Our Theatre and Performance Studies degree nurtures generations of new talent. You'll be continually engaging with, watching and producing theatre, within the classroom and beyond. Outside of the course there are many student performance societies to get involved in, and you'll benefit from having Warwick Arts Centre located at the heart of our campus.
The Times and Sunday Times 2025 ranks Warwick as 1st in the UK (Drama, Dance and Cinematics category).
We received an overall satisfaction result of 90.5% for Theatre Studies in the National Student Survey 2025.
Times Higher Education rates us 1st for Research Power.
Theatre and Performance Studies at Warwick takes pride in its national and international reputation for research and teaching excellence. As a student, you will be taught by world-leading scholars, industry professionals and artists who are as passionate about the power of theatre and performance as you are.
You will explore how drama, theatre and performance are used to share stories, to laugh, to feel, to understand more deeply, and to change things.
You will have the ability to curate your own distinctive degree, on a course that is designed to empower you. The foundational first-year consists of four core modules which balance theory and practice. The second and third years are defined by optionality with the opportunity to select from a wide range of modules designed by our diverse team of specialist staff.
You will join a School that fosters a strong sense of community and will work with your peers to continually design, make, discuss and debate theatre and performance. Staff will see, understand and develop you as an individual, helping you to create a pathway through the course to achieve your ambitions.
Warwick Arts Centre
Beyond the course, you will be encouraged to see work and get involved at the Warwick Arts Centre, one of the largest multi-artform venues in the UK. You will also be encouraged to join one of the many award-winning performance-based student societies.
We believe that it is the unique combination of our course, with the practical experience in the creation and production of work within student societies, and the professional environment that Warwick Arts Centre has to offer, which makes our graduates so successful.
Entry requirements
A level typical offer
ABB.
A level contextual offer
We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria and whose predicted grades are close to, or slightly below, the contextual offer level. The typical contextual offer is BBB. See if you're eligible.
We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.
International Baccalaureate (IB) typical offer
32
International Baccalaureate (IB) contextual offer
We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria and whose predicted grades are close to, or slightly below, the contextual offer level. The typical contextual offer is 30. See if you're eligible.
We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.
BTEC
We welcome applications from students taking BTEC qualifications, either alone or in combination with A levels.
Our typical BTEC offers are as follows:
BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate plus 2 A levels: D plus AB, or D* plus BB
BTEC Level 3 National Diploma plus 1 A level: DD plus A, or D*D plus B
BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma: D*DD
Scotland Advanced Highers
AB in two Advanced Highers and BBB in three further Highers subjects.
Welsh Baccalaureate
BBB in three subjects at A level plus grade C in the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales.
Access to Higher Education Diplomas
We will consider applicants returning to study who are presenting a QAA-recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma on a case-by-case basis.
Typically, we require 45 Credits at Level 3, including Distinction in 33 Level 3 credits and Merit in 12 Level 3 Credits. We may also require subject specific credits or an A level to be studied alongside the Access to Higher Education Diploma to fulfil essential subject requirements.
We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.
Warwick may make differential offers to students in certain circumstances, such as those who have participated in a Widening Participation programme or who meet the University’s contextual data criteria. These offers are usually one or two grades below Warwick’s standard offer.
Do you offer foundation programmes?
All students who successfully complete the Warwick International Foundation Programme (IFP) and apply to Warwick through UCAS will receive a guaranteed conditional offer for a related undergraduate programme, for selected courses only. Further details are available in the standard offer and conditions for the IFP.
Can I take a gap year before starting my course?
Yes, Warwick welcomes applications for deferred (gap year) entry.
Will I need to interview for this course?
Warwick does not typically interview applicants. Offers are made based on the UCAS application, including predicted and achieved grades, the personal statement, and the school reference.
The first year of your Theatre and Performance Studies degree consists of four core modules: two that are practice-led and two that are theory-based. These modules will develop your understanding of the important relationship between theory and practice and will introduce key concepts for a diverse range of performance-making possibilities.
In your second year there’s one core module, and in your final year you must choose from one of two optional core modules. You can select to do a traditional research project, which ends with the submission of a ten-thousand word written dissertation. Or, you can do a practice-based research project, which will culminate in the public presentation of a piece of practical work.
Beyond these core modules, you’re empowered to tailor your degree to suit you, by choosing from a range of available optional modules. This means that everyone’s experience of the course is unique. If you thrive in the studio, then you can select more practice-based modules, or if you have a future career path in mind, you can specialise by selecting the modules which best-fit your plans.
You’re also able to select optional modules outside of our department, meaning that you don’t have to give up on other areas of interest. In addition, we offer several joint-honours courses with Theatre Studies taught alongside English Literature, Global Sustainable Development or a modern language.
Note that the module catalogue is subject to change for future years of study, as we evolve our courses in response to the latest developments in academia and industry. If optional modules are listed below, these can vary from year to year.
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
You will choose one of the following modules:
Optional Modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:
On 26 November 2025, the UK government announced that the tuition fee cap for UK undergraduate students for the 2026-27 academic year would increase to £9,790 from the 2025-26 rate of at £9,535.
Students who qualify for government-regulated fees are classed as ‘Home’ students for fees purposes. In future years, fees for continuing students may be subject to an increase in fees in line with any inflationary uplift as determined by the UK Government (if permitted by law or government policy).
We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.
If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.
You will repay your loan or loans gradually once you are working and earning above a certain amount. For students starting their course after 1 August 2023 (on Student Finance England’s Plan 5), you will repay when your income is over £25,000 a year.
Repayments will be taken directly from your salary if you are an employee. If your income falls below the earnings threshold or you stop working, your repayments will stop until your income goes back up above this figure.
Access thousands of part-time opportunities through our agency UnitempsLink opens in a new window (such as office work, retail jobs or helping at events)
Choose to apply for a job as one of our Student Ambassadors to share your own experience at events like Open Days
There are many different funding routes available, including a number of bursaries and scholarships for full-time undergraduates. If you struggle to meet your essential living costs, our Student Funding team will be on hand to offer advice and support.
Provides additional financial support for qualifying Home students from lower income families of up to £2,500 for eligible students
This bursary is paid directly into your bank account in three equal termly instalments to help with the costs of studying
There is no application for this bursary as your details will be provided directly from the student support awarding bodies (Student Finance England, Student Finance Northern Ireland, and Student Awards Agency Scotland)
A number of scholarship opportunities are open to full-time undergraduate students. These include sporting and musical bursaries, and scholarships offered by commercial organisations.
If you experience financial difficulties during your studies, you may be eligible for Hardship Funding from the University, in the form of an Emergency Loan and/or a non-repayable award
There are no Department scholarships available for our Undergraduate courses, however there are other scholarships which you may be eligible for. Please see our scholarships web pages for more information.
Tuition fee
If you are an overseas student enrolling in 2026-27, your annual tuition fees will be as follows:
Band 1 – £27,870 per year (classroom-based courses, including Humanities and most Social Science courses)
Band 2 – £35,530 per year (laboratory-based courses, plus Mathematics, Statistics, Theatre and Performance Studies, Economics, and courses provided by Warwick Business School, with exceptions)
Overseas Tuition fees for 2027-28 academic year have not been set. In future years, fees for continuing students may be subject to an increase in fees in line with an inflationary uplift. Please check our website for updates about 2027-28 fee rates before you apply.
If you are an EU student and eligible for student finance, you may be able to get a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your fees, please visit our Student Funding webpage for guidance for students ordinarily resident outside of England.
We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.
If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.
Eligibility for student finance will depend on certain criteria, such as your nationality, residency status, course, and previous level of study. The information below is based on the package of financial support available to students starting their course in 2026.
Eligible European Union (EU) Undergraduates can apply for a loan to help with the cost of Tuition Fees. Eligible EU students who meet additional residency criteria may also be eligible for a loan to assist with living costs.For more information please see Student Finance for Undergraduates - EU StudentsLink opens in a new window.
Access thousands of part-time opportunities through our agency UnitempsLink opens in a new window (such as office work, retail jobs or helping at events)
Choose to apply for a job as one of our Student Ambassadors to share your own experience at events like Open Days
If you are an international student, you may be eligible for financial help from your own government, from the British Council or from other funding agencies. You can usually request information on scholarships from the Ministry of Education in your home country, or from the local British Council office.
A number of scholarship opportunities are open to full-time undergraduate students. These include sporting and musical bursaries, and scholarships offered by commercial organisations.
If you experience financial difficulties during your studies, you may be eligible for Hardship Funding from the University, in the form of an Emergency Loan and/or a non-repayable award.
As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.
Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2025/26 year of study). Information about module specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:
Core text books
Printer credits
Dissertation binding
Robe hire for your degree ceremony
Are there any course specific costs?
For departmental specific costs, please see the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue, where module-related costs are detailed.
Teaching and learning
Our teaching is delivered via studio-based explorations, small-group seminars and interactive lectures, supplemented by theatre visits, field trips, guest lectures and workshops with visiting academics, artists and companies.
You will be taught by a range of practitioners including:
anna six: Co-Artistic Director of Idiot Child theatre company
Saul Hewish: one of the UK’s leading artists working to create theatre for and with those in the judicial system
Caroline Griffin: a freelance specialist in audience development and arts marketing
Natalie Diddams: Experienced theatre director, workshop facilitator and dramaturg
You will be taught in state-of-the-art facilities in the new Faculty of Arts Building, which opened in December 2021. These include two black-box studios, a video-editing media suite and two rehearsal rooms.
Research expertise
Our teaching is research-inspired, striking a balance between providing a broad understanding of the discipline and giving you access to the distinct specialisms of our academic staff. We offer areas of expertise including:
Applied and community theatres
Theatre for social change
Theatre history
Popular, political and avant-garde theatres
Writing, acting and directing
Contemporary British, European, and North American theatres
Theatre in the African context
Post-colonial and intercultural theatre and performance
Representations of embodied health: brains, bodies, and emotions in performance and visual culture
Performing gender and sexuality
Theatre production in digital environments and film
What makes Theatre and Performance Studies at Warwick particularly special is the ethos and culture of the Department.
Each year we aim for a cohort size of around 40-50 students. This allows each year-group to work as a cohesive ensemble throughout their three years, enabling them to confidently share ideas, debate and experiment. We have an excellent staff to student ratio, allowing staff to have a close investment in you, your work and your aspirations.
Throughout the degree, class sizes will vary depending on the nature of the module and whether students are split into groups. Typically, you will be in groups of 10-24 in a class.
As you are encouraged to curate your own path through the degree, contact hours will vary depending on the modules that you have selected.
As a guide, our seminar-based modules normally involve two contact hours per week while modules with a strong practical component are normally four contact hours per week.
You will also need to allocate time for independent study: rehearsing, doing group work, seeing performances and preparing assessed work.
A typical week
In your first year, a typical week may look like this:
Monday
Theatre and Performance in Context Lecture (1 hour)
From Text to Performance Studio-Based Workshop (3 hours)
Friday
Theatre and Performance in Context Seminar (1.5 hours)
Ways of Seeing Seminar (1.5 hours)
During your degree you will be assessed through a wide variety of methods, including:
Practical projects: short performances, films, installations, site-specific work etc
Reflective portfolios
Essays
Individual or group presentations
All of our assessments place an emphasis on real-life outputs. For example, you will produce a marketing campaign for a piece of theatre for the Audience Development and Marketing module, or you will create a piece of theatre and an accompanying workshop for offenders to take into a prison environment for the Community Theatre module.
Throughout your degree you will receive regular feedback on your work which will be integral to your development.
As part of your degree, you have the option to apply to do an intercalated year studying with one of our partner institutions overseas.
In 2025/26 these partners include: Monash University in Australia, Augsburg in USA; and a number of Universities across Europe, including in Germany, Portugal, Italy and Belgium as well as the Republic of Ireland. The locations that you can travel to are confirmed in November of the preceding academic year to when you would be travelling, and these locations can change each year.
There will also be opportunities for you to apply to have short periods of study, work, research and/or volunteering overseas during vacation periods to gain international experience without adding a year to your studies.
The Student Mobility Team offers support for these activities, and the Department’s dedicated Study Abroad Co-ordinator can provide more specific information and assistance.
Careers
With a diverse range of careers in the creative and cultural sectors and beyond, our extended family of alumni are testimony to the fact that the sky is your limit with a Theatre and Performance Studies degree from Warwick.
We are exceptionally proud of our extended family of alumni and the diverse career paths that they've taken after their degree.
Recent graduates work within the arts and creative industries as actors, directors, producers, screenwriters, set designers, and as arts administrators.
They work for organisations such as:
Merlin Entertainments
Sadler’s Wells
The Birmingham Hippodrome
The National Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre.
The RSC
The Southbank Centre
Ticketmaster
Recent graduates work beyond the sector in:
Marketing
PR
Journalism
Recruitment and HR
Education
The Law
The Civil Service
Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant to support you. They offer impartial advice and guidance, together with workshops and events throughout the year. These events often include alumni who have taken various career paths. Previous examples of workshops and events include:
‘I Want to Be a Producer’: Careers in Producing
Becoming a Director
Careers in Acting
Discovering Careers in the Creative Industries
Careers in Radio, Film and Television
A DIY Guide to Setting Up and Running a Theatre Company
Our Student Opportunity (Careers) department offer a wide range of workshops, from developing confidence and interview techniques to learning how to articulate what you have to offer in order to impress potential employers. Online resources are also available, including training in drafting CVs and covering letters, practice aptitude and psychometric tests, practice online interviews, and other resources to help you research job opportunities. The myAdvantage databaseLink opens in a new window also advertises job, placement and internship vacancies that are from employers who are targeting Warwick students for their recruitment.
Employability is embedded in Warwick’s Theatre and Performance Studies degree allowing you to think about your future from an early stage.
You will encounter performers, directors, playwrights and arts administrators from the industry throughout your degree in seminars and practical workshops.
The optional Theatre and the Creative Industries module brings professionals and experts into the classroom on a weekly basis to discuss the principles and practices for areas such as:
Running an arts venue
Programming and commissioning work
Setting up and running your own theatre company
Making touring arrangements
Identifying funding opportunities
A placement or internship is also offered as part of the course. In recent years these have been hosted by Dash Arts, Rosie Kay Dance Company, Birmingham REP, Fierce Festival (for live art), Trestle (Mask Theatre, St Albans), Cannes Film Festival, and elsewhere.
Alongside their degree, many of our students gain valuable industry experience at Warwick Arts Centre, working in a wide range of roles including Youth Theatre Leaders, Performance Stewards, or as interns for the Marketing and Programming Teams.
Students also regularly produce shows at Warwick Arts Centre as part of their activity in student societies, meaning that they are working in a professional arts venue from the get-go.
Life at Warwick
This is where your journey begins. Our campus is the heart of it all. It’s more than just a campus - it's the places you visit, the people you meet, the fun that you have; the experiences you have here will be transformative.
Within a close-knit community of staff and students from all over the world, discover a campus alive with possibilities.
Our campus is where all the elements of your student experience come together in one place. You won't be short of ways to spend your time on campus - whether it's visiting Warwick Arts Centre, using our incredible sports facilities, socialising in our bars, nightclub and cafés, or enjoying an open-air event. Or if you need some peace and quiet, you can explore lakes, woodland and green spaces just a few minutes’ walk from central campus
Follow our students around campus on our social channels to see their experiences first-hand.
Teaching facilities
Our campus is designed to cater for all of your learning needs. You will benefit from a variety of flexible, well-equipped study spaces and teaching facilities across the University.
Oculus, our outstanding learning hub, houses state-of-the-art lecture theatres and innovative social learning and network areas
Different study spaces offering you flexible individual and group study spaces, computers, printing and scanning facilities, multimedia resources and more
Supporting you
Our continuous support network is here to help you adjust to student life and to ensure you can easily access advice on many different issues. These may include managing your finances and workload, and settling into shared accommodation. We also have specialist disability and mental health support teams.
Whether you live in a campus residence or in partnership accommodation off campus, you’ll be part of a community to get the most from your experience at Warwick.
Societies and sports play a huge part in community life at Warwick. With over 300 to choose from, getting involved is one of the easiest ways to make friends and share in experiences. Whether you’re into films, martial arts, astronomy, gaming or musical theatre, you can instantly connect with people with similar interests.
Your university experience is defined by far more than your course or the career path you follow. At Warwick, it’s where you discover who you could become.
74th
Warwick is ranked 74th in the world and top 10 in all major UK league tables
Our alumni community still call Warwick home. From a few hundred in 1965 to more than 310,000 alumni, and it's ever-growing.
As Warwick graduates, our students have access to employability support for two years after graduation, including access to careers appointments, job vacancies and professional networks.
Explore the world through the lens of Theatre and Performance Studies with one of the top departments in the UK.
Offering academic rigour, practical skills and connections with the industry, this degree has career prospects both within the arts sector and far beyond. You’ll be taught by world-leading academics and cutting-edge theatre practitioners.
Our students see our facilities as their second home.
Theatre and Performance Studies is joined by History of Art, Film and Television Studies, the Warwick Writing Programme, and the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies, to make up Warwick’s School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures. We’ve recently moved into state-of-the-art facilities in the Faculty of Arts Building (FAB), opposite Warwick Arts Centre and at the heart of the campus’s cultural quarter.
Here, you’ll learn in our black-box performance studios and adaptable rehearsal spaces with sprung floors, each fully equipped with industry-standard lighting, sound and projection equipment. In addition, there are studios and rehearsal rooms on the Westwood campus and in Millburn House. Our Video and Media Editing Suite comes with iMacs loaded with the Adobe Creative Suite and an offline lighting console with visualiser.
We also offer the use of high-end Apple laptops loaded with a wide range of creative software, giving you the freedom to edit sound, video, lighting and desktop publishing anywhere you choose. In this environment, we’re able to support our students with a versatile range of equipment and training that allows a high degree of innovation; enabling you to realise your ideas for stage, screen, print and online, wherever you choose.
This information is applicable for 2027 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our web page 'Important information to consider before making an application' in advance of applying to Warwick.
Next steps
Experience campus at an Open Day. Can't visit? Receive regular email updates or ask current students and staff questions about life at Warwick.
