BA (Hons) Acting

BA (Hons) / Level 6 Diploma

Overview

ArtsEd offers inclusive, detailed contemporary, BA actor training for Stage, Film, Television and Audio. Preparing you to become world-leading artists, theatre-makers and performers in all genres, by focusing on the ever-evolving developments in the creative industries.

Our tutors are inspiring, passionate industry professionals who are committed to work with you to craft the core skills you will need as an actor.

Dynamic, diverse and rigorous, this vocational three-year BA (Hons) degree in Acting course will develop your technical skills through practical classes, workshops and performances, motivating and challenging you to become an inventive and imaginative actor. By exploring imagination, improvisation, storytelling, play, text analysis, character realisation, vocal technique and movement skills you will discover how to develop a truthful, responsive and resilient individual acting process.

Our training creates graduates who are ready for a career in the industry. This can be seen on our Screenwork page, which features recent examples of original films and showreels, which students produce in their third year.

Applications for September 2024 open 16th October 2023. Applications close 1st April 2024. Sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest news on our degrees and diplomas.

Duration 3 years (full-time)
Academic year September 2024 - July 2025
Application deadline 1st April 2024
Apply now
Course Leader: Kim Vithana, Director of the School of Acting
At a glance
  • Only 32 students are accepted each year
  • Maximum class size is 16, many classes are smaller
  • A minimum of 35 contact hours per week
  • Teaching delivered over three terms (35 weeks)
  • One-to-one sessions with personal tutors and specialist practitioners.
Year 1

Self – Finding yourself in the context of the craft of acting

A person with no imagination has no wings – Mohammed Ali
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere – Albert Einstein

Skills

  • Acting approaches
  • Text Analysis
  • Acting for Camera
  • Improvisation
  • Voice – Original pronunciation and sound recognition
  • Sight reading
  • Movement
  • Singing
  • Radio
  • Intimacy Training (IDC)
  • Stage Combat (BASSC)
  • Contextual Studies – reflection on acting process
Year 2

Yourself with others

For me, our job as artists is to serve the story, serve the director, and serve the fellow actors. And if you do that, by osmosis you’re serving yourself because you’ll get the best out of yourself. – David Oyelowo

Skills

  • Actor & Text
  • World Classics
  • Screen Acting
  • Self-Taping
  • Voice
  • Accents
  • Heritage Voice
  • Sight Reading
  • Movement & Dance
  • Singing
  • Radio
  • Stage Combat (BASSC)
  • Audition Technique – Stage & Screen
  • Contextual Studies – reflection on acting process
  • Professional Practice – Career Development
  • Script Creation – commissioned new writing

Performance projects – primarily directed by external Directors

  • Contemporary Theatre
  • Iconic American
  • Comedy of Manners (Stage & Screen)
  • Shakespeare
Year 3

You and Beyond: The Profession

Why, then the world’s mine oyster – Shakespeare (Merry Wives of Windsor)

Skills

  • Professional practice – Business Preparation
  • Contextual Studies – reflection on acting process
  • Vocal
  • Movement

Performance projects

  • Public performances
  • New Writing Stage performances
  • West End Showcase
  • TV Showreel
  • Original Short Films
  • Recorded Voice

Fees

Audition Fee Round 1 FREE, Recall £25 Audition fee waivers are available
Course Fee 2024-25: First Year Students £17,278 p.a.
£23,172 p.a. Overseas Students*
Course Fee 2024-25: Second Year Students £16,300 p.a.
£21,860 p.a. Overseas Students*
Course Fee 2024-25: Third Year Students £15,670 p.a.
£21,020 p.a. Overseas Students*
BA (Hons) Validation fee £595 City, University of London. Fee reviewed annually
Acceptance Deposit £350 UK / EU Students
£2,000 Overseas Students

The deposit will be held by the School and will be refunded on completion of the course, without interest, less any outstanding sums owed by the student to ArtsEd.

Fees are subject to annual review and may increase in years two and three in line with inflation. One term’s notice will be given of any increases.

Additional Costs

  • Accommodation and living costs – ArtsEd does not offer on-campus accommodation.
  • Black active wear for skills classes, dance shoes and practice skirts for female period roles
  • Books and stationery
  • Professional headshot (2nd Year)
  • Spotlight entry (3rd Year)
  • Cost of hiring Graduation attire or photographic/videographic services.

Find out about the various funding options available to you on the Funding & Scholarships page.

*Overseas students are those without indefinite leave to remain, or the right to settle in the UK under the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland.

How to apply

Am I Eligible for the BA (Hons) Acting course?

Applicants must be aged 18 or due to have turned 18 by the time the course commences.

In addition, the following qualifications are normally required:

  • Passes in two subjects at A-level or a BTEC HND
  • Passes in three subjects at GCSE or equivalent
  • Candidates whose first language is not English must provide proof of their proficiency by having either an ELTS overall score of 7 or a TOEFL score of 100 or IELTS score of 6 or equivalent

If an applicant fulfils the audition criteria, but comes from an unconventional academic background, the academic requirements may be waived, although good spoken English is a requirement for all our courses.

At ArtsEd we are committed and are active in maintaining equal opportunities, all who apply will receive comparable treatment and no applicant will receive less or more favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, ethnic origin, disability, age or religion or any other equivalent factors. All successful applicants will be selected solely on the basis of their abilities.

You can find out everything you need to know about auditions here (including advice on making your self-tape).

What next?

Applications for September 2024 open 16th October 2023. Applications close 1st April 2024. Sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest news on our degrees and diplomas.

Course Guide

Click here to view the full Course Guide for BA (Hons) Acting

Alumni Stories

“I’m fascinated by the variety of industry professionals that we get to work with on a weekly basis.”

Matilda Oliver, 2020 graduate

“I’m pushed to be free, I’m pushed to use my imagination at every step which is also pushing my boundaries and allowing me to produce whatever I feel.”

Manan Joshi, 2022 graduate

“It’s amazing how free I can be as a person and how the community supports me and loves me for being me and how I can express it whatever way I can, and develop as an actor.”

Nico Cetrulo, 2022 graduate
ArtsEd is one of the top Drama Schools in the UK. Expert performing arts training from Day School & Sixth Form to degree courses.

Careers

Millie Hikasa

Jack Absolute Flies Again (National Theatre), The Ocean at the End of the Lane (UK and Ireland Tour)

Samuel Creasey (2020)

Sam is about to appear in The Globe's The Winter's tale, having previously starred in The Bridge Theatre's production of The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage by Phillip Pullman, and appeared in Inside Man (BBC/Netflix)

Lashana Lynch (2010)

Most recently Lashana has appeared in the new James Bond movie: No Time To Die. As well as Captain Marvel, Ear for Eye (Royal Court), Educating Rita (Chichester Festival Theatre)

Tyler Dobbs (2018)

Vera (ITV), Coronation Street (ITV), Calendar Girls Musical (UK Tour), Tom's Midnight Garden (Theatre by the Lake)

Sarah Seggari (2017)

Sarah is currently appearing in The Comedy of Errors for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her previous credits include: A Very Expensive Poison (Old Vic), Emilia (Globe/Vaudeville Theatres), Much Ado About Nothing (Globe Theatre)

Will Edgerton (2019)

Romeo and Juliet (The Globe), All's Well That Ends Well (RSC), Richard III (RSC)

Leo Woodall (2019)

One Day (Netflix), The White Lotus (HBO Max), Citadel (Amazon Studios), Cherry (Apple TV+), Nomad (TXI Films)

Tuppence Middleton (2008)

Graduating in 2008, Tuppence has appeared in Sense 8, Fisherman’s Friend, Downton Abbey: the Movie, War & Peace, Dickensian

Laura Haddock (2006)

Laura's most recent film roles were Viviane in TRANSFORMERS 5 & Meredith Quill in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2. She also appeared in BBC's The Capture and Netflix's White Lines.

Kimberley Okoye (2020)

Why Me? (Sky Arts), Holby City (BBC), Living Newspaper: Edition 1 (Royal Court), Blues for an Alabama Sky (National Theatre)

Rayxia Ojo (2016)

Rose Granger-Weasley in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Ruhtxjiah Bellena (2016)

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (West End), Dark Money (BBC1), Temple 2 (Sky)

Finn Jones (2009)

Finn has gone on to appear in huge TV Shows & Movies including Game of Thrones & Marvel's Iron Fist

Poppy Shepherd (2020)

The AIDS Tapes (BBC), The Larkins (ITV), Our Generation (National Theatre), The Flash (DC/Warner Brothers)

Annabel Baldwin (2015)

Annabel is currently appearing in Pride and Prejudice Sort of at the Arts Theatre. Previous credits include: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (West End), The Great (Hulu), I Hate Suzie (Sky Atlantic), Doctors (BBC), Blackspace (Netflix), Thieves of the Wood (Netflix), La Revolution (Netflix), Persuasion (Audible), Paradise Now (Bush Theatre)

Cash Holland (2018)

Out of Her Mind (BBC2), Homos, Or Everyone in America - Finborough Theatre

Eddy Westbury (2018)

The Comedy About A Bank Robbery UK Tour & West End

Gabrielle Creevy (2018)

In My Skin (BBC3), The Pact (BBC1), Operation Mincemeat (Feature Film), Father Brown (BBC), Found (BBC Radio 4) & Welsh BAFTA Award Winner

Tony Clay (2013)

Eastenders (BBC), Lucky Man (Sky 1), Foyle's War (ITV), The Plough and the Stars (Abbey Theatre/US Tour), Albion (Bush Theatre), The Second Coming (Film 4)

Islam Bouakkaz (2018)

Letter for the King (Netflix), Wednesday (Netflix), After Life (Netflix), Hamlet (National Theatre), Queen Margaret (Royal Exchange, Manchester)

Thaddea Graham (2018)

Sex Education (Netflix), Doctor Who (BBC), Letter for the King (Netflix), The Irregulars (Netflix), Curfew (Sky)

Michael Workeye (2019)

House of Ife (Bush Theatre), Big Age (Channel 4), This is Going to Hurt (BBC), Sitting in Limbo (BBC)

Safiyya Ingar (2017)

Summer of Rockets (BBC), Doctors (BBC), Hobson's Choice (Royal Exchange, Manchester/Headlong)

Callie Cooke

Blithe Spirit (Feature Film), Britannia (Amazon), Strike (BBC/HBO), The Stranger (Netflix), Adult Material (Channel 4), Informer (BBC), Halfbreed (Channel 4), Rules of the Game (BBC), Wedding Season (BBC), The Strange Death of John Doe (Hampstead Theatre), Filthy Business (Hampstead Theatre), Firebird (Trafalgar Studios/Hampstead Theatre)

Jay Lycurgo (2019)

The Batman (WB), Titans (HBO Max), I May Destroy You (BBC)

Ria Marshall (2021)

Ria has appeared in three Audio Dramas for the BBC: Lud in the Mist; Keeping the Wolf out; Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit

FAQs

What is the difference between the BA (Hons) and the Level 6 Diploma in Acting?

BA (Hons) and Level 6 Diploma students study together, on the same three-year course. The difference is only in the way that they are funded. The Trinity College London Diploma is awarded to those students who have received scholarship funding through the Dance and Drama Awards scheme. These students can voluntarily register for the degree, which incurs an additional cost of £547.12. See fees and funding.

Do you need any specific exam results or grades to be able to apply?

No.

When do you hold BA Acting auditions and can we choose when we want to audition?

At the moment all first round auditions are by self-tape. You can find more information about the process on our auditions page.  In normal times, auditions are generally held on Thursdays from November to June during term time. If we offer you a date, please do your best to attend. We can only reschedule under extreme circumstances such as illness or an exam commitment.

You can find more general FAQs here.