Got a uni question? Find your answer now on The Student Room.

Anglia Ruskin University

UCAS Code: W411 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above.

UCAS Tariff

96

from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent).

About this course

Course option

4years

Sandwich | 2025

Subject

Acting

Our BA (Hons) Acting degree in Cambridge gives you the opportunity to train as an actor for stage or screen.

Reach your full potential on this conservatoire-style course designed to build your creative acting skills. The course will introduce you to all the skills demanded of today’s professional, including live performance, screen acting and motion capture.

Our Drama and Dance courses ranked 13th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2025, with 92% for "satisfied with teaching".

On our BA (Hons) Acting degree at ARU you will get involved in extensive live performance work on stage in both the studio and theatre. You’ll develop techniques for acting on screen and also for live environments. You will also gain experience with new technologies and alternative platforms for acting, enabling you to be a dynamic and responsive actor prepared for a career in the ever-evolving creative industries. This may include the use of green screens, immersive live and virtual environments, live streams to remote audiences and acting for online applications.

You’ll focus on the progression in your own skills and abilities, growing into a confident and versatile performer. In the first year we’ll focus on fundamental acting skills. voice and movement, screen acting and how to rehearse for a full production. In the second year you’ll work with an external director, experiment with Physical Theatre, learn about new performance technologies and extend your experience with screen acting and classical text. In the final year, the Immersive Performance and a final Showcase will allow you to demonstrate your high-level skills in acting. The showcase enables you to graduate with a professional standard CV and showreel.

You’ll also choose a topic of personal interest to explore practically and/or academically, with individual attention from an expert supervisor to support your completion of the Major Project.

As a BA (Hons) Acting student at ARU, you’ll develop your technical and production skills in our specialist facilities for both recorded and live performance, including motion capture and green screen. Our technical staff will be on hand to offer help and support.

You can also choose to study abroad for a semester, with funding available to help cover the cost. You can also take an optional placement year.

You may also be able to collaborate with other Cambridge School of Creative Industries students such as our film students who need actors for their films, or alongside Computer Games students in the use of motion capture for creating CGI. This will mirror the professional experience of a working actor and develop your skills and experience in collaboration, team work, communication and problem-solving, ready for your future career.

As an ARU student, you can also get involved with the University of Cambridge's Footlights comedy events as a writer, performer or member of the production team.

**Professional Facilities**

As part of your studies at ARU, you’ll have access to all of our creative industries facilities including:

- Dedicated drama studio, with highly flexible black-box performance space

- Full-size on-campus professional Mumford Theatre

- Large rehearsal space with audio playback facilities, piano, LED lighting rig, portable dance mirrors, gym mats and rostra/modular staging

- Students’ Union-run dance studio

- Podcast studio and video capture system

You'll also have access to all our other art, design and creative industries facilities and equipment.

**Careers**

As well as developing your creativity and technical competence in areas of acting, physical and vocal skills on our BA (Hons) Acting degree, you’ll also develop transferable skills such as research, teamwork, communication, problem solving, and resourcefulness. These skills are invaluable in other areas of the creative industries, and in other sectors.

Modules

Year 1 Core modules: Studio Performance; Voice and Movement; Fundamentals for Acting; Introduction to Screen Acting.
Year 2 Core modules: Ruskin Module; Performance Project; Physical Theatre; Performance Technologies; Performing Shakespeare; Acting for Camera.
Year 3: Work placement.
Year 4 Core modules: Immersive Performance; Showcase, Major Project.
Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment methods

You’ll show your progress through a variety of methods that reflect the skills and knowledge you’ll need as both a practitioner and critic, able to both make work and analyse it. These will test your ability, technique, creativity and production skills, and involve both collaborative practice and individual work.

They include: live or mediated performance; process in creating performance (e.g rehearsals, collaborative skills, and professional conduct); rationales for performance; technical production work; critical reflection; essays; portfolios; design plans (e.g. lighting, sound, costume, shooting scripts for video); reviews; practical demonstrations; workshop facilitation; and oral presentations / examinations.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,535
per year
England
£9,535
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,535
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,535
per year
Scotland
£9,535
per year
Wales
£9,535
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Cambridge Campus

Department:

Cambridge School of Creative Industries

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

50%
Acting

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Drama

Teaching and learning

59%
Staff make the subject interesting
56%
Staff are good at explaining things
62%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
53%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

59%
Library resources
75%
IT resources
84%
Course specific equipment and facilities
28%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

76%
UK students
24%
International students
25%
Male students
75%
Female students
98%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
C

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Drama

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£14,000
low
Average annual salary
92%
low
Employed or in further education
27%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
19%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Other elementary services occupations

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Drama

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£12k

£12k

£17k

£17k

£24k

£24k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
place
University of Plymouth | Plymouth
Acting
BA (Hons) 3 Years Sandwich 2025
UCAS Points: 104-112
Lower entry requirements
place
University of Plymouth | Plymouth
Acting with Foundation
BA (Hons) 4 Years Sandwich 2025
UCAS Points: 32-48
Same University
place
Anglia Ruskin University | Cambridge
Acting
BA (Hons) 3 Years Sandwich 2025
UCAS Points: 96

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here