Creative Writing and Drama and Theatre Studies

Creative Writing and Drama and Theatre Studies is a combination that brings together two practices each concerned with the craft of storytelling, the exercise of imagination, and the power of performance to move and transform audiences. Creative writing develops your ability to shape language into poetry, fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, and other literary forms, working across genres and voices to find and strengthen your own. Drama and theatre studies explores the history and theory of performance, the craft of playwriting and staging, and the ways in which theatre has functioned as a social, political, and artistic force across cultures and centuries.

At Aberystwyth University, this three-year full-time programme takes a cross-disciplinary approach that reflects the genuine connections between writing and performance: so much of what makes a play or a piece of creative writing powerful has to do with how it performs, how it lives on the page or the stage in relation to its audience. You will develop your voice and your craft as a writer while also engaging with the world of drama and theatre as a scholar and practitioner. The programme introduces you to an ever-expanding creative industry and provides a promising start in fields where both writing and performance skills are valued.

Graduates go on to careers in theatre, film and television production, publishing, journalism, arts education, community arts, creative writing teaching, dramaturgy, and the wider creative industries. The combination of writing skills and theatrical knowledge also prepares you for roles in arts management, cultural policy, and public relations, where the ability to communicate compellingly is central. Many graduates also pursue postgraduate study in creative writing, drama, screenwriting, or literature to develop their practice or move into academic or specialist professional roles.