Course Overview

This course will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a program that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills in order to support your academic performance.

This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your Year Zero, you study three academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module, with the additional English language for non-English speakers.

You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community-based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK.

After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with our Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies.

Are you impatient to have it all? No need to choose between subject areas, your degree is balanced equally between the disciplines of Drama and Creative Writing but there will be many modules where the two disciplines come together, for example in modules such as Writing For Radio and Writing for Theatre.

On the Drama side, you will have the opportunity to study many aspects of theatre from classic to contemporary texts, and to explore themes in drama such as gender, identity, tragedy, human rights, immersive theatre, devising, and playwriting. You will gain skills in technical theatre, design, and stage management, and will be assessed in a range of ways from essay writing, to performance, devised work, solo projects, and group work.

In Creative Writing, you explore the urge to create and build new worlds, to share language and stories with others. In our course, you work on the craft of writing through a multi-genre approach, through and across a variety of writings from fiction and poetry, to non-fiction, psychogeography, performance writing, and beyond. At Essex we offer an unusual approach to the practice of writing, combining innovative and traditional methods in order to develop your writing skills and abilities to judge your work critically while expanding your knowledge across different modes and genres. In the Centre for Creative Writing, we encourage a culture of experiment and creativity, enabling you to feel part of a community of writers. In addition, you will gain transferable skills in research, essay-planning, and writing, and you will be offered career guidance and training.

General Eligibility

UK and EU applicants:

All applications for degree courses with a foundation year (Year Zero) will be considered individually, whether you

think you might not have the grades to enter the first year of a degree course;

have non-traditional qualifications or experience (e.g. you haven’t studied A-levels or a BTEC);

are returning to university after some time away from education; or

are looking for more support during the transition into university study.

Standard offer:

Our standard offer is 72 UCAS tariff points from at least two full A-levels or equivalent.

Examples of the above tariff may include:

A-levels: DDD

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma: MMP

T-levels: Pass with an E in core

International & EU entry requirements

We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.

Part Time Work Details

20 hours per week.

Language Requirement

• If you do not require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK then we will assess your English language proficiency/ability at your interview or audition.

  If your first language is not English and you are an international student that requires a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK then you will need IELTS 6.0 overall, with 5.5 in each component.