning and teaching on this course includes acting technique classes and workshops, practical performances, rehearsal lectures, small group tutorials, seminars and group work.

Guided independent study (self-managed time)

When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for final assignments. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the online virtual learning platform.

Academic support

Our academic support team here at Kingston University provides help in a range of areas.

Dedicated personal tutor

When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of academic staff who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at Kingston and show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer at Kingston University.

Your workload

Year 1:

  • 19% of your time is spent in timetabled learning and teaching activity.
  • Scheduled learning and teaching: 230 hours.
  • Guided independent study (self-managed time): 970 hours.

Year 2:

  • Approximately 22% of your time is spent in timetabled learning and teaching.
  • Scheduled learning and teaching: 66 hours for core module and between 220 and 276 hours for optional modules.
  • Guided independent study (self-managed time): 234 hours for core modules and between 858 and 970 hours for optional modules.

Year 3:

  • Approximately 11% of your time is spent in timetabled learning and teaching activity.
  • Scheduled learning and teaching: 66 hours for core modules and between 47 and 360 for optional modules.
  • Guided independent study (self-managed time): 534 hours for core modules and between 240 and 563 for optional modules.

Contact hours may vary depending on your modules.

Type of learning and teaching

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 1
  • Scheduled learning and teaching: 230 hours
  • Guided independent study (self-managed time): 970 hours
Year 2
  • Scheduled learning and teaching (core modules): 342 hours
  • Guided independent study (core modules): 1204 hours
Year 3
  • Scheduled learning and teaching (core modules): 426 hours
  • Guided independent study (core modules): 1097 hours

Please note: the above breakdowns are a guide calculated on core modules only. Depending on optional modules chosen, this breakdown may change.

How you will be assessed

Assessment typically comprises exams (e.g. test or exam), practical (e.g. presentations, performance) and coursework (e.g. essays, reports, self-assessment, portfolios, dissertation). The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows, though depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose:

Type of assessment

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 1
  • Coursework: 48%
  • Practical exam: 52%
Year 2
  • Coursework: 15%
  • Practical exam: 10%
  • Other: 75%
Year 3
  • Coursework: 23%
  • Practical exam: 28%
  • Other: 49%

Please note: the above breakdowns are a guide calculated on core modules only. Depending on optional modules chosen, this breakdown may change.

Feedback summary

We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.

Your timetable

Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled learning and teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9am and 6pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.

What's it like to study drama at Kingston University?

Facilities

You will be part of our drama community, studying in our fully equipped drama space, the Reg Bailey building, and at Kingston's Rose Theatre where you will have the opportunity to perform.

In the Reg Bailey building, there are two flexible black box studios, and three rehearsal rooms on-site, with further rehearsal space in an adjacent building.  

Practical classes are taught in the Rose Theatre Studio, which is dedicated to your use. All our studio spaces are fitted out as working venues, and provide excellent spaces for you to perform their work.  

Each of the studios is kitted out with up-to-the-minute digital "LED" lighting systems and sound equipment. You'll receive training in how to use all the facilities.  

Importantly, your drama lecturers have offices in the Reg Bailey Building, creating a strong community link between staff and students.

Who teaches this course?

You'll study in a dynamic department staffed by talented drama teachers, playwrights, authors and actors, with a wide range of visiting professionals from the industry. 

We have also welcomed guest speakers like voice coach Barbara Houseman, (who has worked with Daniel Radcliffe, Kenneth Branagh and Jude Law), theatre directors Dawn Walton, Clint Dyer and founder of Two Gents Productions, Arne Pohlmeier, plus actors Tonderai Munyebvu and Jeffery Kissoon.

Course fees and funding

2024/25 fees for this course

The tuition fee you pay depends on whether you are assessed as a 'Home' (UK), 'Islands' or 'International' student. In 2024/25 the fees for this course are:

 Fee category Amount
Home (UK students) £9,250*
Foundation Year: £9,250
International

Year 1 (2024/25): £17,800
Year 2 (2025/26): £18,500
Year 3 (2026/27): £19,200
Year 4 (2027/28): £20,100

For courses with a sandwich year, the fee for the placement year can be viewed on the undergraduate fees table. The placement fee published is for the relevant academic year stated in the table. This fee is subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body.

* For full-time programmes of a duration of more than one academic year, the published fee is an annual fee, payable each year, for the duration of the programme. Your annual tuition fees cover your first attempt at all of the modules necessary to complete that academic year. A re-study of any modules will incur additional charges calculated by the number of credits. Home tuition fees may be subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body. Full-time taught International fees are subject to an annual increase and are published in advance for the full duration of the programme.

Eligible UK students can apply to the Government for a tuition loan, which is paid direct to the University. This has a low interest-rate which is charged from the time the first part of the loan is paid to the University until you have repaid it.

2023/24 fees for this course

The tuition fee you pay depends on whether you are assessed as a 'Home' (UK), 'Islands' or 'International' student. In 2023/24 the fees for this course are:

 Fee category Amount
Home (UK students) £9,250*
Foundation Year: £9,250
International

Year 1 (2023/24): £15,800
Year 2 (2024/25): £16,200
Year 3 (2025/26): £16,600
Year 4 (2026/27): £17,000

For courses with a sandwich year, the fee for the placement year can be viewed on the undergraduate fees table. The placement fee published is for the relevant academic year stated in the table. This fee is subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body.

* For full-time programmes of a duration of more than one academic year, the published fee is an annual fee, payable each year, for the duration of the programme. Your annual tuition fees cover your first attempt at all of the modules necessary to complete that academic year. A re-study of any modules will incur additional charges calculated by the number of credits. Home tuition fees may be subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body. Full-time taught International fees are subject to an annual increase and are published in advance for the full duration of the programme.

Eligible UK students can apply to the Government for a tuition loan, which is paid direct to the University. This has a low interest-rate which is charged from the time the first part of the loan is paid to the University until you have repaid it.

Note for EU students: UK withdrawal from the European Union

The Government has recently announced that new students from the European Union and Swiss Nationals starting their course after August 2021 will no longer be eligible for a student loan in England for Undergraduate or Postgraduate studies from the 2021/22 academic year. This decision only applies to new EU students starting after 2021/22. If you are an existing/continuing EU student, you will continue to be funded until you graduate or withdraw from your course.

Need to know more?

Our undergraduate fees and funding section provides information and advice on money matters.

Additional costs

Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs that are not covered by tuition fees which students will need to consider when planning their studies. Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessment and operating University facilities such as the library, access to shared IT equipment and other support services. Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

Where a course has additional expenses, we make every effort to highlight them. These may include optional field trips, materials (e.g. art, design, engineering), security checks such as DBS, uniforms, specialist clothing or professional memberships.

Textbooks

Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. You may prefer to buy your own copy of key textbooks, this can cost between £50 and £250 per year.

Computer equipment

There are open-access networked computers available across the University, plus laptops available to loan. You may find it useful to have your own PC, laptop or tablet which you can use around campus and in halls of residences. Free WiFi is available on each of the campuses. You may wish to purchase your own computer, which can cost from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.

Photocopying and printing

In the majority of cases written coursework can be submitted online. There may be instances when you will be required to submit work in a printed format. Printing, binding and photocopying costs are not included in your tuition fees, this may cost up to £100 per year.

Travel

Travel costs are not included in your tuition fees but we do have a free intersite bus service which links the campuses, Surbiton train station, Kingston upon Thames train station, Norbiton train station and halls of residence.

Field trips

There may be optional study visits and field trips. These range from £25 for local trips to various costs for international trips.

External shows and exhibitions

There may be costs for participating at external shows and exhibitions. You could incur travel costs which will vary according to the location.

After you graduate

Aspiring theatre-makers 

Some of our students have achieved international success soon after graduating. Ben Barnes, who plays Prince Caspian in the Chronicles of Narnia is our most famous alumnus. 

Our students also set up their own companies - such as Tin Horse and Urban Theory Films - often in collaboration with former classmates. 

Graduates seeking to enter the competitive world of theatre, film and television often undertake further vocational training. Our graduates have been successful in securing places to develop their skills in subjects such as acting, directing, advanced theatre-making, playwriting, and theatre production at prestigious institutions such as the Drama Centre, Drama Studio, Guildford School of Acting, the Central School of Speech and Drama and the Royal Court Young Writers Programme. 

Drama teachers and scholars 

The popularity of drama as a subject creates a demand for educators at all levels from pre-school to university. The course's attention to theory and history, as well as the opportunities it provides for practice, means that it is perfect preparation for a masters degree or teacher-training, though some students have managed to find work as drama educators without further training. 

This course is also great preparation for specialist training for careers in therapeutic and applied drama (for example drama therapy), especially if taken in combination with relevant subjects. 

Other industries 

Your degree will develop all the standard graduate skills of research, analysis, writing, reasoning and ICT. However, in addition to this, drama graduates develop a unique set of skills in team-building, communication and interpersonal skills, presentation skills, problem-solving, emotional intelligence and creativity. 

This fact is increasingly recognised in industries such as the cultural and arts development, the communication industries, advertising, and customer and public relations. Several Kingston drama graduates are also currently working in major theatres such as the National Theatre, the Bush theatre, the Rose Theatre, Kingston, the Royal Court Theatre and Almeida.

Links with business and industry

Find out how we work with industry partners.

Kingston drama and the Rose

At the heart of our drama course is a strong theatre industry link with the Rose - the largest producing theatre in south-west London. Kingston drama students benefit from the resources and expertise of a professional theatre and gain important industry awareness. Regular classes are scheduled in the Rose Studio, and occasional masterclasses on the main stage. Industry experts from the Rose teach masterclasses on our Year 3 Production Project module. Likewise, our students learn from artists based at the Rose through Director's Insight, company Q&As and behind-the-scenes events. Every Kingston drama student receives a complimentary ticket to all Rose Theatre productions, supporting their access to live performances.

Our relationship with the Rose reflects our commitment that Kingston drama students will continue to graduate with excellent employability. All single honours drama students have the opportunity to undertake volunteer placements at the theatre in their first year. These cover departments like marketing, development, producing, and front of house. Students can also shadow important technical production processes, and work on spring and autumn mini arts festivals at the theatre. Some graduates have even gone on to work full-time at the Rose!

The partnership between Kingston drama and the Rose revolves around a shared mission to bring theatre and the community closer together. Our undergraduates often choose to present their Independent Theatre Projects (ITP) publicly in the Studio. Students taking our Applied Theatre module can approach the Rose Youth Theatre for a placement, or to work on their shows. Many drama students perform at the Rose during IYAF – Kingston's International Youth Arts Festival – every July. The Studio acts as a forum for the community by hosting sharing and networking events, as well as research platforms covering topics like Women in Devising and Shakespeare. Kingston University's performing arts are celebrated in an end-of-year, main-house showcase – Kingston on Stage.

Further links with industry

Our lecturers have practical and professional experience in the theatre industry, so you'll have access to practical help and career advice from people with insider knowledge. Our teaching is informed by the latest developments on the 'theatre scene'.

You'll work with guest speakers and visiting companies on specific modules. Past guests have included:

  • actors and performers such as Peter Hall, Jude Kelly, Marcello Magni, Anna-Helene McLean and Miss Tempest Rose;
  • playwrights such as Winsome Pinnock, Howard Barker, Alecky Blythe, Stephen Jeffreys, Anthony Neilson, Steve Waters and Laura Wade; and
  • theatre companies such as Frantic Assembly, Third Angel, the David Glass Ensemble, Told by an Idiot, Apocryphal Theatre and Song of the Goat.

You'll also gain professional experience in the community, both through modules and our extra-curricular programme. Recent examples include:

  • students performing their own productions at Kingston's International Youth Arts Festival (IYAF), the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Camden Fringe;
  • students collaborating with local community groups to create programmes of activities and projects (part of the Applied Theatre module); and
  • students performing at the Dorich House Museum in Kingston.

Key information set

The scrolling banner(s) below display some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).

Course changes and regulations

The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Course changes explained.

Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.

Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.