BA (Hons) Drama with a Foundation Year
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- UCAS Course Code
- W40F
- Typical Offer
- CCC
- Contextual Offer
- CDD
- Course Length
- 4 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2027
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Course Overview
Why BA Drama with a Foundation Year at UEA?
Whether you don't yet have the required grades, or you need a little extra support, our Arts and Humanities Foundation Year is for you. You’ll engage critically and creatively with a range of real-world topics.
Why choose UEA
- Follow your passion: Expand your love for drama by examining the power of performance and storytelling through an interdisciplinary lens
- Open the door to your future: Build strong critical, creative, and practical skills while being part of a collaborative, nurturing community
- Inclusive atmosphere: Receive personalised guidance and wellbeing support from lecturers who have won awards for their advocacy and pastoral care
What is BA Drama with a Foundation Year?
During your Drama Foundation Year, you’ll build a toolkit of essential academic and theatre-based skills, while shaping your own goals and objectives. Working creatively with others, you'll have an opportunity to develop your confidence and aptitude as a performer and creator. Mastering skills, such as devising, improvising and collaboration, will support your learning on your wider Drama degree.
Explore your creativity and boost your curiosity by making connections between Drama and Literature, the Visual Arts, History and Politics. You’ll have access to all the opportunities and resources that UEA and Norwich have to offer, including the student-run Minotaur Theatre Company.
Careers
Career Pathways
After graduating with a degree in Drama or a similar Arts and Humanities discipline, you’ll be well-placed to launch your career in:
- Acting: perform on stage, screen or radio, bringing characters and stories to life for live and broadcast audiences
- Directing: shape the creative vision of a production, leading collaborative teams of performers and designers
- Writing: create scripts, dialogue and narratives for theatre, film, television, audio or digital media
- Casting: identify and select performers for theatre, film and television productions
- Theatre-making: lead your own theatre company, programming work and steering its creative and strategic direction
Career Support
During your foundation year, you’ll start your journey towards your ideal future career. We’ll help you identify how your academic interests and burgeoning attributes can link to real career possibilities. You’ll have access to networking opportunities, workshops, and personalised one-to-one appointments. No matter what stage you’re at with deciding on your next steps, you’ll be supported throughout your degree and beyond by UEA’s award-winning Careers Service, which offers guidance on CV writing, applications, internships and professional development.
Discover more on our Careers webpages.
After the Course
After successfully completing your foundation year, you’ll progress straight onto the BA Drama degree. Alternatively, you can request to transfer onto one of a selection of other undergraduate courses within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. This may be subject to taking certain required prerequisite modules. If you wish to move onto a degree with creative writing, you’ll need to submit a short portfolio of your writing (c. Five pages) for approval by the creative writing team. You’ll have an academic adviser who will offer you support and guidance through this process. During your BA Drama with a Foundation Year degree, you’ll develop your own set of unique academic interests and passions, allowing you to be well-placed to progress onto the degree that’s the best fit for you. Use the foundation year as a springboard to the degree of your choice and take control of your future studies.
Study and Modules
Structure
During your foundation year, you’ll study a mixture of compulsory and optional modules. This enables you to tailor your studies to your interests. You’ll develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence to achieve your full potential during the rest of your degree.
You’ll hone your essential critical thinking and skills of analysis. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to discover a range of academic approaches and methodologies used in literary criticism and theatre-making. Together with your lecturers and peers, you’ll explore important ideas in the Humanities. You’ll learn how they relate to their political, social, historical, and cultural contexts. For example, you might study ideology and myth, post-colonialism, gender and sexuality, or power. We also provide you with the space to practice necessary, core skills to build your confidence as you progress with your studies. For example, you’ll learn how to research, write, and properly reference your assignments, as well as how to make the most out of the amazing study and support resources that UEA has to offer.
In addition to studying a drama-focused module during your foundation year, you might also choose to focus on history, literature, visual cultures, or politics. Alternatively, you could choose to study a language. By combining disciplines, you’ll be able to investigate key areas of your future degree while gaining an interdisciplinary perspective. This is your opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills in subjects closely tied to the rest of your degree or even try something new.
For information on subsequent years, please see the full BA Drama course.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 40)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
We’ll provide a supportive and rewarding learning environment where you’ll study with dedicated lecturers from UEA’s Interdisciplinary Institute for the Humanities, as well as specialists in the practical, creative side of your degree. This will shallow out the curve between your previous learning experiences and working with industry standard theatre and studio facilities. Modules are delivered through a variety of methods, with a range of study tasks to prepare you for the different types of learning and teaching you’ll meet later on.
Through seminars, interactive training sessions, and supportive feedback, you’ll develop key skills in areas such as essay writing, research, and understanding and critically evaluating scholarly arguments. Your foundation year will be taught by award-winning lecturers who are specialists in their fields. Our teaching is informed by cutting-edge subject research and a strong commitment to innovative and engaging teaching practice.
Your foundation year will be an intensive course. You’ll need to work independently between classes to make sure you’re fully prepared for seminars, workshops, and assessments. We’ll help you to make the most of the resources and facilities available to you at UEA. We’ll support you as you develop your ability to study independently, cultivating skills that will be of great benefit to your degree, and your later career.
Assessment
During your Arts and Humanities Foundation Year, you’ll be assessed in a variety of ways. This might include essays, posters, reflective work, and creative pieces. This will allow you to explore different learning styles and become familiar with the format and expectations of degree-level assessment.
We use innovative methods to enable you to learn from your peers as well as from teaching staff. This will help you to build confidence in your abilities and develop into a more independent learner. You’ll receive feedback, allowing you to continue to develop, hone and improve all aspects of your written and practical work over the year.
You’ll also benefit from the support of one of the course lecturers as an adviser. You’ll attend individual tutorials to ensure you’re progressing well and are achieving your full potential.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK fee-paying students only. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies(opens in a new window) page.
- Contextual Offers
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes(opens in a new window).
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
A Levels
CCC
Contextual offer: CDD
BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma: MMM
Contextual offer: MMP
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Humanities & Social Sciences pathway. Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
T Levels
Obtain an overall Pass.
Any Subject is acceptable.
- Further Examples of Typical Entry Requirements
We welcome applications from students with non-traditional academic backgrounds. If you have been out of study for the last three years and you do not have the entry grades for our three year degree, we will consider your educational and employment history, along with your personal statement and reference to gain a holistic view of your suitability for the course. You will still need to meet our GCSE English Language and Mathematics requirements.
International Baccalaureate
28 points overall
Irish Leaving Certificate
6 subjects at H4
Scottish Highers
BBCCC or above.
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
Scottish Advanced Highers
DDD or above.
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
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IELTS: 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies(opens in a new window) for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
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- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Progression
Once enrolled onto a course at UEA, your progression and continuation (which may include eligibility for study abroad, overseas experience, placement, or year in industry opportunities) is contingent on meeting the assessment requirements which are relevant to the course on which you are enrolled.
Progression from a Foundation Year may also be dependent on meeting the prerequisite module requirements of the course you wish to progress to. Please note subsequent changes to study or course can affect your tuition fee liability and the amount you are required to pay.
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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2027/28 are:
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UK Students: £10,050
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International Students: £24,250
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships(opens in a new window) for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information: