Galway is a city of the arts, with our unique culture and natural landscape creating the type of environment for the arts to flourish. Creativity is omnipresent in Galway, and at NUI Galway, creativity is embraced and championed in many different ways including in the undergraduate courses that are offered.
NUI Galway is a leading international centre for the creative arts, with strong specialisms in drama, film, creative writing, and music at undergraduate level. The courses are based on world-leading research, with all classes taught by leading academics and practitioners. Our courses are underpinned by strong partnerships with the creative arts sector and students on many of our programmes have opportunities to take internships with these and other groups.
NUI Galway has two drama courses that are ideal for students interested in drama, theatre, and performance. For students passionate about drama, the BA (Drama, Theatre and Performance ) offers a formal qualification in drama with a large focus on practice-based learning. If students are interested in studying drama but would like a qualification in two other arts subjects, the BA (Arts with Performing Arts Studies ) offers this combination. NUI Galway has its own dedicated building for the teaching of drama, the O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance. This award-winning facility is the hub for a huge range of creative activities every year so life as a drama student at NUI Galway is always very active and exciting.
Galway has a rich seam of music-making of all kinds and this is reflected in the BA (Music ) course at NUI Galway. The course is an introduction to the languages, repertories, and cultures of music, through classical and Irish traditional music but also other music styles. Musicianship is at the core of the course and students will develop an understanding of the history, theory, and practice of music. Students also study an additional arts subject which further expands the career opportunities after graduation.
Launched in 2018, the BA (Film and Digital Media ) offers students a combination of theory and practice across the areas of film and digital media. The course is located within the Huston School of Film and Digital Media, offering students the opportunity to become part of a creative community and connecting them to the local and national media industries. The course develops graduates to become content creators across a range of media platforms, giving them the entrepreneurial skills and flexibility required to work in today’s rapidly changing media environment.
For students interested in writing, the BA (English and Creative Writing ) builds and expands on over a decade’s worth of experience in directing and fostering undergraduate talent specifically in creative writing. Every week during first year a speaker from the writing professions visits the class for discussions and there is an emphasis throughout the course on practice-based learning.
In September 2021, NUI Galway will be launching two new subjects in the BA (Joint Honours ) course that have a real emphasis on creativity, visual arts, and global media. Visual Arts will be taught at both NUI Galway and at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, and students will be able to find their artistic voice by exploring a range of creative avenues. As well as a subject, global media will also be a stand-alone course and students will undertake exciting modules such as podcasting and digital storytelling as well as choosing specialisms such as film studies, digital communication, or journalism.
Finally, there are opportunities for all students at NUI Galway to embrace their creativity through joining one of the many creative arts societies on campus, getting involved in the student newspaper or radio station Flirt FM, or by attending the many creative events that take place each year on campus.
Explore your creativity at NUI Galway - see www.nuigalway.ie/arts.
Elaine Rea is marketing manager at NUI Galway's College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies.
