Drama and Creative Writing
Drama and creative writing is a combination that asks you to engage with storytelling from two complementary angles: the making and critical study of live performance on one hand, and the craft of written narrative, poetry and dramatic text on the other. Drama encompasses the history of theatre, performance theory, directing, devising and the practice of staging work for an audience. Creative writing develops your ability to construct and shape language, voice and form across a range of genres, from playwriting and poetry to prose fiction.
Together they give you a richer understanding of how stories are made and why they matter.
At Royal Holloway you will study this three-year full-time programme, which includes a sandwich year with work placement opportunities and a year abroad. The combination of these structural features gives you both sustained professional experience and international exposure alongside your academic studies, making this a particularly well-rounded programme for those who want to work in the creative and performing arts. You will have the opportunity to specialise as a playwright, or to develop your creative writing in poetry or fiction, while also building your analytical and practical understanding of theatre performance.
Royal Holloway's location in Surrey, with excellent connections to London's theatre scene, provides a rich professional context. The typical entry tariff is around 136 UCAS points.
Graduates of this combination pursue careers across the full range of creative and cultural work. Theatre-making, playwriting, dramaturgy, arts administration, teaching, community arts and literary publishing are all paths that draw directly on what the degree develops. The creative writing element also opens doors in fiction and poetry publishing, literary journalism and editorial roles, while the drama component is valued in education, broadcasting and live events.
Postgraduate study in creative writing, drama, theatre studies or arts management is a natural progression for those who wish to specialise or pursue research.