BA English and Theatre
Queen Mary University of London
About this course
BA (Hons) in English and Theatre, an undergraduate joint honours degree exploring literature, performance, culture, and the practice of theatre. Core topics include Research Methods. The course includes a compulsory year abroad. The first year introduces foundational themes through compulsory modules such as London, Culture and Performance, Power Plays, Performance, Acting, Text, and Poetry. In the second year, students choose from optional topics covering historical periods, global literatures, and practical performance work, including Renaissance Drama, Romantics and Revolutionaries, Modernism, and Making Contemporary Theatre. The third year offers advanced study in specialized areas such as Shakespeare: the Play, the Word and the Book, Showbusiness: Theatre and Capitalism, and Writing Black and Asian Britain. Students can also undertake independent final-year work through options like the English Research Dissertation, Practice-based Research Project, or Written Research Project.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
English and Theatre - BA (Hons): A-Level: Grades BBB at A-Level. IB: International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 30 points overall, including 5,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects. BTEC: See our detailed subject and grade requirements. Access HE: We consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall, with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 15 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. Applications are considered on a case by case basis. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not make offers of study purely on the basis of meeting grade requirements. GCSE: Both GCSE English and Maths at grade C or 4 or an acceptable equivalent will be required. EPQ: Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification. For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq. Contextualised admissions: Our standard contextual offer: BCC Our enhanced contextual offer: CCC More information on our contextual offer criteria can be found on our contextualised admissions page . Please note that General Studies and Critical Thinking are excluded from any A-Level offer and cannot be considered.
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What students say
Based on about 25 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 92%
- Learning opportunities: 89%
- Assessment and feedback: 91%
- Academic support: 98%
- Organisation and management: 89%
- Learning resources: 85%
- Student voice: 86%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 80%
- Left higher education: 20%
What graduates do next
Based on about 13 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 70%
- Working and studying: 5%
- Unemployed: 10%
Most common jobs
- Business and public service associate professionals: 20%
- Elementary occupations: 15%
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Administrative occupations: 15%
- Media Professionals: 15%
- Find their work meaningful: 55%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 60%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 20%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 65 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 4%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 4%
- East Midlands: 3%
- West Midlands: 4%
- East of England: 14%
- London: 46%
- South East: 12%
- South West: 9%
- Wales: 3%
- Scotland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 100%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Bronze for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- London, Culture and Performance
- Power Plays
- Performance, Acting, Text
- Poetry
- London Global
- Myth, Romance, and Fairy Tale
- Chaucer: Gender, Faith, Identity
- Renaissance Drama
- Romantics and Revolutionaries
- Victorian Fictions
- Modernism
- Postcolonial and Global Literatures
- Global Shakespeare
- Representing London - the eighteenth century
- Reading the Contemporary
- Culture, Power and Performance (seminar-based)
- Group Practical Project (practice-based)
- Art and the Climate Crisis
- Culture, Power and Performance
- London Performance Now
- Making Contemporary Theatre
- Theatre, Experiment and Revolution
- English Research Dissertation
- Practice-based Research Project
- Written Research Project
- Creative Writing Prose Fiction
- Feminism(s)
- Guillotines, Ghosts and Laughing Gas: Literature in the 1790s
- Laughing Matters: Comedy and Contemporary Culture
- Shakespeare: the Play, the Word and the Book
- Victorian Sensation Fiction
- Madness and Theatricality
- Offstage London
- Showbusiness: Theatre and Capitalism
- Performance and the Supernatural
- Writing Black and Asian Britain
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA English and Theatre at Queen Mary University of London earn?
The median salary is £25,000 after 15 months, £22,000 after 3 years, £27,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £21,000 and £32,500. The £27,000 median after five years is £2,000 less than the UK median for English studies.
What do graduates of BA English and Theatre at Queen Mary University of London do next?
75% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2022-23).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA English and Theatre at Queen Mary University of London?
92% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2024-25.
What grades do I need for BA English and Theatre at Queen Mary University of London?
The typical offer is BBB at A level, or 30 points in the IB. The average entrant had 164 UCAS points.
Does BA English and Theatre at Queen Mary University of London include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on BA English and Theatre at Queen Mary University of London?
80% of students continued into their second year, and 20% left higher education.