Course overview

Our degree gives you the opportunity to develop your creative talents in Drama and Film. It benefits from outstanding facilities for performance, as well as from our industry-standard resources for digital video and 16mm film production, alongside professional tuition in screenwriting and film journalism.

Course content in both subjects provides an excellent balance between theory and practice, allowing you to engage with essential critical and aesthetic approaches to film and drama, and, to apply those creatively to a range of practical projects in both areas. This is a challenging and stimulating course of study that will take you from the close study of texts and films, to the analysis and practice of performance and film production.

Our course provides opportunities to screen or perform your work on and off-campus, to undertake commissioned work, and to engage with the film and theatre industries through self-generated work placements, encouraging the development of critical knowledge alongside transferable and vocational skills.

You will take half of your degree from Drama and half from Film Studies.

Additional course information

Our course approaches the study of film in a number of different ways, from the close reading of an individual film, to a broader consideration of film as an industry or as a cultural product. You will also have the chance to study experimental practices in film, as well as film-making from across the world, and throughout the history of cinema.

The Drama part of your course will provide you with an understanding of the histories, practices, contexts and theories of drama, theatre and performance. This is balanced and supported by practical explorations, the acquisition of a range of performance techniques and the creation of live performance events.

You will have the opportunity to develop technical and production skills, with specialist staff training you and supporting this work. This practical exploration is balanced with screenings, seminars and tutorials that encourage critical thinking about many varieties of performance. Our department regularly stages theatrical works, involving you in both on and off-stage roles. You will engage with devising performance works, which, in recent years, have been staged at The Junction and Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridge, both professional performance venues.

Module guide

Assessment

Assessment is carried out via a very broad mix of methods, including essays, reports, critical reflections, presentations, studio and public performances, and a major project, which may include practical work.

The integration of practice and theory on the Drama course influences the forms of assessment that our students encounter. Practice-based research includes exploring a range of rehearsal techniques and strategies for making performance, training workshops, text-based performances, devising, the interrogation of techniques in directing, dramaturgy and performance skills. There will be opportunities for assessment by interdisciplinary work too, where your expertise in Film Studies can introduce multi-media aspects to your practical Drama projects.

As part of your learning you will be encouraged to seek work placements and to generate commissioned work in a range of modules. These form part of the assessment where undertaken. In Film Studies, you will also be required to give critical evaluations of creative work undertaken in 'crits' where you will present and defend your own work. Each year you will undertake personal development planning (PDP) which encourages reflection on your progress to date, with evaluation of your development of transferable skills and knowledge.

Facilities

Access to our excellent facilities for film, include TV studios, multimedia studios and DVD, video, animation and 16mm production and editing suites enabling you to develop your skills to industry standards.

Our outstanding Drama facilities include two dedicated drama studios, complete with a flexible black-box performance space, an additional rehearsal space, and our Mumford Theatre, a full-size receiving house for professional touring companies.

You can also access our Anglia Ruskin Music Centre, which includes lecture and practice rooms, a recital hall and a group of five state-of-the-art computer music studios for the creation, recording and manipulation of acoustic and electronically produced sound. Our studios house a range of technological equipment, including a wide selection of specialist computer hardware and software. All computers have full Internet and intranet access and are supported by extensive online facilities and resources.

Libraries

Our campus libraries offer a wide range of publications and a variety of study facilities, including open-access computers, areas for quiet or group study and bookable rooms. We also have an extensive Digital Library providing on and off-site access to e-books, e-journals and databases.

We endeavour to make our libraries as accessible as possible for all our students. During Semester time, they open 24 hours a day from Monday to Thursday, until midnight on Friday and Saturday and for 12 hours on Sunday.


IT Resources

Our open access computer facilities provide free access to the internet, email, messaging services and the full Microsoft Office suite. A high-speed wireless service is also available in all key areas on campus. If you are away from campus or a distant learner, our student desktop and its many applications can be accessed remotely using the internet. Your personal student email account provides free document storage, calendar facilities and social networking opportunities.

Throughout your studies you will have access to our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), providing course notes, reading materials and multi-media content to support your learning, while our e-vision system gives you instant access to your academic record and your timetable.

Study abroad options

This course has exchange agreements with universities in Italy and the US. You may apply to spend one semester in either Years 2 or 3 studying abroad.

Course Leader

Dr Sue Wilson

Related Links

The Campus Cinema
Fall in Love with Theatre
Director Richard Jobson visits Anglia Ruskin University
Movie project brings new Dimensions to university life
The proof is in the pudding for drama students

Links with industry and professional recognition

BA (Hons) Film Studies is a key partner of the Cambridgeshire Film Consortium and you will have access to the Cambridge hub of the BFI Mediatheque, as well as to the BFI library in Central London. Film Studies has a proven track record with work placements and internships. Through partnerships with regional and national organisations and partners, our students are given an excellent grounding to pursue careers in a wide range of roles within the film and creative industries. Alongside the taught curriculum, our students undertake commission work and gain valuable experience in the film and creative industries through work placements, internships, and a wealth of volunteering opportunities.

We have fostered close links with The Junction, an arts venue in Cambridge, where you can see a variety of theatre and music performance works. Visiting artists and performers are invited to give master-classes and workshops across our courses. We also offer a number of internships with local theatre companies, which all students can apply for in order to gain direct experience of running a professional company.

Work placements

Building relationships with film-related organisations through work placements and commissions is encouraged. Students have recently undertaken work experience with Cambridge Arts Picturehouse; Cambridge Film Festival; Red TV; ITN; London Weekend Television; BBC; CBBC; MTV; Zenith Productions; London Studios; and the New York Film Academy.

In Drama, students can apply for internships with professional, local theatre companies and arts venues in the second and third years.

Associated careers

The range of course options available gives you the opportunity to specialise in, or to prepare for entry into, a wide variety of roles in the creative industries. The considerable practical element of our course means that you will be well-equipped with the skills required by institutions and employers within the arenas of film, drama, theatre and performance. Past graduates now enjoy successful careers in film, theatre and video production, directing, performing and technical theatre roles, film criticism, festival and events administration and management, film and theatre education and teaching, broadcasting, journalism and publishing, advertising and public relations.

To date, students have undertaken work placements and commissions with regional and local television, radio and newspapers, MTV and the Cambridge Film Festival, and this has often been part of their assessed work. Many have found this a precursor to subsequent employment. The portfolios of work which students also produce as PDP are also keys to future employment.

Modules with a strong vocational focus are an important feature of our curriculum. These modules encourage you to acquire and reflect on vocational experience gained through self-organised work placement projects. We also offer a postgraduate MA in Film Studies to which you may progress at the end of your undergraduate course.

UCAS Tariff points:	220 - 260
Additional Requirements:	Required subject(s): A-level (or equivalent) Drama, Theatre Studies or related area at grade B

Entry requirements listed are for September 2013 entry. Entry requirements for other intakes may differ.

Please note AS levels are acceptable only when combined with other qualifications.

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

We welcome applications from International and EU students. Please select one of the links below for English language and country-specific entry requirement information.

• International students
• EU students
• English language requirements