Course specification and structure
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UDTHEFLM - BA Theatre and Film

Course Specification


Validation status Validated
Highest award Bachelor of Arts Level Honours
Possible interim awards Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Higher Education, Certificate of Higher Education, Bachelor of Arts
Total credits for course 360
Awarding institution London Metropolitan University
Teaching institutions London Metropolitan University
School School of Art, Architecture and Design
Subject Area Art
Attendance options
Option Minimum duration Maximum duration
Part-time 4 YEARS 8 YEARS
Full-time 3 YEARS 8 YEARS
Course leader  

About the course and its strategy towards teaching and learning and towards blended learning/e-learning

The course has been designed in consultation with students and employers in order to ensure that it meets the aspirations of our students and the demands of the contemporary employment environment. It aligns with the University’s Strategic Plan, the Education for Social Justice Framework and Student Partnership Agreement in promoting accessible and inclusive education in an environment that respects and values the identities of our students and accommodates diversity in all its forms. Consideration has been given to the QAA Subject Benchmark Statement for Dance, Drama and Performance, the QAA Higher Education Qualifications Framework, and the University’s Academic Regulations.

The course promotes individualised learning opportunities and student choice in curriculum and approach to study. Employability is fostered through learning from direct experience and real-world contact with external partners and live project opportunities. Independent and critical thinking and an awareness of our social responsibility to consider the impact of our decision and actions is fundamental to the course’s principles.

The course is designed to provide an interdisciplinary path across programmes in BA Theatre and Performance and BA Film and Television Studies. Students are able to benefit
from subjects in both areas, exploring the languages of theatre and film through
practical and theoretical approaches. These include studio-based workshops in
theatre making, performance and film production, as well as classroom-based lectures and
seminars in theatre and film criticism, cultural theories and script writing.

The learning methods encouraged are experiential as well as analytical and conceptual and
are aimed at producing autonomous learners who are confident in the knowledge and
understanding they have developed. Additionally, learning approaches include experiences
with partnering companies in the professional industry. Modules are delivered with a
integrated learning focus, incorporating the use of theatre and filming facilities (including equipped theatre and filming spaces, editing suites), lecture and seminar spaces; they will also have access to School IT suites and a range of software that will support their personal and educational development.

The course seeks to provide and foster:

• learning through direct experience, connecting academic and creative studies;
• student choice in subject and style of learning;
• a culture of independent and critical thought, encouraging the challenging of received
ideas and practice;
• employability attributes, through live projects engaging with professional artists,
external partners, art institutions and art organisations that create a realistic
environment of professional expectations for art students, preparing them for
graduate-level employment;
• engagement across the School and University, providing opportunities for collaborative
project work during study;
• individualised learning and study support opportunities, that cater for different learning
styles;
• awareness of the duty of all to understand the impact of their decisions and actions as
artists and to strive to act responsibly.

Lectures provide and encourage a critically informed view of a topic, contextualizing the
subject and illustrating applied approaches. Lectures provide students with a managed
introduction to a theme, enabling them to continue with suggested or directed self-study.
Seminars enable students to debate and explore subjects, questions and assignments with
peers and tutors, encouraging an open and collaborative approach to shared learning.
Tutorials support individual learning, allowing for individual approaches to study, and catering for individual interests. Tutorials can be diagnostic or can support specific assignment or project-related questions and support differing student paths to achievement of learning outcomes.

Study trips offer opportunities for vital direct experience with theatre and film in-situ, and to
communicate with and learn from experts and specialists at theatre and film institutions and
organisations.

Live briefings and feedback are an important aspect of work-related learning, exposing
theatre and film students to experience of professional ways of working, of professional
expectations of standards, and of the most current professional practice.
Group critiques allow students to benefit from feedback on their own and others’ work, to
contribute to that feedback, and are a valuable part of the peer-to-peer learning that is a core aspect of University study.

Workshops offer students opportunities to engage in creative practice via making.
Opportunities will be available to students to undertake workshop and studio practice relevant to their assignments or collaborative projects. The objective is to apply knowledge and acquire technical competence, to think critically and creatively, to master technique and develop the capacity to work independently and within teams.

Blended learning uses the University’s virtual learning environment to support and reinforce
reflective learning, to monitor progress through assignments, to foster peer-to-peer
communication and collaborative research activity and to facilitate tutorial support for students and flexible approaches to learning.

Digital literacy is embedded in the curriculum via the use of the University's virtual learning
environment and in curriculum delivery and expectations of digital capabilities as appropriate to task set and the level of study. Students make use of digital platforms alongside traditional approaches to research, develop and communicate their projects.

The teaching team includes professional practitioners, performance makers, film
makers, writers and curators. Theatre and film sector links provide students with a clear
understanding of future employment opportunities.

Students will have open access to dedicated spaces and have supervised access to theatre, film and lighting technologies. They will also have access to School IT suites and
a wide range of software that will support their personal and educational development.
Festival Showcase takes place off site in a London venue. Connectivity within the University is essential to the degree. The course requires strong and consistent use of the Library and Learning Centre, which has a subject-specific librarian offering workshops and one-to-one assistance with printed and online academic material. The Learning Centre offers private study space as well as academic material. Other study and conversation spaces are available (location lectures, seminars and tutors’ offices), and students are expected to collaborate with each other regarding seminar topics, group or joint presentations, preparation of peer feedback, and networking (supported by subject staff) across undergraduate study years and disciplines.

Course aims

The BA Theatre and Film course aims are aligned with the qualification descriptors in the
Quality Assurance Agency’s Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.
The course aims (CA) are to:

CA1. promote interdisciplinary explorations in the areas of theatre and film, drawing on an
extensive range of subjects;

CA2. develop artistic competence and awareness through practice in interdisciplinary
work;

CA3. explore key skills in the practice of theatre and film making, including performing,
directing, writing, editing and producing;

CA4. explore such areas of performance as distinctive fields and as complementary languages, envisioning innovative approaches in combining the two;

CA5. reflect on historical and contemporary practices in theatre and film, their cultural
relevance and ideological implications;

CA6. develop transferable skills and knowledge that is applicable to broader cultural
industries;

CA7. develop communication and presentation skills useful for employment in broader
professional sectors.

CA8. develop your ability to lead workshops and work with individuals and
groups;

CA9. equip you with the necessary skills to become social and cultural
entrepreneurs, including such skills as producing, and marketing;

CA10. prepare you for possible postgraduate research in a number of related
areas

CA11. empower you to act as an agent for positive social change

Course learning outcomes

The following learning outcomes incorporate and depend on systematic understanding of key aspects of the knowledge base of theatre and film, including a coherent and detailed knowledge of some specialist areas.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

CLO1 devise and sustain arguments, and/ or to solve problems, using ideas and techniques embedded in theatre and film studies and practice (CA 2, 4);
CLO2 engage in and comment upon current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in theatre and film, recognising the uncertainty and subjectivity of knowledge (CA 2, 4);
CLO3 create artistic work with originality and technical competence (CA 2, 3, 4)

Cognitive Intellectual abilities

CLO4 communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences (CA 4, 5, 6);
Transferable Skills

CLO5 apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to initiate and carry out projects (CA1, 2, 3, 5);
CLO6 manage their own learning through practical, theoretical, group and independent projects (CA 1,2, 4, 7);
CLO7 understand how the communication and presentation skills developed over the course can be applicable to other employment sectors. (CA 1, 2, 4, 7)

Subject-Specific Practical Skills

CLO8 deploy appropriate and established techniques of creative and professional practice in theatre and film (CA1,2).

CLO9 devise and present new and innovative performance material (CA1, CA4, CA6)

CLO10 exhibit professionalism in rehearsals

CLO11 demonstrate fluency in industry specific language and terminology (CA2, CA10)

Principle QAA benchmark statements

https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/subject-benchmark-statements/subject-benchmark-statement-dance-drama-and-performance.pdf?sfvrsn=32e2cb81_5

Assessment strategy

The assessment strategy for the course has been designed holistically, to ensure fairness, accessibility and inclusivity as well as manageable timing, workloads and clarity of expectations for students, and to avoid duplication of assessment of learning outcomes. Wherever appropriate, students are engaged as partners in the design of their assessments.

The assessment regimes for the modules and tasks are designed together with the briefs, prior to the start of the year, considering student, external examiner, professional collaborator and colleague feedback from previous instances. The requirements of briefs and their components, the assessment criteria, grading scheme and descriptors are published and explained to students at the start of the year and are designed to be used as consistently as possible, to avoid unnecessary complication.

In every case, there is required formative assessment and feedback prior to summative assessment at set points. This is recorded so that it can be used by both students and staff to track further progress and engage support where it is required. Feedback follows good pedagogic practice in that it is constructed as ‘feed-forward’, with a focus on specific actions and strategies as to how to improve, not only on what requires improvement.

Students are informed of the procedures for first, second and parity marking, and external examiner scrutiny of the assessment process and marks, to ensure that they understand and have confidence in the probity of the process and security of the final marks. Additionally, the course engages in Subject and School parity exercises to ensure that assessment standards are consistent.

The BA (Hons) Theatre and Film employs a wide range of formative and summative
assessment strategies to give students the skills and knowledge to create and deliver
theatre-based cultural activity informed by political processes, social inclusion and
participation. Self-assessment and reflection are key factors in the process of learning and
are part of the course’s assessment strategies. This is supported through the integration of continuous assessment on several modules to enable students to receive ongoing feedback on their completion of the myriad of exercises and tasks that take place in workshop based teaching and form a significant portion of their learning.

Modes of assessment are integral to the teaching and learning process and vary accordingly.
Much of the assessment is based on practical presentations, performances, students'
reflections on their experience and knowledge of performance, either as practitioners, as
members of audiences or as participants in exercises.

Coursework includes formal essays, portfolios and journals, creative writing, critical and
creative activities, reviews, and assessed performances and oral presentations. These
different forms of coursework assessment will be used to test a range of knowledge and
understanding and take account of the suitability of assessment modes to a process and
practically oriented course. In each module the mode of assessment is determined by the
nature of the focus, whether practical, technical or theoretical, and based on the material
studied and the approaches adopted in the teaching.

Formative assessment, evaluated on a continuous basis, will include contribution to seminar and workshop, short exercises in class, presentations and essay plans. These will receive oral and written feedback during and between class sessions.

Summative assessments include academic essays, reflective logs/journals, set presentations,
group work, reviews, and portfolios of critical work.

Assessment strategies will take into account the student’s ability to work independently and
as part of a team.

Organised work experience, work based learning, sandwich year or year abroad

Work-based learning is embedded in the course through live projects, industry visits, visiting professional speakers and participation in public events.

Tutors and lecturers contributing to the course are practitioners who share their knowledge and experience with students throughout their course of study. The flexible practice-led model of delivery for the course means that evolving opportunities for work-related learning through collaboration with external companies, agencies, institutions, competitions and professionals are taken up as they arise.

Students’ understanding of professional standards and expectations builds as they progress from level to level. During their final year, students work towards completion of professional level projects that are presented at a recognized external venue and other public facing events.

Course specific regulations

ACADEMIC PROGRESSION

As a condition of progressing from level 4 to level 5 and from level 5 to level 6, students are
required to have gained 120 credits per level, that is, by achieving pass marks (40% or
above) in all modules in the preceding level of study.

COURSE COMPLETION

Level 6: to achieve an honours degree award on this course, students must have completed
and passed each level 6 module at 40% or above.

LEVEL 6 OPTIONS: Alternative Cores

Students at Level 6 will have the option to select between two thirty credit modules:
Independent Project (30 weeks), and Collaborative Project (15 weeks). Students will be
offered tutorial guidance on these options to highlight and ensure management of the
modules’ differing timetabling and delivery structures.

PART-TIME MODE OF STUDY

Part-time study is defined as 60 credits per year. Consequently, in part-time mode, the
duration of study for a 360-credit degree will be 6 years. The pattern of study in this instance
shall be as follows:

Year 1: SM4023 Objects, Image and Design, SM4010 Devising
Year 2: SJ4046 Moving Image and Sound Practice, SM4019 Performance, Art and Film Ideas 1
Year 3: SM5023 Combining Theatre and Film, SM5020 Performance, Art and Film Ideas Two
Year 4: SM5080 Choreography or SM5076 Dramaturgy (Autumn), SM5074 Directing 1 or SM5073 Workshop Leadership (Spring)
Year 5: SM6P14 Collaborative Project or SM6P12 Independent Project, SM6056
Directing 2 or SM6071 Installation and Live Art (Autumn), SM6061 Writing for Theatre &
Performance or SM6066 Producing (Spring).
Year 6: SM6015 Performance Research & Development, SM6P10 Festival Showcase
OR
Year 5: SM6015 Performance Research & Development, SM6P10 Festival Showcase
Year 6: SM6P14 Collaborative Project or SM6P12 Independent Project, SM6056
Directing 2 or SM6071 Installation and Live Art (Autumn), SM6061 Writing for Theatre &
Performance or SM6066 Producing (Spring).

Modules required for interim awards

Core modules are compulsory for students to qualify for an award of BA (Hons) Theatre and
Performance. There is no flexibility in choice or in the order in which core modules may be
taken beyond that described above. Students may select between optional modules according to their level of study but must complete a total of four of the offered 15 credit options in order to qualify for the BA (Hons). The part time route is prescribed (section 23).

Arrangements for promoting reflective learning and personal development

The course’s principle of guiding learning through a practice-led curriculum promotes ongoing reflection and personal development. This is supported by regular formative feedback on work in progress that enables students to understand their progress and find opportunities for multiple and individualised routes to successful outcomes. Most modules are year-long, with interim points of review, which ensures that students, together with their tutors, can devise study strategies appropriate to individual learning styles, while ensuring monitoring of engagement and progress.

The course’s engagement with external partners and employers ensures that personal development for career planning is effectively contextualised and suitable for the contemporary workplace.

Reflective learning and personal development planning is a key strategy in the course.
Throughout their study, students will be expected to engage with practice and theory based
material and activities and explore the relationship between them. Much of the work is project
based in which they will actively construct their learning processes by establishing conceptual
frameworks to then develop and continue into theatre performance and production with
guidance and support from tutors. In many modules, project logs and reports form part of the
assessment together with self- and peer-assessment. Students will be encouraged and
required through assessment to reflect critically on their own work and that of others through
presentation and group critique.

Students will be regularly engaged with industry professionals throughout their study and
expected to work in a manner consistent with industry standards.

The School’s studio system of curriculum delivery embeds reflective learning and personal
development planning throughout the course. Most summative assessment is at the end of modules, with several formative assessment points formally instituted over the course of the module’s duration. At these interim formative assessment and feedback points, students reflect on their progress to date with their peers and staff (with the benefit of feedback from professional partners), seek help where they identify the opportunity for improvement in learning strategies and outcomes, and make recommendations to themselves for future development. The feedback and student reflection are recorded and forms an action plan for the next period of study. This system is highly individualised, but also benefits from peer engagement in studio critiques. The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-related learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal development planning. Through these initiatives, students are increasingly able, as they progress from year to year, to understand the professional environment of their disciplines, the various opportunities available to them, and how to shape their learning according to their ambitions.

Consequently, students build bodies of work of the course of the program that include reflections on progress and achievement, and planning for future achievement
of their targets.

Career, employability and opportunities for continuing professional development

Work-related learning is embedded in the course both formally in modules SM6015
‘Performance Research & Development’ and SM6P10 ‘Festival Showcase’, and throughout
the course through live projects, industry visits, visiting speakers and public presentations of student work.

With support from the Careers and Employability Office, students progress through study
culminating in level 6, learning to present themselves and their work online and externally,
developing and refining CVs, undertaking employment research, becoming aware of
employment or external project opportunities, making approaches and applications,
undertaking relevant practical work, applying for funding to various agencies, obtaining feedback or appraisal and critically reflecting on the experience and learning. Work-related learning is a core element in the course with at least 70 hours working on live projects for external presentation. Students will, for instance, experience a competitive recruitment process / pitch for opportunities and they will be required to reflect on their experience of the project and undertake forward career action planning. The course has core modules with integrated work-related learning, enabling the student to undertake activites that simulate workplace environments.

All current tutors and lecturers on the course are practitioners and share their
knowledge and experience with students throughout their course of study. The project and
workshop delivery of the course means that opportunities for work related learning through
collaboration with external companies, agencies, institutions, competitions and professionals
can be taken up as they arise, if appropriate to the programme of study.
Projects function as simulations of professional workplaces, with expectations of professional
standards, conduct and delivery building as the students progress from level to level. During
their final year, students are expected to work towards completion of several projects for public presentation.

Students can also benefit from support and guidance from the University’s business incubator unit, ‘Accelerator’.

Career opportunities

This course focuses on producing versatile theatre and film professionals. Our graduates have been successful in the following areas: performing, writing, directing, producing, forming production companies, broadcasting, working on education and outreach programmes, and working in the broader cultural industries. Graduates have also continued with postgraduate study in the arts and culture.

Entry requirements

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

  • a minimum grade C in three A levels or minimum grades BC in at least two A levels (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC National, OCR Diploma or Advanced Diploma)
  • English Language GCSE at grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent)
  • a portfolio review

You will be required to attend an interview workshop as part of your application process. Skype interviews can be arranged if you live outside of the UK.

If you are a mature students with previous relevant experience you are also encouraged to apply.

If you don't have traditional qualifications or can't meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing our Film and Television Production (including foundation year) BA (Hons).

Official use and codes

Approved to run from 2016/17 Specification version 1 Specification status Validated
Original validation date 08 Apr 2016 Last validation date 08 Apr 2016  
Sources of funding HE FUNDING COUNCIL FOR ENGLAND
JACS codes W400 (Drama): 50% , P303 (Film Studies): 50%
Route code THEFLM

Course Structure

Stage 1 Level 04 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
SJ4046 Moving Image and Sound Practice Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR FRI PM
          NORTH AUT+SPR FRI AM
SM4010 Devising Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR MON PM
          NORTH AUT+SPR MON AM
SM4019 Performance, Art and Film Ideas 1 Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR WED PM
SM4021 Comparing Theatre and Film Core 30        

Stage 2 Level 05 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
SJ5042 Film and Television Practice Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR MON AM
SM5020 Performance, Art and Film Ideas 2 Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR WED AM
SM5023 Combining Theatre and Film Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR FRI AM
SM5073 Workshop Leadership Option 15 NORTH SPR WED PM
SM5074 Directing 1 Option 15 NORTH SPR WED PM
SM5075 Choreographing Performance Option 15        
SM5076 Dramaturgy Option 15 NORTH AUT TUE AM

Stage 3 Level 06 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
SM6015 Performance Research and Development Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR MON AM
          NORTH AUT+SPR MON PM
SM6P10 Festival Showcase Core 30 NORTH SPR WED PM
          NORTH SPR WED AM
SM6056 Directing 2 Alt Core 15 NORTH AUT TUE AM
SM6061 Writing for Theatre and Performance Alt Core 15 NORTH SPR TUE PM
SM6066 Producing Alt Core 15 NORTH SPR TUE PM
SM6071 Installation and Live Art Alt Core 15 CITY AUT TUE AM
SM6P12 Independent Project Alt Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR NA  
SM6P14 Collaborative Project Alt Core 30 CITY AUT WED PM
          CITY AUT WED AM