Education / Drama and Theatre

Education and drama and theatre is a combination that connects two disciplines which share a fundamental concern with how people learn, communicate, and make meaning. Education as a field draws on psychology, sociology, philosophy, and history to ask what education is for, how learning happens, and what conditions support it. Drama and theatre bring a different set of tools: the study of texts written for performance, practical experience of theatre-making, and the critical vocabulary to analyse how theatre communicates with its audiences and what it reveals about human experience.

Together the two disciplines develop both reflective analytical thinking and creative, practical capability.

At Aberystwyth University, this three-year full-time Joint Honours programme develops your critical faculties through engagement with literary and dramatic texts, gives you practical experience in theatre-making, and builds a reflective and evidence-based understanding of learning and education. You will study educational theory and practice alongside drama history, text analysis, and performance work, developing the ability to move between the theoretical and the practical in both subjects. The programme also prepares you for progression to postgraduate teacher training, with graduates eligible to apply for a PGCE in primary or secondary education on completion of the degree.

You will develop skills in critical analysis, creative performance and devising, educational research, and reflective professional thinking. The combination of analytical and creative capacities is valued in both educational and artistic contexts.

Graduates from education and drama programmes pursue careers in teaching, theatre education, drama facilitation, arts education, community arts, youth work, and a range of roles in the cultural sector. Many proceed to PGCE programmes in English, drama, or primary education. Postgraduate study in education, drama therapy, applied theatre, or drama and theatre studies is also a natural route for those who wish to specialise.