Explore the creative connections between playwrights, directors and performers
Year of entry: 2026/27
Show year of entry: 2025
W440
Y50
3 years full-time (plus optional placement year)
Book your place for our Open Days on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 September 2025.
Complete University Guide 2025
Theatre is one of our most ancient and enduring forms of art. Our BA draws together the key roles of director, performer and playwright. You'll develop in-depth knowledge of theatre practice, and the skills to succeed in any area of the industry.
Gain practical skills and critical insight in directing, design, performing, playwriting and more. You'll explore plays and productions covering theatre’s many pasts and presents. Discover the connections between theatre practice and its histories, theories, politics and ethics. Analyse scripts and develop performance, workshop, and rehearsal approaches. Hone your craft through ambitious production and research projects.
Thrive in exceptional facilities. We have two fully-equipped theatres, rehearsal rooms, and set design spaces. You’ll join an inspiring collaborative community of students and staff in music, film and television and creative technologies.
Our academics are leading researchers in theatre practice, history and theory. Many have worked as professional writers, actors, directors and designers.
Gain industry connections and prepare for your career. Engage with contemporary performance practice through theatre trips across Yorkshire. Build connections and get career insights through masterclasses with visiting professionals. You’ll have access to careers support from our in-house employability team.
There are opportunities for you to spend time abroad during your studies:
Your first year offers a broad introduction to theatre, supporting your transition to university-level study. You'll gain hands-on experience in acting, directing, and playwriting, while developing analytical and writing skills through the study of play scripts from different historical periods. Learn how to turn ideas into memorable scripts and understand the journey from page to stage.
You’ll explore how politics shapes theatre and performance, and how we engage with it as makers and spectators. Study dramaturgy, key practitioners, and the historical, cultural, and material forces that shape plays. Modules introduce core vocal and physical techniques, workshop practice, and the challenges of staging works from varied styles. You’ll also build essential skills in analysing live performance.
You'll begin to explore the challenges of characterisation in plays from different periods, and of ensemble work. You'll learn and experiment with key directorial preparation and rehearsal techniques, alongside design, enhancing your practical skills in a collaborative environment. You'll develop core playwriting skills, especially in creating characters, crafting dialogue, plotting a scene, and imagining dramatically effective stage visuals.
In addition to the above you will also need to complete our online Academic Integrity module.
This module covers some of the essential skills and knowledge which will help you to study independently and produce work of a high academic standard which is vital for success at York.
This module will:
Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.
Every course at York has been designed to provide clear and ambitious learning outcomes. These learning outcomes give you an understanding of what you will be able to do at the end of the course. We develop each course by designing modules that grow your abilities towards the learning outcomes and help you to explain what you can offer to employers. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
We are part of the School of Arts and Creative Technologies. The School continues our commitment to the integration of theory, creative practice and collaborative learning.
for Graduate Prospects (Times Good University Guide, 2024)
| UK (home) | International and EU |
|---|---|
| £9,535 | £25,800 |
These fees are for students starting in the 2025/26 academic year. Undergraduate fees for 2026/27 will be confirmed later in the year.
The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.
For more information about tuition fees, any reduced fees for study abroad and work placement years, scholarships, tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and living costs see undergraduate fees and funding.
We are ideally placed to take advantage of some of the country's best theatres, in York, Manchester, Sheffield, Scarborough, Hull, Leeds and more. As a student of theatre we want you to become familiar with as much and as wide a range of theatre as possible. We run regular trips to local and regional theatres, some connected directly to a module and others of wider interest, and encourage you to make your own way to see more. The majority of organised trips are optional, but you should budget for at least one theatre trip a term.
Work on design may require you to purchase some basic crafting and drawing equipment and materials. Budgets are provided for production-based assessments and extra-curricular departmental productions, and no personal expenses should be incurred by participation in these.
Some projects - such as the Political Theatre Performance Project and final Independent projects - may benefit from travel to conduct interviews and consult external libraries and archives. These trips are at your discretion.
We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2026/27 throughout the year.
You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.
Just four UK universities are rated Gold for teaching and top ten for research* in the latest national assessment exercises.
* Awarded joint 10th in the Times Higher Education ranking of the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
You’ll study and learn with academics who are active researchers, experts in their field and have a passion for their subjects. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
Our course emphasises the constant interplay of practical and academic theatre skills. You will explore theatre through hands-on seminars and workshops, interactive lectures, independent rehearsals, and library-based study. Alongside the vibrant tutor-led and student-led content, masterclasses from visiting professionals will enhance and expand on various aspects of your learning.
Masterclasses, delivered by high profile theatre directors, actors, and playwrights, run throughout the academic year. These invaluable sessions give you the opportunity to ask question about everything from career opportunities to ideas and inspiration.
Recent visitors have included the actors Penelope Wilton and Sam West; director Sean Holmes; producers Jenny Topper, Gilly Roche and John Tomlinson; writers Simon Stephens, Nick Payne, Alan Ayckbourn and Laura Wade; and theatre companies RashDash, Imitating the Dog, and Theatre Re.
In your first year, you can expect:
| Lectures | 2 hours per week |
|---|---|
| Seminars | 2 hours per week |
| Workshops | 4-11 hours per week |
| Film Screening | 2 hours per week |
| Independent rehearsals | 2-4 hours per week |
These figures are representative of a typical week. Your contact hours will vary throughout the year due to your module choices, non-compulsory classes, exam periods and changes to scheduled activities.
Outside your timetabled hours, you'll study independently. This may include preparation for classes, follow-up work, wider reading, practice completion of assessment tasks, or revision.
In the UK, full-time students are expected to spend 1,200 hours a year learning. That's about 40 hours of classes and independent study each week during semesters. Everyone learns at a different rate, so the number of hours you spend on independent study will be different to other students on your course.
You'll have access to exceptional facilities in our bespoke £35m arts and media complex, including:
You will be based in the School of Arts and Creative Technologies on Campus East.
Most of your contact hours will be in Theatre, Film, Television, and Interactive Media with some additional teaching on Campus East and Campus West.
Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can use the fast and frequent bus service. Take a campus tour.
We embrace a range of assessment methods, in order to best reflect each individual module and the skills encouraged on the course. Most modules involve written components alongside practical work as an individual or in a group. During your studies with us, you may find yourself preparing essays of various lengths (from short reflective pieces to the final-year research project), scripts, portfolios or logs documenting practice, presentations, and performances.
Our approach to learning has been designed to provide wide ranging knowledge and skills that will set you up for a career in the world of theatre. Many of our graduates move on to work as writers, directors and performers in the industry, while others have taken up roles in the film and television industries and the wider arts world. For more information on our graduates take a look at the graduate achievement page. Our track record speaks for itself.
| Typical offer | |
|---|---|
| A levels | AAB You don't need to have an A Level in Theatre or Drama. |
| Access to Higher Education Diploma | 36 credits at Distinction and 9 credits at Merit or higher |
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | DDD |
| European Baccalaureate | 80% overall |
| International Baccalaureate | 35 points |
| T levels | We will consider a range of T Level qualifications for entry. Please visit our dedicated T Levels page for a full list of accepted T Levels. |
| Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers | Scottish Highers - AABBB
Advanced Highers - not required for entry
We may also be able to consider three Advanced Highers or a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers, where an applicant does not meet the grade requirement through Highers alone. Please contact us to discuss your qualifications. |
| International foundation programme | Foundation Certificate from our International Pathway College or an appropriate alternative. |
| Other international qualifications | Equivalent qualifications from your country |
Meeting the following additional criteria may qualify you for an alternative offer.
| Criteria | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Widening participation | If you successfully complete one of the following programmes, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to two A level grades (or equivalent) below our typical offer: Black Access Programme, Next Step York, Realising Opportunities. More about widening participation. |
| Contextual offer | BBB |
| EPQ | If you achieve C or higher at EPQ, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer. |
| Core Maths | If you achieve B or higher in Core Maths, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer. |
If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:
| Minimum requirement | |
|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component |
| IB English | A score of 4 in English A or 5 in English B (Higher Level or Standard Level) |
| Cambridge CEFR | 176, with a minimum of 169 in each component |
| Oxford ELLT | 7, with a minimum of 6 in each component |
| Oxford Test of English Advanced | 136, with a minimum of 126 in each component |
| Duolingo | Integrated subscores: 120 overall, with a minimum of 105 in each component |
| GCSE/IGCSE/O level English Language (as a first or second language) | Grade C / Grade 4 |
| LanguageCert SELT | B2 with a minimum score of 33/50 in each component |
| LanguageCert Academic | B2 with a minimum score of 33/50 in each component |
| Kaplan Test of English Language | 478 Main Flight score with 444 in each component |
| Skills for English | B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component |
| PTE Academic | 61, with a minimum of 55 in each component |
| TOEFL | 87 overall, with a minimum of 21 in each component |
| Trinity ISE III | Merit in all components |
| Other English language qualifications | We also accept other English Language qualifications, including various school-leaving certificates. |
For more information see our undergraduate English language requirements.
You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.
The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.
After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.
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