ADVANCED SPECIALIST STUDIES - 2025/6

Module Overview

Building on Level 5 taught modules and production experience, this module is designed to advance students' exploration of their chosen subject areas to an advanced level of understanding and competence. Each student will choose from one of three strands within the module: technical theatre, design realisation or stage/production management.

Module provider

Guildford School of Acting

Module Leader

FRANKLIN Jo (GSA)

Number of Credits: 45

ECTS Credits: 22.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Research techniques, skills and methodologies


• CAD drawing


• Sustainability in production


• Advanced stagecraft


• Specialist studies within each strand relevant to industry current practices and processes.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate a sound understanding of and skills in academic research and analysis. These skills will be applied through an independent research project that will explore, analyse and evaluate a contemporary industry challenge and seek to find innovative solutions and avenues for further research.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Coursework, Recorded research presentation (8-10 minutes) on a topic of individual choice related to your specialist studies.(addresses learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4) 

• Individual tutorials on research topics


• Group research workshop


• Informal feedback in practical sessions

• Verbal tutor feedback in tutorials


• Verbal tutor and technician feedback in practical sessions


• Peer and tutor feedback within research workshop

Module aims

• Develop students¿ competence and confidence in specialist studies to an advanced level
• Refresh and embed key inter-disciplinary skills of theatre production to an advanced level
• Enable students to engage successfully with research strategies and methodologies
• Encourage and support students to find solutions to relevant contemporary industry challenges through research and investigation
• Support students to make informed choices on career pathways within their specialist ¿strand¿.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to enable students to increase in knowledge and understanding of both specialist skills within their chosen strand as well as interdisciplinary skills to an advanced level. There is a mix of seminars and practical sessions, individual tutorials to provide academic guidance and independent learning to focus on self-motivated research in a chosen topic area.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: PRO3026

Other information

Guildford School of Acting trains students, within their chosen fields, to have an understanding and appreciation of Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow Theatre Production students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Digital capabilities

Students will be expected to use digital methodologies/platforms for research and creation of the assessed presentation. They will also use current industry software and technical equipment appropriate to their specialist studies strand increasing competence and confidence in these areas to an advanced level.

Global and cultural capabilities

Teaching within specialist strands will introduce a range of global practices and methodologies used internationally in the creative industries. Students will be encouraged to explore outside of standard UK practice and evaluate production methodologies in a range of cultural contexts. They will also be encouraged to explore global challenges within their research project.

Employability

All learning within this module reflects and is informed by current practice in the creative industries and so will develop employability within each student appropriate to their chosen strand to an advanced level. Through undertaking this module, students will be very well equipped to enter graduate roles within employment or as a self-employed freelancer.

Resourcefulness and resilience

This module emphasises development of the Level 6 student as an autonomous, self-motivated learner and researcher. As such it encourages and challenges students to embed the resourcefulness and resilience they will need on entering the creative industries after graduation.

Sustainability

Sustainability is explicitly addressed in this module, through discussion of industry current guidance and practices. Throughout practical aspects of the module students will be expected to engage in sustainable practices within production, following GSA policies and practices and informed by current creative industry guidance. In addition they will be expected to consider innovative sustainability solutions both within the university and externally after graduation.

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.