Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Drama and English Literature

at Anglia Ruskin University - Cambridge Campus United Kingdom

With its vibrant studio culture and small class sizes, combined with excellent printmaking, 3D, photography and life-drawing facilities, our illustration course has consistently high student satisfaction ratings.

We know that our students want to learn from the best, so all of our tutors are professional illustrators. They’ll help you find your visual style and kick-start your career. But they’ll never forget the reason you chose to study illustration in the first place. At Cambridge School of Art, you’ll find there’s always time to experiment, discover, discuss and create.

Our studios and workshops are second to none, and you’ll spend lots of time working there.

But you won’t be restricted to the studio: you’ll also go on gallery visits, local drawing trips, and our annual overseas visit to cities such as Porto and Seville.

There’s even the chance to study abroad for a semester, in the Netherlands or Poland – with funding on offer to help cover the costs.

We know that your future career is important and you want to build your CV. So we’ll encourage you to grab every opportunity for real-world experience – entering national and international competitions, working on live industry briefs, and taking up internships.

As an illustrator, a world of possibilities awaits you. You could illustrate books, become a graphic artist, design stage sets or product labels, and even work on animated films.

Focusing a range of periods and themes including British and global histories, race and politics, gender, sexuality and the body, and also how we recreate history, you’ll take part in hands-on historical research to make sense of how past events have shaped our world today.

Cambridge is the perfect place to study history. Thanks to our close links with local organisations, you’ll find yourself handling historical objects, leafing through archival material, and working with museum professionals, as well as engaging with digital sources and archives.

There’s also the chance to study abroad for a semester, take part in European field trips, and go on work placements as you prepare for a career in many different fields including business, management, local government, heritage, museums and more.

As a history student at ARU, you'll form an understanding of why people and societies think and behave as they do – and how these actions can echo down the centuries. This historical insight will sharpen your ability to analyse and tackle complex problems, such as how social divisions arise and dictators come to power. You’ll also form an awareness of the limitations of our knowledge and the dangers of simplistic explanations.

These are important skills, with the World Economic Forum listing complex problem solving and critical thinking as two of the top 10 skills we need to thrive in today’s workforce.

In Years 2 and 3, our optional modules allow you to explore the areas of history that interest you most, with topics including the First World War, modern British politics, sport, the Russian Revolution and histories of everyday life. There is even a class on the history of James Bond! Meanwhile, your Undergraduate Major Project lets you complete a substantial piece of research work so that you become a historian in your own right.

You’ll be supported by staff, recognised as leaders in their field, whose expertise ranges from British imperialism and Victorian studies, to modern politics, gender history and the history of sense and emotions. It’s no surprise that our BA (Hons) History degree came 4th in the UK for ‘Satisfied with Teaching’ in The Guardian University Guide 2019 – and received an overall satisfaction score of more than 94% in the National Student Survey 2020.

By choosing to study BSc (Hons) Sport Coaching and Physical Education at ARU, you’ll be choosing an applied course that is embedded in real-life experiences and focused on getting you career-ready.

Our degree course is packed with opportunities to complete work placements in local schools and sports clubs. Moreover, you'll have the chance to gain unique work experience with organisations such as Living Sport and Cambridge City Council, who run community sports projects for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. You can also apply to internship programmes with professional sports teams.

In the final year of your Sport Coaching and Physical Education degree, you'll be offered a unique opportunity to complete a real-life research and development project immersed in industry.

All this is supported by what you learn in the lecture theatre.

Together, we’ll explore sport development, applied coaching pedagogy (how people teach and learn), athlete development, sport physiology and the psychology of sport coaching. You’ll learn how to use your knowledge as a leader, teacher and a sports coach – and to work safely, ethically and confidently on your own, or as part of a team. To do this, you’ll use fantastic facilities including exercise testing and human movement labs, and a strength and conditioning suite.

On this course you’ll study the practical and theoretical aspects of modern politics and international relations, and thereby gain insights into our past, present and future on both a local and global scale. You’ll examine relevant political debates from a historical, philosophical and sociological perspective. In doing so, we‘ll go beyond the ‘high politics’ of traditional theories and the workings of parliaments. Instead, you’ll be able to develop your own specialisms in areas such as global diplomacy, international relations, and international issues like climate change; protest movements like Black Lives Matter; the devolution of power away from central government; the politics of the new media; the politics of gender, and the place of race in modern society.

Our specialist modules such as Race, Racism and Cultural Identity, Wrestling with Trump: the WWE and Modern Political Culture, and Politics and Social Media will allow you to engage with contemporary issues, developing a deeper understanding of modern politics.

As a BA (Hons) Politics student at ARU, you’ll learn from expert tutors including historians, sociologists, criminologists and political scientists.

Together, we’ll explore the latest theories, debates and research; examine domestic, European and international themes in politics, and consider the practical implications of political decision-making and policies.

All our Politics students have the opportunity to study in the USA or Canada for a semester, and can apply for funding to help cover the cost. You could also take an optional placement year.

Once you’ve graduated, you might start a career in analysis, journalism or local or international politics, or you could continue to develop your skills with one of our full-time and part-time Masters degrees including our MA International Relations.

You’ve set your sights high. You want a course that connects you with up-to-the minute ideas and discussions. We’ve designed our full-time Business with Economics degree to match that ambition.

Here at ARU, you won’t just learn in the classroom. There’s the chance to take economics out of the classroom, debating big ideas such as the minimum wage, capitalism and Brexit in our popular Economics in the Pub sessions.

With an eye on the future, you can also choose to take an optional placement year and add valuable work experience to your CV.

You know there’s more to economics than meets the eye. It’s not just about the numbers, but making sense of those numbers and understanding how society can make the most of its resources.

With economics, there’s never just one way of looking at things. It’s important to be alive to current debates and ways of thinking. You’ll get that as a student in Cambridge.

By studying Business with Economics at ARU, you’ll be looking at the ‘bigger picture’. Together, we’ll explore accounting and mathematics, statistics and econometrics, micro- and macroeconomics. But we’ll also study business more broadly, covering topics such as project management, sustainability, the EU economy and international trade.

As the course progresses, you’ll establish areas of interest that you can develop in your final project. You’ll understand how economics and business, put together, influence organisations’ behaviour and performance – and ultimately impact on all our lives.

These are big ideas. Studying Business with Economics at ARU gives you the space and support you need to grasp them on your own terms.

Using real-world challenges as your starting point, our BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree will equip you with all the skills you need to dive into the world of business. Whether it’s through our Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab, out on placement or through an internship, you’ll get the chance to put what you learn to the test.

Alongside these practical opportunities, you’ll also be learning all about the ever-changing world of business – from business law to marketing concepts and beyond.

Our ACCA and CIMA accredited course could see you go on to become a practising accountant or opt for a wider range of careers in business – it’s up to you where your journey takes you.

At ARU, we’re helping to develop the next generation of business practitioners and thinkers.

Our Bloomberg Financial Markets Lab in Chelmsford can give you the chance to enhance your professional development and employability, through virtual trading and live financial information on global stock exchanges. Cambridge students can visit the Lab in their free time too alongside any-time access to data through Canvas, our learning management system.

With us, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of the knowledge and tools you need to launch your career. Because there’s having access to facilities and software, and there’s having the support to experiment with them. We believe the sooner you start, the more you’ll get out of it; that’s why our students can access Bloomberg from Year 1.

We know that your future career is important and you want to build your CV. So we’ll encourage you to grab every opportunity for real-world experience. This could mean a placement year in industry, studying abroad for a semester, or a short study visit in Europe, Canada, the USA or Malaysia.

Our Accounting and Finance degree course will set you up with all the theoretical and practical knowledge you need to work in finance or as an accountant once you graduate from ARU.

District nurses care for people in their home and in the community.

Our one-year Top-up Degree combines university study with experience in practice with the support of Practice Assessors and Supervisors to enhance your knowledge of working and caring for people in the community.

In particular, you'll focus on population and caseload management; on supporting your patients to achieve and sustain independence; and on caring for those who are either unwell, recovering or at end of life.

As a district nursing student at ARU, you’ll explore how individuals and their families can care for themselves at home, enhancing people’s dignity and reducing hospital admissions. Our course will give you the skills you need to take on this rewarding role, with an understanding of legal and ethical issues.

Our BSc (Hons) Community Specialist Practitioner (District Nursing) degree course features a mix of classroom and online learning, with 120 days on placement. You’ll receive support from your tutors at all times and be assigned a Practice Supervisor who’ll help you to develop a personalised programme of learning.

By the end of the year, you’ll record your qualification with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as a Community Specialist Practitioner (District Nursing) with a prescribing qualification.

As a BA (Hons) Criminology and Policing student at ARU, we’ll help you work towards your career goals from day one.

Through our relationship with regional police forces and practitioners, you’ll have opportunities to engage with professionals from the criminal justice sector through guest lectures (including those organised by our Policing Institute for the Eastern Region, workshop events, study trips and research projects.

You may also have opportunities to work closely with local police forces. A recent student project, sponsored by Cambridge Constabulary, carried out research on police officer demographics and recruitment.

You’ll learn from staff with real-world experience: a significant part of your teaching in some modules will be delivered by policing and criminal justice practitioners such as former and active Crime Scene Investigators. Our criminology lecturers are active researchers with experience of working on real-life crimes with the police. You can also choose to an optional placement year.

We’ll support you to get involved in justice causes and campaigns, charities and voluntary work that contributes to civic duty so you can gain relevant experience in the criminal justice system. You’ll also boost your CV as you become proficient in critical analysis, research and communication.

Biological Sciences with Sustainability is a multidisciplinary degree, where you will study aspects of all life on earth and develop solutions to ensure a sustainable future.

Life on earth is fascinating, astonishing, diverse and beautiful, and the course aims to provide you with a detailed knowledge of all living organisms, how they work and how they function together with the environment they live in.

However, all life is currently under threat, with man-made (anthropogenic) change affecting the earth and all its systems. Biological sciences offer us a number of tools which can be used to alleviate these effects, and preserve our natural environment, both for the benefit of plants and animals, and for current and future generations. This course will thus give you a solid grounding in aspects of sustainable development, centred on the biological sciences.

Our course gives you a range of opportunities to develop the attitudes, abilities and competencies needed to work in biological sciences and in sustainable development.

The course also encourages you to develop your creativity and propose solutions to the ‘grand challenges’ or ‘wicked problems’ we face, as a result of changes man has brought about. You’ll develop a wide range of practical skills, both in the laboratory and in the field, as well as gaining the ability to analyse complex data to understand what it means. Data analysis is a critical factor in being able to make decisions to plan for a sustainable future.

Employers from the biological sciences and sustainability sector have been directly involved in the design and development of our BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences with Sustainability course. By collaborating with sector partners, we can explore the skill sets that employers are most interested in and ensure they are embedded within the delivery of the course.

Based in Cambridge, Chelmsford or Peterborough (two-year accelerated degree) our course will prepare you to join postgraduate Initial Teacher Training.

You needn’t be limited to primary school teaching, though. You might have your sights set on a career in the wider education sector, cultural institutions and NGOs, or related fields such as health and social work. On this degree course you’ll develop your understanding of primary education, and gain the knowledge and skills to work collaboratively in a range of settings.

At ARU, we're proud to be ranked number 1 in the country for Education in the Guardian League Table 2021. Our Primary Education Studies degree also scored over 90% for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2020.

Our Primary Education Studies course is designed for those looking for a career working with children aged 3-12 and their families. It’s also a great option if you already work in education but want to learn more about the subject or progress in your career.

We focus on education history, policy and the way children are taught today. You’ll graduate with a thorough understanding of classroom management, lesson planning, National Curriculum subjects, and the three Key Stages in primary education. We’ll also touch on special educational needs provision.

Throughout the course there’s a strong focus on the core subjects that all primary-aged pupils study: reading, writing, maths and science. You’ll become familiar with teaching approaches and how to make adjustments to suit learners of all abilities.

Of course, anyone working with children and families knows that it’s important to support the ‘whole child’ and so, as well as looking at education and teaching, we’ll explore related areas such as health, welfare, child psychology and children’s rights.

While studying at ARU, you’ll have opportunities to observe teaching in local schools. We offer our Primary Education Studies course as a three-year degree or an accelerated degree, which you’ll complete in two years. When you graduate, you’ll be ideally placed to join a postgraduate teacher training course with one of our partners and return to us to complete your PGCE.