ABERYSTWYTH University has said it remains committed to its Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies amid student numbers which have fallen two-thirds in the last five years and league table results which put it among the worst five in the UK for two core courses.

The Cambrian News can reveal that first-year students entering Aberystwyth University across its creative arts degrees have fallen from a high of 305 in 2011 to just 95 in 2015.

Applications to study at the department also fell from 965 in 2011 to 340 last year.

Tumbling student numbers at the department, established in 1973 and historically one of Aberystwyth’s finest, has been exacerbated with the results of the influential Guardian University League Tables 2017.

The tables outline that, while media and film studies courses were ranked 66 out of the 87 universities in the UK which offer such courses, core subjects of drama and film production were ranked in the bottom five across the UK.

An Aberystwyth University spokesperson said: “We are looking forward to welcome a new cohort of students to Theatre Film and Television Studies this September and are pleased with the very active work on recruitment and the student experience that the department has undertaken.”

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