To apply you’ll need to:
Have further questions? How to apply | Entry requirements
Finances for studying abroad on exchange
Follow your curiosity and challenge your ideas of what performance can be and how it can impact the world.
There’s more to studying drama than being a skilled performer – it’s about being a skilled writer, researcher and collaborator too. As the lines between arts and life are blurring, this multifaceted subject will have you studying a variety of cultures and historical periods, across a range of plays, site-specific performance, live art and socially engaged performance. Ranked 2nd in the UK for drama in Times Good University Guide 2022, and 1st for research in the UK (REF2021), you know you’re being taught by academics at the forefront of their discipline. You’ll be challenged to make discoveries using a mixture of practice and theory. And with previous projects including women’s theatre in prison, you’ll question how performance can be used in different settings from museums to the street.
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Providing opportunities for your development is important to us. Benefit from using our studio theatres, rehearsal rooms, cinemas and production suite. Not only that, but our technical team will be on hand to make your ideas happen.
Make the most of our London location with free theatre tickets to the city’s contemporary theatre, good employer links and internship opportunities. We work with companies like Clean Break who were recently at the National Theatre. And we provide creative skills workshops and bespoke careers events throughout the course.
Drama is a great launchpad into a range of careers. Our graduates aren't just performers and actors – they are communications managers, marketing executives, PR professionals and teachers. Or perhaps you’ll follow in the footsteps of graduates who now work for the National Theatre, Netflix and Disney.
You can complete your Drama degree in three or four years. If you choose to do a year abroad this will take place in Year 3 and Year 3 modules will instead be studied in Year 4.
Your first year includes a combination of practice-based and seminar-based modules:
You can find out more about our modules from Queen Mary’s module directory.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
You select the rest of your modules from a range of seminar and practice-based options that changes each year.
Practice-based:
Seminar-based:
You select the rest of your modules from a range of seminar and practice-based options that changes each year
Apply for this degree with any of the following options. Take care to use the correct UCAS code - it may not be possible to change your selection later.
Go global and study abroad as part of your degree – apply for our Drama BA with a Year Abroad. Queen Mary has links with universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia (partnerships vary for each degree programme).
Find out more about study abroad opportunities at Queen Mary.
Some modules require you to buy books, tickets to performances or exhibitions, and travel within London. Tickets are free in your first year and, where possible, offered at a discounted rate in subsequent years.
I've enjoyed focusing on the concept of race - especially within casting.
You’ll usually attend eight hours of classes weekly, mainly in the form of seminars and studio-based workshops.
Practice-based modules include additional scheduled studio time weekly for student-led practice. Some modules also include lectures, tutorials and field trips.
For every hour spent in class, you'll complete approximately three to four further hours of independent study preparing for classes and assignments.
Assessment typically includes a combination of written and practical assignments, such as essays, performances, presentations, portfolios, programme notes, reviews, feature articles, artist websites, podcasts and dissertations. Some assessment is based around group work, especially for performance projects and presentations.
The School offers on-campus resources to support your studies, including:
Hear from our students Blanka, Dubem and Charlie about why you should join the #QMULfamily.
Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.
For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq
Our standard contextual offer: Grades BCC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.
Our enhanced contextual offer (for care experienced students, refugee/asylum seekers or students who have completed Realising Opportunities or Access to Queen Mary): Grades CCC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.
More information on how this information is used for a contextual offer can be found on our contextualised admissions page.
We accept a wide range of European and international qualifications in addition to A-levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTEC qualifications. Please visit International Admissions for full details.
If your qualifications are not accepted for direct entry onto this degree, consider applying for a foundation programme.
Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.
You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.
See our general undergraduate entry requirements.
UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.
Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.
Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.
Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.
We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.
Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:
Our Drama graduates go on to work in a variety of roles – including performing, programming and producing – across many different sectors, such as the arts, media, publishing and teaching.
Recent Drama graduates have been hired by:
You’ll have access to bespoke careers support during your Drama degree, including access to experts in Drama, specific modules (e.g. Applied Performance, Drama and Education, Writing about the Arts); School and Department-run careers and professional development workshops; opportunities for extra-curricular experience with arts organisations; and advice about postgraduate study.
Our Queen Mary careers team can also offer:
Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.
Drama - BA (Hons)
Drama with Year Abroad - BA (Hons)
The Discover Uni dataset (formerly Unistats)
The School of English and Drama provides a first-class learning environment -- the Departments of Drama and English are in the top 40 in the world (QS World Rankings by Subject 2019). And you’ll learn from leading experts: Drama is ranked first and English fifth in the UK for research quality (Research Excellence Framework 2014).We are a large school, with a lot of specialist staff, enabling us to offer a wide range of topics and approaches. You’ll have tailored support, including individual feedback on your work, and there are opportunities to contribute to student performances and publications.We regularly host prominent writers and performers and collaborate with leading organisations such as the V&A, the Barbican, the Live Art Development Agency and Shakespeare’s Globe. Our course makes full use of London’s exceptional theatre and performance resources (e.g. theatres, galleries, museums, libraries, archives, site-specific performance, festivals).The School runs several innovative research centres, including the Centre for Poetry; the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies; the Centre for Religion and Literature in English; and the Sexual Cultures Research Group.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 2901
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