The cost of undergraduate training is expensive at up to £9,250 per year, along with the added cost of living, leaving many people owing up to £50,000 in student loans. So, choosing the right institute and course for you is important. So university or drama school? Here are some comparisons between the two to help with your decision.
Applying for a university is usually done through UCAS and you will need a certain set of grades to gain a place on your chosen course. Some universities will interview candidates, but most will select based on your grades and personal statement.
Applying for a drama school is different depending on the school; it may be through direct application, UCAS Conservatoires or the main UCAS scheme. Drama schools will likely hold auditions or interviews and focus more on talent and potential than grades. Acting courses at drama schools are the most difficult courses to get into as they can attract thousands of applications for a relatively small number of places.
Universities allow students to take care of their own time management, with a few lectures/classes a week along with research and writing expected to be done in your own time. There is also little to no consequence if you do not attend the contact hours as you are responsible for your own time keeping. This is great experience for self-discipline and time management.
A drama school will have a much more intensive time structure where you will spend most of your time in classes 9am - 5pm, if not longer. The contact hours set are compulsory and there is likely to be severe consequences for missing or being late for a class.
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Universities will tend to offer more of a broad course that will teach a range of skills such as Theatre Arts. This will give students a good insight into different areas within the theatre that you can work in. However, due to it being so broad you won’t receive the same level of detail and teaching as if you were to study only one field. However, there are a small handful of universities who do offer more specific courses.
A drama school will give in-depth and intensive training into a specific area. You will not be taught on the details of the other roles within theatre and only focus heavily on your particular field of study. Due to the small class sizes you will tend to have more one-on-one time with your tutors compared to at a university.
Universities often offer the chance at the end of the course for a public performance where students have a chance to showcase their talent whether on stage or offstage. However the attendance by industry professionals can be quite low at most universities. Personal invitations by a student to professionals can help boost the attendance.
Top drama schools attract a lot of industry professionals to their showcases. Many will actively look out for when the showcases are in order to go along, rather than needing to be persuaded by a personal invitation.
There are more and more opportunities at drama school to train in a postgraduate degree. Therefore, one option is to study a non-theatre related undergraduate degree at university and then go on to train in a postgraduate degree at a drama school. However, there are fewer funding opportunities and financial support for a second degree, so this option may not be readily available for everyone.
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Due to the range of subjects studied at universities you are more likely to come across and/or live with people who are studying different courses to you. You also may have the opportunity to work outside your contact hours and join societies and clubs that don’t necessarily have a link to your course which can offer a wealth of experience. You are more likely to be more independent at university, which can be seen as a good way to set you up for life after studying.
At drama school, due to the specialist studies at the institute, you will only come across and/or live with people who also study at your school. This can be helpful as they will understand your day-to-day life and you will be going through a similar experience, however it can also be seen as a ‘bubble’, which is unlike life outside of drama school.
Take a look at what past students have gone on to do after graduating from a particular university or drama school and see what their progression has been within the industry. It can help give you an idea of how well equipped the course makes you for life after training. Do their careers match the kind that you aspire to?
There are many ways for an institution and a course to be accredited for both universities and drama schools. Take a look at our blog on accreditation here.
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https://www.thestage.co.uk/advice/2017/university-vs-drama-school-right/
https://www.thestage.co.uk/advice/2017/how-university-theatre-courses-differ-from-drama-schools/
https://actinginlondon.co.uk/drama-school-vs-university-for-acting/
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/jul/15/highereducation.uk1
https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2007/competition-fiercer-for-drama-schools-than-for-oxbridge/
Published: 04 March 2019
Updated: Sept 24
There are plenty of drama schools and theatre training courses to choose from, some accredited and some non-accredited, but it can be hard to know which one is right for you, which course to apply for, or what it means when a school is accredited. This blog will delve into what accreditation actually means and look at the pros and cons, so that you can make an informed decision about what is best for you.
There are four principal awarding bodies that offer accreditation and quality assurance of an organisation as a whole:
These awarding bodies offer validation for a specific course within an organisation:
Some schools are part of membership organisations, alliances or groups:
These schools are not accredited or validated by the member organisation, but they have grouped together to agree on certain values and to share best teaching methods. These include:
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Accreditation sets the standard for high quality training of an institution as a whole. It looks at the general standard of training across the whole organisation rather than specific courses.
The Council for Dance, Drama & Musical Theatre – known as CDMT, or previously CDET – is the main awarding body for accreditation for performing arts training organisations. Before CDMT, there was an organisation called Drama UK but CDMT replaced Drama UK’s place when it dissolved in 2017. CDMT took the existing Drama UK schools and also added dance and musical theatre organisations to become CDMT as it exists today. CDMT is a private institution that awards accreditation to those who apply and meet its standards.
CDMT look into various areas to decide whether or not the school that has applied holds the highest standards of professional training. The inspection process consists of a self-evaluation submission by the applicant and a two-day visit to the organisation by three industry consultants.
When you see a school is accredited by CDMT, you know that the organisation will have undertaken full inspection and programme scrutiny by CDMT, to confirm that they meet the highest industry and institutional standards for performing arts training.
QAA claims to ‘safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education wherever it is delivered around the world. They check that students get the higher education they are entitled to expect.’
The process for accreditation by QAA is in the form of a self-assessment from the institution, as well as meetings and an inspection from a review manager. Institutions have to apply annually to keep the accreditation award from QAA.
Ofsted is well known as the government body that inspects the standards of schools. You may have seen them at your primary or secondary school. They are also known to inspect the quality of some drama schools, they will give them a score out of Inadequate, Requires Improvement, Good or Outstanding.
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), assesses colleges and universities on their teaching and how well they ensure excellent outcomes for their students in terms of graduate level employment or further study. They will award an institution with either Provisional, Bronze, Silver or Gold awards.
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Validation is different to accreditation and looks into individual courses within an institution. It ensures that a course itself is of a high quality.
Trinity College London is the awarding body which validates Level 6 Diplomas in acting, dance, and musical theatre.
It will look at courses from an institution individually and award each course separately from the next; therefore in one institution one course may be validated by Trinity and another may not have passed the benchmark. It recognises those courses that are the same level as a degree but for a vocational qualification. Trinity College London also provides awards for graded exams (for example; Grade 8 singing exams). Institutions pay a fee for an external examiner to attend a one-off exam for the student/s to be levelled at a certain grade. You may therefore find that an institution includes a logo from Trinity College London even though it does not offer the Level 6 Diploma course.
Ofqual is the government body for regulating qualifications. It publishes guidance that organisations have to follow if they award qualifications to those under 18 that have to abide by the Education and Skills Act 2008.
University partners are another way for a course to be validated. The university will carry out its own assessment to ensure that a course is qualified for the level of degree the institution is offering. There are also some institutions that have been given TDAP (Taught Degree Awarding Powers) so that they can in effect become their own university.
These are organisations who have agreed to come together and share best practice and values.
The Federation of Drama Schools was founded in 2017. It is a group of drama schools that have come together to adhere to certain guidelines and core principles. To be a part of this group institutions must:
Conservatoires UK consists of a range of institutions that deliver a high number of contact hours between staff and students, focus on individual development, and have courses that teach a combination of intellectual and social skills. They encourage students to create and develop their own work for succeeding in the professional world.
Alliance of Musical Theatre Conservatoires (AMTC) is a newly formed group, launched in November 2018. It consists of five drama schools (Arts Educational Schools London, Mountview, Guildford School of Acting, Urdang Academy and Bird College), which say they have clubbed together to share best practice and work together to increase diversity and participation in musical theatre.
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The importance behind your decision on which drama school to choose lies in what is the best place for you. Not only the institution that you will best fit into, but also the right course that will allow you to thrive and succeed within the path you have chosen. Take a look at other areas of the Get Into Theatre site to help guide your research further.
http://www.federationofdramaschools.co.uk/hallmarks/4593630902
https://cdmt.org.uk/
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/
QAA Handbook: Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers)
http://www.conservatoiresuk.ac.uk/
https://www.trinitycollege.com/site/?id=268
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofqual
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted
Photo: Graeae
Published: 04 March 2019
There are many roles in theatre that don’t require any qualifications, where you can work your way up. However, if you are pursuing a career in theatre that requires a certain level of skill or safety qualifications – such as working with electrics or at height – this might mean you need qualifications, although not necessarily at degree level.
Take a look at the Careers in theatre blog for a full list of all jobs that are available in theatre. They are split into four sections; Creative Team, Production Team, Customer Service and Administration.
Here are some examples of roles in theatre that you can go straight into without a degree. You can use these as a starting point to gain that vital experience for you to pursue your chosen career.
You can start yourself up straight away as a freelance Writer, Director or Performer and can approach small scale/fringe theatres to gain and build up your experience. This can then lead to further work or open up your opportunities to approach larger scale theatres or productions.
Alternatively, there can be opportunities to be an assistant for these roles. This will also give you great experience and also the chance to work alongside other professionals and learn from them.
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Starting as Stage Crew is great experience to gain knowledge and understanding of backstage roles to pursue a career in stage management, lighting or sound.
To pursue a career in the wardrobe department you can look at becoming a Wardrobe Assistant or Wigs Assistant.
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Front of house, Ushers and Box Office Assistants are perfect roles at entry level. You’ll gain strong experience in customer service for you to pursue a career in this side of the theatre.
Sometimes Writers, Directors and Performers take on these roles as work in between their contracts.
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Starting off in an Assistant or administration role for these departments will allow you to work alongside managers and give you the experience in an office environment to pursue those careers further.
Photo: LAMDA
Published: 04 March 2019
