Program Overview

At Bath Spa University many of our undergraduate programmes can be combined, so you don’t have to limit yourself to one subject. If you choose to study a combined award then in Year One you’ll start by studying both subjects in equal depth, then from Year Two you can choose whether to continue with an equally joint course, or a Major/Minor route.

Drama

BA Honours Drama is designed as a liberal arts program which engages with creativity, culture and enterprise, and which seeks to bring into contact academic and industry relationships. It includes collaborations with the subject areas English, Creative Writing, Music and Theatre Production and is underpinned by the themes of collaboration, digital literacy, creativity, employability, research and professional practice.

The focus of the program is on

• The practical and critical exploration of drama and its place in the contemporary world;
• The effects and benefits of bringing into contact academic, professional and community discourses through partnerships and outward facing
• Collaboration with local theatres, theatre companies, arts venues, and educational and cultural institutions in Bath, Bristol and beyond;
• Working with industry professionals, writers, actors, directors and theatre practitioners from the fields of experimental, educational, professional and community-based theatre and performance;
• The effects and benefits of collaboration between drama and other academic disciplines.

The programme structure locates practice within a framework of ideas, histories and critical concepts and allows you to strategically acquire knowledge, skills and understanding through active participation in processes of research, performance, reflection and evaluation. We offer you strands of study in ensemble performance and performance analysis that include modules in performance skills and performance making. We also offer optional modules in areas such as performance and media, writing for performance, Shakespeare, acting and directing, and theatre for social change.

For those of you who wish to specialise in-depth in a particular area of study, we offer the option of two bespoke pathways: Writing for Performance, and Musical Theatre. The Drama degree thus allows you to choose between a programme with a clear and specialised trajectory, or a programme that provides you with a more open and varied study experience.

Film and Screen Studies

Film and Screen studies is one of four undergraduate degree programmes which together form the corpus of Film and Media based curricula at Bath Spa University. Based in Writing, Film and Digital Creativity in the College of Liberal Arts, the programme seeks to create graduates with an informed, critical and creative approach to film and screen media, and their role in contemporary society and culture.

The first year of study introduces students to the histories and theories of film and television. Students are encouraged to watch, analyse and debate during these sessions, which are structured to create a nuanced understanding of the technological and narrative possibilities of film and screen media.

In the second year, students are encouraged to engage with key debates on film and screen studies, e.g. spectatorship, stardom, and their relationship with broader cultural questions, such as gender, race and ideology. Modules focus on key movements in American, European and Asian film cultures, with reference to their historical, cultural, political, economic and industrial contexts.

In the final year, students are encouraged to engage with specialised areas of study through a combination of taught and research based modules e.g. the dissertation, which is the core module for Level 6. Interdisciplinary approaches to film and screen studies is widely encouraged at this level, for example though modules on film and music, or film and video gaming.