BA Theatre and Performance Studies (2Q3W)

2026 entry | view 2025 entry

Course summary

The Theatre and Performance Studies course builds your understanding and practical skills by exploring critical and historical frameworks alongside practical workshops, performance opportunities, and production-based tasks.

There are opportunities to engage with professional theatre-makers and our museum-accredited archive, the Theatre Collection, to develop your range of critical and practical skills while diversifying your awareness of potential future careers.

In your first year, you will learn how to analyse performance while developing practical skills in a range of performance practices, including staging play texts, developing workshops, and engaging in production work for the theatre. In subsequent years, you will choose from a range of options that will deepen your analytical, critical, practical and historical expertise around your interests and aspirations. You will choose units concentrating on research, performance and practice-as-research.

Your degree culminates in an independent study project. This could be a group or individual performance, or a dissertation. You will also have an opportunity to undertake professional development. We have strong links with the creative industries and partners with whom you might undertake professional development have included the Bristol Old Vic, MAYK, Traveling Light Theatre, ACTA and Brave Bold Drama.

Course structure

Full details about the course structure and units for this course can be viewed in the programme catalogue.

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Entry requirements

We accept a wide variety of qualifications and welcome applications from students of all backgrounds. Below is a guide to the typical offers for this course.

AAB
DDD in any Applied General BTEC National Level 3 Extended Diploma

Find out more about BTEC entry requirements
34 points overall with 17 at Higher Level
31 points overall with 15 at Higher level

Find out if you are eligible for a contextual offer
80% overall
Advanced Higher: AB, and Standard Higher: AAABB
Access to HE Diploma in Humanities, Social Sciences, Law or History (or similar titles). The 45 graded Level 3 credits must include 24 credits at Distinction and 21 at Merit or above

More about Access to HE entry requirements
Requirements are as for A-levels, where you can substitute a non-subject specific grade for the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales or the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate at that grade.
Requirements for principal subjects are as for A-level, where D1/D2 is A*, D3 is A, M1/M2 is B, and M3 is C.
The University of Bristol welcomes applications from international students, and we accept a wide range of qualifications for undergraduate and postgraduate study.

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More about UK qualifications.