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Acting and Performance with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

English Language at grade C or 4 or equivalent.

UCAS Tariff

48

This must include at least 24 points from one A level or equivalent BTEC National qualifications excluding general studies. For example: DD at A Level, PPP in BTEC Extended Diploma, Pass from a T level qualification with D or E from core, or a combination of qualifications (which may include AS levels and EPQ).

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Other options

5 years | Sandwich including foundation year | 2024

Subjects

Acting

Performing arts

**Please check the Sheffield Hallam University website for the latest information.**

**Course summary:**

- Develop your skills as an actor and performer

- Create digital materials to showcase your work

- Research, plan and execute a wide range of performances at a professional level

- Use performance to engage with communities and challenge real-world issues.

- Join at the foundation year and develop your personal skills, awareness of resources and commitment to the subject

You’ll be immersed in the creative process of making and presenting theatre and performance in a range of styles and across a range of platforms (such as stage, screen, audio and digital/new media). You will develop your acting skills and contribute to our own festival, The Change Makers Festival.

**How you learn:**

All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

In the foundation year, you will start by developing a good base of knowledge, but also the personal skills and awareness of resources that will help you manage your studies effectively and be self-motivated.

The practical elements of the course will build throughout your time with us. You’ll take part in interactive lectures, seminars and workshops and have the opportunity to work with industry partners on live projects. At the end of your second year, you’ll travel abroad to see performances made and presented in a different context.

You learn through

- practical workshops

- working in an ensemble

- going to see performances

- independent study

- undertaking real-life projects for external clients

- lectures and seminars

**Applied learning**

**Work placements**

In the second year, of the full degree, you’ll have the chance to collaborate with external partners, undertake a work placement or develop your own enterprise.

**Live projects**

We work with a range of local organisations (theatres, film makers, theatre companies and arts organisations) on live briefs, with staff often producing work for local festivals. You’ll be invited to participate in these projects, giving you the chance to work alongside industry professionals.

In the foundation year, you will undertake a series of projects that respond to real world debates.

**Field trips**

You will have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of trips throughout your time on the course. We are ideally located close to Sheffield Theatres and regularly see performances there, but you will also travel to see work in other cities in the north, nationwide, and where possible, internationally. In past years, students have attended international theatre festivals and/or performed work in Prague, Venice, Berlin and Paris.

**Networking opportunities**

We have excellent links to local actors, companies and venues, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet and talk to people from the industry.

Modules

Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.

Important notice: The structure for this course is currently being reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment are all likely to change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Once the changes have been confirmed, updated module information will be published on this page.

You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.

**Year 1**

**Compulsory modules**

Talent Accelerator

**Year 2**

**Compulsory modules**

Acting Ensemble
Media For Acting And Performance
Performance Commission

**Year 3**

**Compulsory modules**

Acting With Texts
Bodies, Space, Performance
Ideas Into Action

**Year 4**

**Optional modules**

Placement Year

**Final year**

**Compulsory modules**

Change Makers' Festival

**Elective modules**

Advanced Acting Techniques
Drama In Education & The Community
Making Comedy
Performance Lab

Assessment methods

Coursework & Practical

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,655
per year
International
£16,655
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Scholarships, discounts and bursaries may be available to students who study this course.

The Uni


Course location:

Sheffield Hallam University

Department:

College of Social Sciences and Arts

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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.

93%
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

93%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
86%
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

58%
Library resources
73%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
71%
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?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
40%
Male students
60%
Female students
69%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
B

Performing arts

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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.

£15,000
low
Average annual salary
91%
low
Employed or in further education
8%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

23%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
19%
Other elementary services occupations
12%
Customer service occupations

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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.

£9k

£9k

£18k

£18k

£20k

£20k

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.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

Explore these similar courses...

Lower entry requirements
University of Bedfordshire | Luton
Performing Arts with Foundation Year
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 32-48
Same University
Sheffield Hallam University | Sheffield
Acting and Performance
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 112
Higher entry requirements
Bath Spa University | Bath
Acting and Performance Making
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 80

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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?

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