BA (Hons) Acting and English
Undergraduate Programme
Menu
Programmes & Courses
Develop your acting skills to a professional standard, while exploring English literature, and gain a deep understanding of the relationship between text and performance.
We offer the only combined actor-training and English degree in the UK, allowing you to develop your acting skills while studying English literature, giving you a firm knowledge base from which to work in either field.
Acting is the practical realisation of text and is closely linked to the discipline of English. This unique combination of study will open up many options for work or further academic study. You’ll have a range of options, which will allow you to tailor the course to fit your particular interests, and have the chance to develop allied skills such as theatre directing.
Acting classes cover acting for both stage and screen, and will include substantial workshop performances as well as public productions in the final year, including the opportunity to present your own fully supported show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
When you leave the course you’ll be armed with a career action plan, a show reel and significant experience in both acting and English.
We’re a top UK modern university for English (1st of 53) and we’re a top 2 UK modern university for Drama, Dance & Cinematics (2nd of 63) – The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.
This course is aimed at those with an interest in both practical acting and English literature. You’ll enhance your performing skills to industry-standard, while simultaneously studying English literature in its cultural-historical context. The course is split evenly between the study of English literature and the study of acting.
English is studied from the early 19th century to the present day providing a modern, interdisciplinary approach to literature. You’ll develop an appreciation of different genres and explore the value of literature in the modern world. Practical acting projects will often work alongside the English texts you are studying. You will read, analyse and perform texts of a similar era at the same time, thereby deepening your understanding of both literature and acting.
Our programme is not a drama/theatre studies course – we aim to train actors to vocational standard over four years. Along with intensive classes and workshops in acting, you will study alongside the BA (Hons) English degree students in a variety of classes that cover subjects from Shakespeare to Romantic poetry to modern drama.