Drama and English

Drama and English is a combination that explores the making and meaning of language in two of its most powerful forms: performance and literary text. Drama studies theatre and performance as practices that create live experience, examining how plays and other performance forms work as art, as social ritual, and as cultural expression across different historical periods and traditions. English literary studies develops close reading, critical thinking, and the ability to interpret texts within their historical, social, and political contexts.

Together, the two disciplines train an unusually attentive and flexible way of engaging with language, story, and culture.

At Queen's University Belfast, this three-year full-time degree explores theatre, performance, literature, and language in the widest possible sense. The range is genuinely broad: from ancient Greece and Renaissance England through the Irish Literary Revival to postmodern American writing, and from the earliest texts in Anglo-Saxon through to contemporary Irish, British, and global literature. Language modules explore the history, structure, and function of English, its daily uses in speech and media, and the major historical forces that have shaped its development as a global language.

Dramatic study examines theatrical traditions across cultures and periods, engaging with both the theory and practice of performance. Creative writing opportunities allow students on that pathway to develop their own work in prose fiction, poetry, and scriptwriting, building a portfolio of creative practice alongside critical study.

Graduates of drama and English enter careers across a wide range of fields. Many work in theatre, arts education, community performance, and the creative industries, while others move into publishing, journalism, broadcasting, education, cultural heritage, and the public sector. The skills the degree develops, including analytical thinking, careful reading of complex texts, and clear and persuasive communication, are valued across many professional contexts well beyond the arts.

Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in drama, English literature, creative writing, performance studies, or education, building specialist expertise for academic or advanced professional careers.