University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2016/17 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > Centre for Innovation > Theatre with Innovation (BA) > Specification
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Programme code | 1INOV012U |
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Programme type | Single Honours |
Programme director(s) |
Simon Jones
Kirsten Cater |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | Centre for Innovation |
Second School/department | Department of Theatre |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Relevant QAA subject benchmark groups | Dance, drama and performance (2019) (benchmark statement) |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 3 years (full time) |
The innovators of the 21st Century will bring together arts and humanities, design, science, engineering and enterprise to deliver new products, services and ways of working and living. This degree combines an in-depth subject specialism in Theatre with interdisciplinary breadth, creative teamwork and entrepreneurial skills. Students undertaking this course will spend 220CP of their time studying Theatre to gain a solid discipline strength, whilst spending 140CP of their time applying that knowledge to innovate and learn about how to take innovative ideas forward into initial plans for a startup enterprise.
This programme integrates research-informed critical, historical and theoretical teaching with high-quality creative and production experience, both through teaching in discipline-specific and equipped facilities in the department and placement in a professional context. The programme develops students’ interest in practices, histories and theories of theatre and their understanding of the interrelationship between performance practice, theoretical study, historical, cultural and political contexts. It enables students to deepen and expand their skills, knowledge and understanding of theatre and performance studies whilst applying that specialism knowledge to innovate. This programme’s focus is on innovation and collaboration across the disciplines within a project-based learning environment. Assessment is by a combination of essays, individual and group presentations, practice based productions, vivas, documentation, client led work, critical analysis and reflection of work undertaken. Having gained a combination of specialised and transferable skills, students are well-equipped to pursue a range of careers relating to the contemporary creative industries and arts-related professions, and within academic, professional and managerial sectors, as well as go on to launch their own startup enterprises.
The city of Bristol has been identified as a media and cultural-industries hub with a very diverse and rich infrastructure for the arts in a comparatively small city. The Department of Theatre has an international reputation for both its practice-based research and teaching: it pioneered practice as a research methodology in the academic discipline of performance studies. The combination of the Department with the city’s rich ecology of theatre and performance makers and organizations makes this programme an excellent and compelling addition to our successful undergraduate provision. With active, close and long-term partnerships with many of the city’s theatre organizations, the Department has a long track record of producing graduates with high employability across the arts and related fields, as well as many who go on to make significant contributions to the arts. In addition the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is building up a significant reputation for equipping its students to be agile, adaptable, resilient, entrepreneurial and innovative, key skills for employability in this ever changing employment market. This is achieved through its innovative pedagogical approach which has led the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to win the HE National Enterprise Educators Award in 2018.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Acquisition of knowledge and understanding through lectures and seminars (1-7, 10) Set and directed viewings and visits to performances, and directed reading, with a strong emphasis on primary materials (1-8, 10, 12) Seminars and small-group tutorials to encourage student participation and advance understanding of difficult materials (1-12) Seminars and workshops to develop student creative and practical production skills acquisition (5, 6, 8-12) Production meetings and supervisions to provide formative feedback and develop student skills in practical project realisation (5, 6, 8-12) Tutorials and supervisions to provide formative feedback and develop student skills in presentation and essay writing (1-7, 10, 12) Acquisition of knowledge and understanding for innovation, design and entrepreneurship occurs through lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials (13, 14, 15 & 16) Workshops and demonstration to develop student practical innovation skills acquisition (13, 16) Innovation challenges to develop students’ skills in practical innovation and entrepreneurship (13, 14 & 16) Innovation project supervision and design challenge mentoring meetings to provide formative feedback (13, 14 & 16) |
Methods of Assessment | |
Coursework analytical and research essays (1-7, 10) Individual and group presentations (1-8, 10, 12) Practice-based presentations and performances (1-12) Workfiles, journals and vivas (1-12) Individual and group innovation coursework portfolios (including rapid prototyping and proof of concepts) and presentations (13-16) Reflective accounts of practical work and learning (13-16) Iterative and agile practice based innovation and entrepreneurship challenges (13-16) |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Acquisition of knowledge and understanding through lectures and seminars (1, 2, 4-6, 9) Set and directed viewings and visits to performances, and directed reading, with a strong emphasis on primary materials (1, 2, 4-6) Seminars and small-group tutorials to encourage student participation and advance understanding of difficult materials (1, 2, 4-10) Seminars and workshops to develop student creative and practical production skills acquisition (1-3, 5, 6, 10-16) Production meetings and supervisions to provide formative feedback and develop student skills in practical project realisation (3, 9-14, 16) Tutorials and supervisions to provide formative feedback and develop student skills in presentation and essay writing (1, 2, 4-9) Acquisition of skills to innovate, design and create enterprises occurs through lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials (17 - 20) Workshops and demonstration to develop student practical innovation skills acquisition (17 - 20) Innovation challenges to develop students’ skills in practical innovation and entrepreneurship (17 - 20) Innovation project supervision and design challenge mentoring meetings to provide formative feedback (17 - 20) |
Methods of Assessment | |
Coursework analytical and research essays (1, 2, 4-9) Individual and group presentations (1-10,13,14,16) Practice-based presentations and performances (1-15) Workfiles, journals and vivas (1-16) Individual and group innovation coursework portfolios (including rapid prototyping and proof of concepts) and presentations (17-20) Reflective accounts of practical work and learning (17-20) Iterative and agile practice based innovation and entrepreneurship challenges (17-20) |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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|
Acquisition of knowledge and understanding through lectures and seminars (3, 7, 9) Set and directed viewings and visits to performances, and directed reading, with a strong emphasis on primary materials (3, 4) Seminars and small-group tutorials to encourage student participation and advance understanding of difficult materials (2-7, 9) Seminars and workshops to develop student creative and practical production skills acquisition (1-9) Production meetings and supervisions to provide formative feedback and develop student skills in practical project realisation (1-9) Tutorials and supervisions to provide formative feedback and develop student skills in presentation and essay writing (3-9) Acquisition of skills to innovate, design and create enterprises occurs through lectures, workshops, seminars and tutorials (10-15). Workshops and demonstration to develop student practical innovation skills acquisition (10-15). Innovation challenges to develop students’ skills in practical innovation and entrepreneurship (10-15). Innovation project supervision and design challenge mentoring meetings to provide formative feedback (10-15). |
Methods of Assessment | |
Coursework analytical and research essays (2-5, 8) Individual and group presentations (1-9) Practice-based presentations and performances (1-9) Workfiles, journals and vivas (1-9) Individual and group innovation coursework portfolios (including rapid prototyping and proof of concepts) and presentations (10-15) Reflective accounts of practical work and learning (10-15) Iterative and agile practice based innovation and entrepreneurship challenges (10-15) |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Year 1 is introductory, providing a foundation for second and third year learning and for fulfilling the programme’s outcomes. Students gain familiarity with performance forms, key theories and concepts, contexts and ways of analysing theatre and performance. Through workshops, practical skills are acquired, in theatre production, reading a script for performance and staging a play for an audience. In addition, students develop their ability to discuss issues and write critically about the arts in a broader cultural context, in dialogue with film and music students on the Criticism in the Arts unit. They will also have gained an understanding to how design and systems thinking can be applied to problems to innovate and unearth novel and creative solutions that may have been missed from undertaking a purely analytical approach whilst gaining experience in working in multidisciplinary teams. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
In their second year students take two lecture and seminar units, which expand their contextual and historical, cultural and political frameworks for understanding theatre and performance. Students deepen their understanding of performance forms, genres or periods through optional units, which draw on expertise from staff research and enable a focus on particular theatre practices. In these options, which are taught across Level I/5 and H/6, students are expected to improve their skills in both creative, collaborative practice and their ability to reflect critically and theoretically. Students’ capacity for self-directed learning is also developed, which is necessary preparation for Level H/6 (e.g. through researching longer essays, devising and realising group performance projects). Student will be expected to critically reflect on past and present case studies and develop further their transdisciplinary working to real world digital and creative client problems. Students will be encouraged to broaden their perspective beyond the subject provisions in Theatre with Innovation and take either an open unit, learn how to program or design specifically for human computer interaction. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
In the final year, students choose two supervised independent study options: written dissertation, practical performance project, extended essay and/or work placement. They develop their individual interests, and conceive self-directed projects that prepare them for professional contexts or postgraduate study. Students produce longer essays, are expected to formulate more nuanced and sophisticated arguments, refine their ability to gather and assimilate information, and should be confident using more advanced theory. Their knowledge of forms, genres and practices becomes deeper and they are expected to produce more professional, conceptually-informed creative practice. Their knowledge and understanding (15A) should be in depth and advanced, they should show a mastery of intellectual and creative attributes (15B), demonstrate self-motivation, effective collaborative working, independent thinking and a range of other transferable skills (15C). Within the transdisciplinary group project the students will be expected to innovate for their own chosen problem by exploring the potential of new technologies to enable disruptive innovation to change the way people work and live. They will be supported by mentors and coaches to explore how their proposed solutions may be turned into an enterprise. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
Workload Statement
In common with the rest of the University, units in the Faculty of Arts
adhere to the credit framework which sets out that 20 credits normally
equates to some 200 hours of student input. Some of this time will be spent
in class, with the remainder divided between preparation for classes and
preparation for, and completion of, the assessment tasks. Some of this
activity may occur within the University’s online learning environment,
Blackboard, which you may use to prepare wikis, to interact with other
students, to download tutorials or to receive feedback.
Assessment Statement
Please select the following link for a statement about assessment. This is University of Bristol access only.
https://www.bris.ac.uk/arts/current/under/assessment.html
The first year introduces students to histories, contexts, forms, and ways of analysing performance, and enables them to develop practical skills in theatre production. In addition, they will develop their ability to discuss issues and write critically about the arts in dialogue with film and music students. Students studying across the different specialisms on the innovation degrees then come together as a cohort to learn and apply design and systems thinking for digital and creative innovation and put it into practice their working in transdisciplinary project teams. In the second and final year, optional units deepen students' analytical expertise, knowledge around particular performance contexts, periods and genres and expand their practical skills in theatre-making. Students in their second year expand on their understanding of how to design to meet real human needs, learning from past and present success and failure case studies to help them think about future opportunities. The transdisciplinary project work in the second year works with real world clients where students develop empathy for the people they are designing for, explore solutions, iterating to develop an unexpected range of possibilities, and create prototypes to take back to the client to test with real customers or users. In their third year students explore innovative and disruptive ideas, changing the way people live and work. Students will learn about different ways to generate ideas, ranging from brainstorming to crowd-sourcing, exploring project opportunities and creating prototypes to test with real people. Alongside this students will learn about different kinds of enterprise that can be used to take forward their ideas supported by mentors and coaches. Students also take up to two supervised independent study projects, chosen from: extended essay; written dissertation; practical performance project; work placement. Optionality increases through Years 2 and 3 so that students can specialise, and these self-initiated projects provide skills that prepare them for postgraduate study or professional contexts.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Performance Forms and Analysis Not available in this year | THTR10005 | 20 | Mandatory | ||
Production and Design for Performance Not available in this year | THTR10002 | 20 | Mandatory | ||
Design and Systems Thinking for Innovation | INOV10001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Transdisciplinary Group Project 1: Being Human | INOV10002 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Producing the Performance Not available in this year | THTR10007 | 20 | Mandatory | ||
Staging the Text Not available in this year | THTR10006 | 20 | Mandatory | ||
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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