What unis do well regarded English Lit with Drama degrees?

[wildfellhall]

Interested to know what perceptions are.

I've just looked at Royal Holloway which looks impressive.

Warwick

Thanks

Bristol?

My friend's daughter went to Exeter and did well. Now works for RSC

I agree with Warwick & Bristol
also York, Durham (possibly no drama but definitely Lit).
Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds
as well as
Lancaster
UEA

Thanks for this advice

Warwick is English and Theatre Studies. Durham I think is just English. Lancaster do Theatre and English and so do Bristol. Exeter do English and Drama and so does Birmingham. Leeds offers English, Theatre and Performance and Liverpool does English and Drama studies. All according to CUG. I could not see drama at Sheffield but a deeper delve into their web site might turn up options.

Dd (Eng lit not drama) loved Warwick and Brum if they are the right sort of level @wildfellhall ?

She ended up at Leicester which we really rated but no idea if it offers drama as well. Drama modules in Eng lit tho.

Have a look at Manchester. OP - feel free to pm me.

Manchester uni or Man Met , Royal Holloway , Bristol Uni which also has an incredible extra curricular Drama society. It depends what the end result is .

Ah scrap my Leicester idea, looks as tho the closest it comes is film studies and Eng lit. Not the same!

I came on to say Royal Holloway.

As a bonus, it qualifies for London student loans.

@wildfellhall Be sure you like the location of Royal Holloway. It’s Esher. It’s not really London and is a bit marmite as it can feel quiet at weekends. If DD actually wants to see drama productions she would need to travel into London, which is, of course perfectly possible. Other unis have theatres on the doorstep so to speak. It really depends on what the job aspirations are too.

Queen Mary could be worth a look - bit more ‘proper London’ than Royal Holloway

@wildfellhall Also well regarded by whom? Acting schools? Theatre companies? The BBC? Banks? The Civil Service? Legal employers? Other university lecturers? Different employers might have different views on a well regarded course/university and probably will test skills anyway. Will the employer care about the minutae of the course and who thinks it’s great?

It's in Egham.

Bristol. Great for both. Also a very artsy kind of city, there's exhibitions/gigs/plays etc every night of the week

Manchester

Thank you, I am interested in hearing just these sorts of responses. Some places might be more academic and some more practical of course and that the location feels right is key as well.

I heard a comment recently that Drama A level is less respected than other more traditional arts A levels which does and doesn't surprise me!

When Gary Oldman became famous, his alma mata, Rose Bruford college went from semi-obscure to one of the most sought places for auditioning applicants. It is similar for universities. Sarah Kane was an undergraduate at Bristol (we were friends) and when her plays became famous everyone wanted to attend and go on to the MA in playwriting at Birmingham with the then, David Edgar.

This is all widely known stuff in the theatre world, if your scope of reference is "banks" and "the civil service" you're in the wrong place.

Warwick is highly regarded on the academic front but also has strong practical teaching and a vibrant student drama community, as well as an excellent arts centre for extracurricular theatre events.

TizerorFizz

I'm just starting to look into it so I'm interested in which are the courses which students want to get onto or which have earned respect among people who know. Anecdotal recommendations are of value to me. A friend's daughter studied at York and spoke very highly of the uni and the town. Another colleague adored studying at York. I'm just interested to see what people say.

Not so much employers who have many ways of sifting applicants I'm sure.

Do look at the drama schools too as they do some very cool courses - Rose Bruford for example has American theatre arts with a year abroad. My impression is more contact hours and actually surrounded by drama students so might be better than some English courses?

Exeter tends to top the league tables most years.

One thing you need to ask is how practical work (like acting and directing) are treated for Combined English and Drama. Some places treat the combined students quite differently from the Single Hons Drama or Theatre Studies students.

If you’re DC is in the ball park for Royal Holloway, your DC should also look at
Exeter
Glasgow
Queen Mary, London
York
Birmingham

I’d be very wary of post-92 universities promising “professional actor training.” I don’t normally think many degrees are not worth it, but those degrees are not worth it.

Agree. If your student wants to act or write plays, look at drama schools. Or do a degree at York, Leeds etc and then look at the MA courses at Bristol old Vic, Central etc