Drama BA(Hons): After you graduate

This degree will be of value in the culture and communication industries, and provides a range of skills appropriate to other areas. Many students progress to careers in the performing arts, including performing, directing, arts journalism, arts administration and teaching.

The course produces graduates with well-developed analytical, communication, performance, research and teamworking skills, which are highly valued by employers. Drama-related skills are increasingly recognised as an essential part of training, from customer relations and PR, to high-level problem-solving and senior-management training courses. The course also offers a firm foundation for specific training in the theatre arts or other postgraduate study.

Aspiring theatre-makers

Some of our students have achieved international success soon after graduating. Ben Barnes, who plays Prince Caspian in the Chronicles of Narnia is our most famous alumnus.

Meanwhile, Simon Jenkins is on his way to fame as a stand-up and other students set up their own companies – such as Tin Horse and Urban Theory Films – often in collaboration with former classmates.

More usually, graduates wanting to enter the highly competitive theatre or film/TV industry go on to do further vocational training first. Our graduates have been offered places to study subjects such as acting, directing, advanced theatre-making and playwriting at prestigious institutions such as the Drama Centre, Drama Studio, Guildford School of Acting, the Central School of Speech and Drama and the Royal Court Young Writers Programme.

Drama teachers and scholars

The popularity of drama as a subject is growing dramatically and this is creating a demand for educators at all levels from pre-school to university. The course's attention to theory and history, as well as the opportunities it provides for practice, means that it is perfect preparation for a masters degree or teacher-training, though some students have managed to find work as drama educators without further training.

This course is also great preparation for specialist training for careers in therapeutic and applied drama (for example dramatherapy), especially if taken in combination with relevant subjects.

Other industries

Your degree will develop all the standard graduate skills of research, analysis, writing, reasoning and ICT. However, in addition to this, drama graduates develop a unique set of skills in team-building, communication and inter-personal skills, problem-solving, emotional intelligence and creativity.

This fact is increasingly recognised in industries such as the cultural and arts development, the communication industries, advertising, and customer and public relations. Several Kingston drama graduates are also currently working in major theatres such as the National Theatre, the Bush theatre and at the Rose Theatre, Kingston.

Types of Jobs

• actor
• teacher
• fashion PR
• marketing
• personal assistant

Employers

• Karoa
• The Hoxton Pony
• Odeon
• Chapter One
• Disneyland Paris
• Chaplins