Performance

You will continue your studies by undertaking modules in Practice: Creative Festival, Performance Contexts: Testing ideas, Contemporary Debates in Society and Contemporary Arts in Context. Students who enrol at level 9 will be given the opportunity to join additional level 8 modules in Culture and Society and Performance Theory where a gap in their knowledge is identified.

You will continue to develop your practice and research skills via research and project modules, creative industries entrepreneurship and relevant performance based modules. You will negotiate with your tutors your final assessment strategies. 

The BA (Hons) Performance course at UWS is designed to equip the student to become a creative maker, a critical thinker and work ready. Drawing on the expertise of the teaching team and visiting lectures, you will gain insights into the contemporary performance industries and develop a robust understanding of how performance is made, the cultural and social significance of performance and performance theory. 

Our focus on practice, history, theory and industry allows you to explore performance critically and practically and gain a deeper understanding of diverse creative and research practices. You will be encouraged to develop your existing skills and passions whilst engaging with a series of new skills. Core and optional modules will provide a grounding in performance and performance making whilst supporting you to develop your own path and enabling you to position yourself within a variety of performance-related disciplines.

The course is for emerging performers, performance makers and those interested in developing their practical skills, researching their discipline and thinking critically about performance and culture. 

This course also gives you the option of taking a language module, which can count towards your degree. These modules cover multiple languages and range from absolute beginner to near-native speaker level. The cost of your language module is included in the tuition fees. Find out more

Graduates from contemporary Performance programmes need to be equipped for freelance careers, able to think critically, and be confident and effective in their practice. As such, the team identified the following three themes as likely to resonate more meaningfully to students in the creative and creative industries:

1. Critical thinkers
2. Freelance Ready
3. Creative Makers

Full-time students will undertake the modules in the order they appear in the relevant programme schema. UWS encourages reassessment at the earliest opportunity, so flexibility will be utilised around reassessment to optimise student progression.

Part-time students will agree their learning journey with the programme team, particularly through guidance from their Personal Tutor and, as required, the School’s Education Guidance Adviser. Care will be taken to limit the student workload to 60 credits per academic year, so all other things being equal, the normal part-time journey will be as follows:

Students will undertake long 40-credit Performance Production modules at levels 7, 8 and 9, through which they will develop and showcase their practice. These modules are spread over both trimesters so that students’ practice will be informed by the full range of learning they participate in across the year. 

They also undertake 20-credit Performance Contexts modules at Levels 7, 8 and 9, through which they will expand their preparedness for success in the creative and cultural industries. And they undertake theoretically-based modules at these levels, via the Performance Theory 1 and 2, and Contemporary Debates in Art & Performance.

The historical theme is addressed directly via Performance History 1, Culture & Society 1 and Culture & Society 2, and the research strand begins at Level 9 through Art & Performance Research Methods.

These modules therefore develop student adeptness across the five academic themes of the programme, which students integrate through their maturing practice. The students then bring these skills, experiences and attributes together at Level 10 through the long 60-credit Creative Research Project module, the 20-credit Practice in Context module focused on the contemporary creative landscape, and the Creative Industries: Entrepreneurship & Professional Practice module focused on work-readiness. Students also have space at Level 10 for a free module choice.

BA Performance Course Structure

Students on certain degrees will incur some additional costs not covered by their tuition fees. These could be for things like specialist equipment, study materials, work placements, graduation, membership of relevant organisations or costs related to carrying out fieldwork.

For students on course with an element of fieldwork, there may also be extra costs for travel and accommodation.

Please contact the course leader for details of the additional costs associated with this course.

Tuition Fees & Additional Costs

Tuition fees are calculated based on where you are from and what you are studying. Some courses also involve additional costs, such as mandatory field trips, equipment or studying abroad.

Find out how much it will cost you to study at UWS as an undergraduate student.

Funding for Scottish Students

Scottish students studying at undergraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.

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Funding for English, Welsh & Northern Irish Students

English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying at undergraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.

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Funding for EU Students

EU students studying at undergraduate level of UWS may be eligible for SAAS funding, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.

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Funding for International Students

There are several scholarship and incentive schemes available to international students studying at undergraduate level at UWS, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.

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Discretionary & Childcare Funds

UWS administer a range of discretionary and childcare funds. These are designed to support students who are experiencing financial difficulty or struggling to meet the costs of childcare.

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Benefits & Tax Credits

Becoming a student can have an impact on your entitlement to certain benefits. It may mean you are no longer eligible to claim a benefit you have been receiving, or your new income from student funding may affect the amount you are able to receive.

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Additional Financial Support

If there isn’t a statutory source of funding for you or your course, or you are in need of additional financial support, you may wish to consider more alternative sources of funding such as trust funds and scholarships.

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Money & Debt Advice

Choosing to become a student can have a big impact on your budget and you may need to reassess your spending to account for a reduced income. We’ve put together some guidance to help you manage your money and make the right financial choices for you and your family.

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