Film & Television Studies/Drama & Theatre Studies

Film and Television Studies combined with Drama and Theatre Studies brings together two disciplines devoted to understanding performance: one primarily concerned with live performance in the theatre space, the other with performance mediated through the camera. The relationship between them is closer than it might appear. Theatre and film share a history of mutual influence: cinematic technique was shaped by theatrical convention and then broke from it to develop its own grammar of editing, camera movement, and visual storytelling, while contemporary theatre has absorbed the conventions of screen media in complex ways.

Studying both gives you a comparative understanding of how different performance forms work and what distinguishes them from each other.

At Aberystwyth University, this three-year full-time programme develops critical, analytical, and practical skills across both subjects. In Film and Television Studies you will engage with the history of cinema and television, critical approaches to screen texts, and the industrial and cultural contexts of screen production. In Drama and Theatre Studies you will explore performance theory, theatre history, the work of major directors and practitioners, and the analysis and production of live performance.

The programme develops your ability to analyse texts and performances from multiple critical perspectives and to situate your analysis within the broader contexts of culture, politics, and history.

Aberystwyth has a strong tradition in both film and theatre studies, and the Welsh cultural context adds a distinctive dimension to the study of media and performance in a smaller national setting with its own broadcasting institutions and theatre culture.

Graduates pursue careers in theatre, film and television production, directing and dramaturgy, arts journalism and criticism, cultural policy, education, and arts administration. Many go on to postgraduate study in film, theatre, or performance studies. The combination of screen and stage literacy is valued across the creative sector.