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On this course you will:

• have the unique opportunity to study two increasingly interrelated disciplines in depth and in tandem, developing your knowledge of theatre, film and everything in-between, to prepare yourself for an exciting career in an evolving field;
• learn about the histories of theatre and cinema, and examine the key critical, cultural and political debates that shape them;
• discover the practicalities of theatre and film making, from scriptwriting to production, across genres and forms; and
• take advantage of industry-focused learning, exploring the economics and management of the creative industries, with insight into funding, freelancing and creative entrepreneurship.

Structure

All students enrol onto the honours degree, but you can choose to exit with an ordinary degree after three years.

Teaching, learning and assessment

You learn through lectures, seminars, practical workshops, individual work and group work, where you will be producing a range of performance events and production material.

You will learn from experts in the theories and practices of theatre and film, drawing on staff's extensive academic and industry experience. In addition, you will have the opportunity to attend panels, Q&As and workshops led by industry professionals such as directors, writers, producers.

Assessment methods include portfolios, presentations, essays, short films, performances, screenwriting and playwriting, amongst others.

Facilities

Our industry standard facilities include Performance Studios with full technical capabilities, Rehearsal Spaces, a Film Editing Suite, and a TV Studio with green screen technology. In addition, equipment including cameras, sound recording equipment, laptops, virtual reality headsets are available upon request.

QMU students have access to the QMU Start Up Studio, our incubator which is home to over 40 start-ups in theatre and film production, healthcare, and food and drink. More than half are founded or co-founded by women. Many of them are award winners.

Together, these facilities enable students to gain hands-on and industry-focused experience.

Placement (industry-based learning)

You will not go on a compulsory placement, but frequent work-based learning opportunities will help you apply your studies in real-world scenarios.

The Year Three module ‘Working in the Film and Creative Industries’ will prepare you for the realities of working in the industry, whilst electives such as ‘Experiential Learning Placement’ will allow you to organize and undertake a work placement.

Our students often take advantage of Edinburgh's vibrant cultural life, making films, putting on performances or participating in film festivals and competitions.

Exchange opportunities

Studying abroad through our exchange programme can be one of the most exciting and rewarding challenges for a student to experience. The opportunity to travel and live in another country, learn different customs and traditions, meet new people and future career opportunities draws many students into the exchange programme. In Year Three you have the opportunity (subject to availability) to study for one semester at a university overseas. Please visit the Exchanges and Study Abroad pages for more information.

Teaching staff, class sizes and timetables

You will learn from experts in the theories and practices of theatre and film, drawing on staff's extensive academic and industry experience.

You can read more about the teaching staff on this course at the bottom of this page. Please note that teaching staff is subject to change.

For more information, please also visit ‘How we teach and how you’ll learn’.

Year One

You will:

• gain a broad understanding of how theatre and film work as forms and as creative industries; and
• start your theatre and film making journey.

Modules

• Film Histories: This module looks at the development of film as an art form through some of its key moments and movements. We look at different film cultures from all over the world, and what contributions they have made to our understanding of cinema.
• Introduction to Theatre Production: This module offers an introduction to theatre production, focusing on the essential skills and workflows of the field. You will explore production processes from concept to execution and will learn about the broad range of roles and skills necessary to the creation of theatrical production (including arts and project management, risk assessment and marketing). A key aspect is learning how production crafts and technologies create unique theatrical languages, empowering you to unlock your creative potential on stage. 
• Creative Practice: Visual Storytelling: This module introduces you to the foundational principles of still and moving image creation essential for storytelling. Through a series of guided exercises, you will develop your technical skills in film and photography while critically reflecting on your learning experience. The curriculum focuses on the basic principles of visual communication by exploring areas such as framing, composition, lighting, blocking, and camera movement. By understanding and applying these concepts, you will learn how to craft compelling visual narratives. The hands-on experience this modules provides will ensure that you will be empowered to create impactful and effective visual stories, enhancing your overall storytelling abilities.
• The Origins of Theatre
• Analysing Texts and Performance: In this module, you will examine how we read both performances and texts. It focuses on practical criticism of texts and their applied use in theatre contexts. The module will also offer enhanced work on performance evaluation and makes use of applied practical criticisms as a way of illuminating understanding of performance practices. The module focuses on core skills required to analyse a text and a performance in depth. It will equip you with the language and conceptual knowledge to discuss the deeper symbolic meanings carried within texts and performances.
• Creative Practice: Fiction Filmmaking: This module will explore the different ways of creating a short fiction film. It will provide an opportunity through group workshop tuition sessions for you to become familiar with the fundamentals of film production, culminating in the group creation of a short film of up to three minutes long.

Year Two

You will: 

• dive deep into the histories and theories of theatre and film; and
• continue your theatre and film-making journey by exploring documentary making and use of new technologies in your practice.

Modules

• Film Genre: Film Genre is a level 2 module which examines genre as a key method of film research, scholarship and analysis, as well as one of the primary ways cinema is defined and understood by film industries and audiences. The module looks at different methods and theories for studying film genres, as well as a number of the founding and enduring genres in film cultures across the world.
• Transformations in UK Theatre: This module offers a comprehensive and dynamic exploration of theatre in the United Kingdom, focusing on pivotal movements and changes across different eras, with a substantial emphasis on developments that happened throughout the 20th century. The module covers a range of relevant historical contexts, social movements, and developments in theatrical technique and form. 
• Creative Practice: Researching Documentary: This module will introduce you to the history of theory and practice of documentary as a form of filmmaking. The non-fiction film has inspired and disrupted various film movements throughout history, and you are introduced to trends and tendencies in documentary studies and documentary film. By watching, reading about and discussing diverse types of documentaries from around the world, you will develop knowledge about the form of filmmaking that will inspire your practical skills in the making of a documentary. You will also receive instruction on equipment and facilities to be used for the development of your own documentary project, and the ways in which to present their proposed film in a short pitch to industry professionals (funders, commissioning editors).
• Creative Writing and New Technologies: This module covers a range of interdisciplinary approaches to creative writing, which will be deployed in the production of a digital performance or short film.  
  You will develop writing practices applicable to several digital media and digital technologies. Classes will cover topics such as worldbuilding for video games, co-writing dialogue with artificial intelligence, creating character for films, or multimedia storytelling. In the second part of the module, you will be introduced to digital production techniques (such as filming and video editing) and will be tasked with writing and producing your own digital performance or short film. 
  20th and 21st Century Scottish Theatre:  This module introduces you to current scholarly research and debates on the subject of the position of Scottish theatre in national and international contexts in the 20th and 21st centuries. It also provides a historical, theoretical and dramaturgical overview of Scottish theatre from amateur movement, through professional repertory theatres to contemporary performativity of gender and sexuality, political and national identity, and postcolonial discourses in Scottish theatre. 
• Creative Practice: Documentary Filmmaking: This module will explore the different ways of creating a short non-fiction film. It will provide an opportunity through group workshop tuition sessions for students to become familiar with the fundamentals of factual film production. It culminates with the group creation of a short documentary film of up to 3 minutes in length. 

Year Three

You will: 

• explore the most recent debates and ideas in global film and theatre making;
• get insight into the intricacies of working in the creative industries;
• tailor your own learning journey by choosing from a vast list of optional modules designed to respond to your career ambitions and pathways. These include modules in scriptwriting, playwriting, directing, photography, socially-applied art, creative business, feminist film and media, radio, theatre and film production, and more; and
• have the opportunity (subject to availability) to study for one semester at a university overseas. For more information, visit Exchanges and Study Abroad.

Modules

• Working in the Film and Creative Industries
• Current Debates in Performance Theory: This module engages with cutting-edge research and theoretical discussions in theatre and performance studies. It introduces you to the major questions driving contemporary performance research, alongside the academics and projects exploring these areas. While the module places a strong emphasis on theoretical discourse, it also highlights diverse research methodologies used in the field. You will learn about various practical and creative methods, enabling them to contribute their own insights to ongoing debates. This approach ensures a comprehensive understanding of both the theoretical and methodological aspects of performance studies.
• Designing Research Projects
• Global Film Cultures: The module addresses film as a global phenomenon whose development has been influenced by a variety of different global film cultures and specific social, cultural and political discourses. It aims to broaden students’ understanding of film in the world, to focus on the transnational networks of production, distribution and exhibition that link global film industries, as well as how cinema offers a space to reflect upon local, national, transnational and global histories.
• Plus 2 elective modules

Year Four

You will:

• look at the unique relationship between theatre and film in a core module on Adaptation: Stage and Screen; 
• tailor your own learning journey by choosing from a vast list of optional modules designed to respond to your career ambitions and pathways. These include modules in scriptwriting, playwriting, directing, photography, socially-applied art, creative business, feminist film and media, radio, theatre and film production, and more; and
• create your dissertation project: this can be a practical project (ie a film, a documentary, a script, a performance), or it can be theoretical project (a dissertation essay).

Modules

• Adaption: Stage and Screen
• Dissertation Project
• Plus 3 elective modules

Year Three and Four options (electives):

In Years Three and Four you will have the option to choose from a vast range of elective modules, allowing you to pursue your interests, develop an area of specialisation and work towards your own career goals. You will have a choice of five elective modules in total, from the following:

• Photography and Visual Culture
• Film and the Family
• Experiential Learning Placement
• World Animation
• Film and Feminism
• The Only Way is Ethics: Art, Participation and Ethics
• Communication, Arts and Activism
• Short Filmmaking
• Digital Cultura and Society
• Screenwriting
• Filmmaking: Pre-Production
• Playwriting
• Drama in Education
• Staging the 20th Century
• Digital Performance for Social Change
• Working in Performance Archives
• Film Festivals
• Now That’s What I Call the 90s
• Food in Film and Media
• Women, Film and Media
• Popular Music
• Radio and Audio Media
• Photography Practice
• The Video Essay
• Eastern Philosophies and Popular Culture
• The Business of Creativity
• Student Initiated Module
• Advanced Theatre Production
• Writing for Aural Media
• Creative Learning and the Community
• Directing, Designing and Performing Contemporary Plays
• Directing, Designing and Performing Shakespeare
• Arts Funding in Its Policy Context

NB The modules listed here are correct at time of posting (Feb 2025) but may differ slightly to those offered in 2025. Please check back here for any updates.

This course will arm you with the knowledge and specialist skills to embark on a host of exciting careers. Our graduates have used the course as a springboard to careers in theatre, film, teaching, postgraduate study and professions demanding communication and creativity. Example careers include TV, film and theatre production, freelance video production, festival curation, scriptwriting, running your own theatre production company, assistant director and director, drama teacher, administrative work in creative industries, content creator, social media and marketing, and more.

Entry requirements

Scottish Higher: Standard - AABB, Minimum - BBBB

A Level: BBB

Irish Leaving Certificate: H2 H3 H3 H3 H3

International Baccalaureate: 30 points

International: IELTS of 6.0 with no element lower than 5.5.

Required subjects: English, Drama or Media Studies preferred at Scottish Higher/A Level. English required and Maths preferred at Nat 5/GCSE at grades C/4 or above. We can also accept National 5 Application of Maths or Lifeskills at the same grade.

Am I a Widening Access student?: We apply the minimum entry criteria to applicants who meet one or more contextual factor. To see if this would apply to you, please refer to the access and application page.

Mature/Access: We welcome applications from mature students with other relevant qualifications and/or experience. Visit our College Leavers and Mature Students Advice page for more information. 

Direct Entry: Not typically available

Other requirements

A satisfactory criminal records check from the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme will be required if you select the optional module Drama in Education later in your studies.

Disability/health conditions

If you have a disability, long-term physical or mental health condition, or learning disability, it should not stand in the way of your studying at QMU. However, if you are not sure whether your disability might be a barrier in your studies or in relation to the professional standards, please contact the disability service who will be able to have a conversation with you about reasonable adjustments and supports available to you.

Fee information

Fees: Please follow the link in the 'Course Overview' box for information on fees for 2026 entry.

Special note on RUK and ROI fees: Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, who are subject to Rest of UK fees will be charged for the first three years of study only. The fourth year is free. 

Other costs:

• The cost of the PVG check is the responsibility of the student. 
• The additional costs associated with placement travel and accommodation are the responsibility of the student. Students who receive SAAS funding may be able to claim for some of these expenses to be reimbursed.

For more information on this, visit the UG 2026 fees page on our website.

Application information

How to apply: Application for this course should be made through . More application information is available in the 'Start your Application' box at the top right of this page.

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• The delivery of this course is subject to the terms and conditions set out in our 2026/27 Entry Terms and Conditions (Undergraduate).
• This course is due for routine re-validation in 2025 and we hope for the course content to be as described on this page. Any further necessary updates will be made to this page once the re-validation process is complete. Please check back here for updates.