Acting and English

BA (Hons) Full time

Course Overview

UCAS code: QW34
Duration: 4 years
Study type: Full Time
Napier code: 54506BH

This course allows you to develop your acting skills while studying English Literature, giving you a firm knowledge base from which to work in either field. Drama and acting are closely linked to the discipline of English. In this course, English modules complement the practical acting aspects, developing your critical and analytical skills through the study of literature. You will study the theory of drama and its application and your practical acting work will provide you with an understanding of how the word on the page relates to performance.

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This is an exciting and unique course aimed at those with an interest in both practical drama and English literature. Students on this course will enhance their performing skills to industry-standard, while simultaneously studying English literature in its cultural-historical context, considering the significance of literature and acting performance in society from the Elizabethan age to the present.

Practical acting projects will work alongside the English texts you are studying. Students will read, analyse and perform texts of a similar era all at the same time, thereby deepening your understanding of both literature and acting.

You'll learn about major genres and critical issues within the fields of English Studies and Acting, covering a range of subjects from Shakespeare to Romantic poetry to modern drama. The programme will also provide vocational and industry-relevant training through intensive workshops, centred on acting for stage and screen and on the craft, practice and business of performance.

Throughout the course there will be particular focus on enhancing confidence and communication and deepening the ability to be cogent and articulate about a variety of critical approaches and the process of performance. You'll benefit from studying in a vibrant city with a great literary heritage, which offers a wonderful learning environment and plenty of relevant cultural events.

Students will leave with 'festival-ready' productions that can transfer for showing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and elsewhere, a show reel of screen acting work, a personal business plan and the skills and knowledge to really take charge of your own career development.

Students completing the Acting & English degree will have a thorough grounding in English Literature of the modern period as well as having developed performance skills that will enable them to undertake a variety of roles in the theatre, radio and screen industries. This unique combination of skills and knowledge will equip graduates with a wide range of options for work or further academic study.

What's it like?

Acting & English is an exciting combination nurturing academic study alongside performance skills

Career prospects

We are one of the top universities in Scotland for graduate employability, with over 93% of our graduates in jobs or further study six months after graduating.

The combination of practical, business and analytical skills provided mean that you will be uniquely placed to take charge of your career. This qualification will prepare you for a career in a number of areas in the cultural and creative industries.

  • Actor
  • Journalist
  • Director
  • Teacher
  • Arts Administrator

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What's involved

Modular learning

Our courses are structured by modules which gives our students a flexible learning programme. Modules covered by this course:

On offer

Campus life

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Why I chose Napier

Requirements at a glance

Entry to the course

International students

Full-time study (per year)

The fees listed are stated per annum.

Part-time study (per year)

The fees listed are stated per annum.

Part-time study

The number of modules studied is dependent on the exit that you wish to achieve, for example:

  • A Grad Cert is 60 Credits (3 modules)
  • A Cert HE/Grad Dip/ HND is 120 credits (6 modules)
  • A Dip HE credit is 240 credits (12 modules)
  • A Degree is 360 credits (18 modules)
  • An Honours Degree is 480 credits

Please note that some part-time courses give modular exemptions for previous study and vocational experience. Advice is available during application.

Fees Table

Fees displayed are correct at the time of publication but the University Court reserves the right to make changes in fees at any time, and without notice, before or after the student's admission to the University.

Tuition fees are reviewed annually and will rise each year during your programme of study, at least in line with inflation.

Funding your study

We have a selection of funding opportunities available such as the UK postgraduate tuition fee loan (Scottish & EU) and specific scholarships aimed at student from India and across Africa. Visit our funding pages to find out what you could be eligible for.

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