Acting at UCA

Take the spotlight, tread the boards, and break the fourth wall on our exciting industry connected BA (Hons) Acting degree course at UCA Farnham. 

Our practical and performance-based degree gives you the in-depth vocational training you’ll need to excel on stage, on screen, and in digital media, with rigorous practical learning and collaborations with a wide range of industry partners and networks including the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, and the British Film Institute. This course is also recognised by Spotlight and Equity UK.
 
You will participate in workshops specialising in voice, movement, text, and character, and as this course is production focussed, you will be cast in both live and digital performances as well as devising your own work. You will be supported in your professional development, producing a portfolio including headshots, voice reels, showreels, and a website.

You’ll be able to use our state-of-the-art facilities, including our recording, motion capture, and virtual production studios, while our partnerships with Farnham Maltings and other respected theatres will enable you to learn and showcase your work in professional live performance environments. When you graduate, you may also be able to audition for the new UCA Graduate Company.

Course entry options

Select from the following options to find out more about the different study options available for our BA (Hons) Acting degree:

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Acting
BA (Hons)

Our standard three year undergraduate degree for those who meet the entry requirements for higher education.

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Institution code
C93
UCAS code
W410
Campus
UCA Farnham
Start date(s)
September 2026
Duration
3 years full-time
Entry requirements

112 UCAS points

International equivalent qualifications

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Acting
BA (Hons) with Integrated Foundation Year

A four year degree programme, including a foundation year to help develop your creativity before you embark on year one of a degree.

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Institution code
C93
UCAS code
W41A
Campus
UCA Farnham
Start date(s)
September 2026
Duration
4 years full-time
Entry requirements

UK: 32 UCAS points
International / EU: 12 years of schooling (with good grades)

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Acting

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Institution code
C93
UCAS code
W41C
Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
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Acting
BA (Hons) with Professional Practice Year

A four year programme, which sees you spend an entire year gaining valuable industry experience prior to your final year of study.

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Institution code
C93
UCAS code
W412
Campus
UCA Farnham
Start date(s)
September 2026
Duration
4 years full-time
Entry requirements

112 UCAS points

International equivalent qualifications

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Acting
BA (Hons) with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year

A five year course, including a foundation year to help develop your creativity before you embark on year one of a degree, and a year on a professional placement gaining valuable industry experience prior to your final year of study.

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Institution code
C93
UCAS code
W41B
Campus
UCA Farnham
Start date(s)
September 2026
Duration
5 years full-time
Entry requirements

UK: 32 UCAS points
International / EU: 12 years of schooling (with good grades)

Close

Acting

A five year course, including a foundation year to help develop your creativity before you embark on year one of a degree, and a year on a professional placement gaining valuable industry experience prior to your final year of study.

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Institution code
C93
Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements

Upcoming webinars

We offer a range of webinars throughout the year that Acting students may be interested in.


22 Oct 2025

UCA Live: Making an Outstanding Portfolio & Applying to University
19 Nov 2025

UCA Live: How to write a personal statement for a creative degree
3 Dec 2025

UCA Live: Creative Careers & Life After University
10 Dec 2025

UCA Live: Supporting Students at University - Information for Parents & Guardians
14 Jan 2026

UCA Live: Making an Outstanding Portfolio & Applicant Day Advice
28 Jan 2026

UCA Live: Postgraduate Opportunities – A focus on Masters & PhDs

This includes subject talks, masterclasses, application proccess advice and student life guides. Check out our upcoming webinars and book your place today.

Accreditations, partners and industry connections

National Theatre logo

National Theatre

The National Theatre has been sharing unforgettable stories for more than 50 years. In its role as the leader of theatre in the UK, it works tirelessly to bring theatre to audiences around the world and encourages the art of theatre through commissioned work, learning programmes and strategic partnerships.

Shakespeare’s Globe logo

Shakespeare’s Globe

Shakespeare’s Globe is a world-renowned theatre, education centre, and cultural landmark. Inspired and informed by the unique historic playing conditions of two beautiful iconic theatres, our diverse programme of work harnesses the power of performance, cultivates intellectual curiosity, and excites learning to make Shakespeare accessible for all.

British Film Institute (BFI) logo

British Film Institute (BFI)

The BFI is a charity and the UK’s leading organisation for film and moving image. It promotes and supports British film from newcomers to established makers, and cares for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive.

Spotlight logo

Spotlight

Spotlight is at the heart of the performing arts industry and connects performers with roles in theatre, television and film productions. Spotlight are recognised as the industry’s best, and work with its partners to find the right performer for the job, wherever they are in the world.

Equity UK logo

Equity UK

Equity is the UK’s performing arts and entertainment trade union, representing more than 47,000 performers and creative practitioners across the country, for more than 100 years.

Watch our course videos


Conrad Kayitare_Performing Arts Video

Performing Arts at UCA

Callum Durrant_Let the Right One In Video

Rehearsing for Let the Right One In performance

Eugenie, Acting student film thumbnail

Eugenie talks about studying Acting at UCA
Tae-Jean Grierson, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Neila Masolaite, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Katie Paul, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Diogo Viegas, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Esther Zhang, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Hayden Lepine-Williams, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Callum Durrant, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Conrad Kayitare, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Amelia Sian BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Ellie Chambers, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham Ivrin Li, BA (Hons) Acting, UCA Farnham
What you'll study

What you'll study

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

UCA’s Integrated Foundation Year is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and more.

You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.

Find out more about the Integrated Foundation Year

Acting, Voice & Movement
This unit will introduce you to a set of skills which will provide a robust foundation for the course and underpin a life-long process of learning for the professional actor and performer.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
This unit aims to develop an awareness and understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and promote progressive values and attitudes in creative practice.

Professional Practice
This unit will address marketing yourself and an actor and performer when you leave UCA. You will start to meet actors, casting agents and directors from industry who will discuss with you the work you want to make and be cast in.

20th & 21st Century Theatre
In the 20th & 21st Century Theatre unit you will rehearse and perform in a live theatrical production from or inspired by the period. This production will be directed by a member of university staff and supported by additional workshops and masterclasses.

Screen Acting
In this unit you will study the fundamentals of screen acting and film creation. You will learn basic filmmaking and screen acting skills and use these to make solo and group films inspired by the film genres you have studied.

Individual Performance Project
This final unit of Year 1 combines the skills you have learnt throughout the year and anticipates elements of your Final Major Project in Year 3.

Core units

You will study the following core units:

Elizabethan & Jacobean Theatre 
You will rehearse and perform in a live theatrical production from or inspired by the period, directed by a member of university staff and supported by workshops and masterclasses. Cross course collaboration is encouraged and the final production will be performed in front of a public audience.

The Conscious Practitioner
This unit aims to promote progressive values and attitudes to diversity and inclusion in creative practice. You’ll have the opportunity to explore global perspectives and influences on creative practice, drawing upon interactions with varied identities, cultures, politics, and histories. The unit will explore how beliefs, values and attitudes drive behaviour and practices. Students will reflect on the development of their own creative influences, perspectives, practices, and sense of belonging as developing creative professionals in global and contemporary spaces.

Audio, Visual & Video Game Acting
Developing further the practical approach to acting and performance skills introduced in Year 1, you will advance your screen acting, voice acting, creative and technical skills and focus on recorded work.

Writing, Producing & Directing
Writing, Producing & Directing builds on the foundational skills developed in Professional Practice, empowering you to take creative ownership through play script development, production planning, and directorial techniques for theatre.

Elective units

There is a choice of elective units available and more details will be provided to you once on the course. Examples of elective units from previous years include:

  • Physical Theatre: You’ll work together with students from a wide range of courses to make a live physical theatre production. This could be further augmented by animated material or filmed material. TV or film students may also be involved capturing or streaming the performance.
  • Acting Through Song: You’ll learn and develop skills relevant to character and narrative-driven musical performance, rehearsing and performing a sharing that may include selected sequences from a play or plays with music or musical theatre.
  • Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Music and Theatre: This unit encourages interdisciplinary collaboration between Music, Acting & Performance, and Design for Theatre & Screen to plan, rehearse and deliver a live performance piece to an audience of peers and the public. This project puts music performance at the centre of the collaboration. 
  • Film Production: This unit is designed to provide learners with practical skills and knowledge in film production, with a focus on collaboration, professionalism, and self-reflection. The unit will culminate in a group film production project, where learners will have the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge.
  • Cinematography: This unit is essential if you want to develop yuor skills in visual storytelling and creating compelling visuals for film and video. By taking this unit, you will learn the principles of cinematography and gain hands-on experience using industry-standard equipment to create professional quality visuals.
  • Script Writing: You’ll be introduced to a range of creative writing skills and, in particular, the highly visual medium of writing for film and television. You will view and compare the work of some of the industry’s most accomplished contemporary screen writers, learn how to present and format a script and write your own story outline for a short film, series or screenplay.

If you opt to complete a professional practice year, this will take place in year three. You will undertake a placement within the creative industries to further develop your skills and CV.

While on your Professional Practice Year, you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee for that year. This fee will be determined using government funding regulations. Based on current regulations, we expect this to be a maximum of 20% of the tuition fee rate that you are charged for your second year of study. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during this year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this as you approach your Professional Practice Year.

Please note: If you are an international applicant, you will need to enrol onto the course ‘with Professional Practice Year’. It will not be possible to transfer onto the Professional Practice Year after enrolment

Live Performance

This unit is the final directed performance of the course. Led by professional directors and senior staff, you will work on a live staged performance, to be shown to an invited audience.

Screen Performance

This unit is the culmination of the studies in screen acting. Led by professional directors and senior staff, you will work on a film performance through scenes (and monologues). You will be filming scenes (and screen monologues) from devised, commissioned and/or published screenplays.

Final Major Project – Practice as Research

The Final Major Project: Practice as Research will engage you through several periods of sustained research on an individually negotiated subject for investigation. This will most likely be related to the contextual and/or theoretical concerns of your chosen areas of practice.

You will explore a variety of methodologies and resources appropriate to your area(s) of interest that will allow you to express the sustained period of research through practical, written, and oral assessment.

This course is designed to offer you (if eligible) the opportunity to study part of your degree aboard at a UCA partner university, while still earning credits towards your UCA degree.

For more information please visit the Study Abroad section

Integrated foundation year

  • Independent study: 60%
  • Scheduled teaching: 40%
  • Online delivery: 0%
  • Placement: 0%

Year one

  • Independent study: 60%
  • Scheduled teaching: 40%
  • Online delivery: 0%
  • Placement: 0%

Year two

  • Independent study: 60%
  • Scheduled teaching: 40%
  • Online delivery: 0%
  • Placement: 0%

Year three

  • Independent study: 70%
  • Scheduled teaching: 30%
  • Online delivery: 0%
  • Placement: 0%

Professional placement or International year (if undertaken)

  • Independent study: 0%
  • Scheduled teaching: 0%
  • Online delivery: 0%
  • Placement: 100%

Please note, these details are for 2025 entry and could be subject to change for other years of entry.

UCA Graduate Company

UCA is excited to introduce an innovative addition to our Performing Arts programme – the UCA Graduate Company. This tuition-free initiative is designed to provide you with a unique opportunity to further develop your skills and continue your journey into the creative industries.

The UCA Graduate Company is not just an extension of your degree; it’s a transformative experience. You will create multi-media, multi-disciplinary and multi-linguistic work that complements our postgraduate courses.

To be eligible for the UCA Graduate Company, you will need to meet specific criteria during your time with us. The application process takes place in the later stages of your formal studies, offering a seamless transition into this immersive experience.

Course specifications

Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.

Explore our gradshow

Each year, we’re privileged to be able to share our graduates’ incredible work with the world. And now’s your chance to take a look.

Visit the online showcase
Fees & funding

Fees & financial support

Tuition fees - 2026/27

  • Integrated Foundation Year: £9,535
  • BA course: £9,535

If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2026 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £1,900. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.

Tuition fees - 2026/27

  • Details of the fees for 2026/27 will be available here shortly. As a guide please see the 2025/26 fees.

Tuition fees - 2025/26

  • Integrated Foundation Year: £9,535 (see fee discount information)
  • BA course: £9,535 (see fee discount information)

If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2025 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £1,900. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.

Tuition fees - 2026/27

  • Integrated Foundation Year: £18,000
  • BA course: £18,000

If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2026 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £3,490. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.

Please note: The fees listed on this webpage are correct for the stated academic year only, for details of previous years please see the full fee schedules.

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials. 

These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of the Course Information Document for more details of the costs you may incur.

Find out what's included in your tuition fees.

Facilities & equipment

This course has an on-campus performance space and study spaces for group working, tutorials, seminars and technical workshops. It is also in partnership with the Farnham Maltings and the larger performances are housed there. The Maltings is a leading performance venue located in the heart of Farnham with a network of professional theatre makers based there and regular live and screened performances which give Acting  students a valuable live/screen experience.

Acting Workshop at The Maltings

Virtual Production & Motion Capture Studio, UCA Farnham

Motion Capture & Virtual Production Studio, UCA Farnham

Acting Space, UCA Farnham
Music Studios, UCA Farnham

Recording Studio, UCA Farnham
Launch the Virtual Tour

Career opportunities

Taught by lecturers with professional acting or directing experience, you’ll quickly learn what it takes to be an industry professional. Our degree course is designed by professionals to train contemporary actors, and our valuable industry links include:

  • National Theatre
  • British Film Institute
  • Spotlight
  • Equity UK
  • Farnham Maltings
  • British Actors’ Equity
  • Drama UK (the body that oversees drama training across the country).

Alongside (or as an alternative to) theatre, TV, radio or film work, a portfolio career for the professional freelance actor may also include:

  • Acting in corporate films, and live role-play in business training
  • Forming a company to create and stage your own work
  • Commercials (film or audio)
  • Voicing computer games and animations
  • Creating original material for Image Capture projects
  • Community projects such as theatre in schools.

You may also like to consider further study at postgraduate level.

Our staff

Keir Burrows

Keir Burrows

Senior Lecturer in Acting
Annelies Lovell

Annelies Lovell

Senior Lecturer in Acting
Dr Gabriela Curpan

Dr Gabriela Curpan

Senior Lecturer in Acting
James Taylor-Mémé

James Taylor-Mémé

Technical Tutor in Acting
Stefan-Iulian Craioveanu

Ștefan-Iulian Craioveanu

Technical Tutor MA Acting
Andrew Pritchard

Andrew Pritchard

Programme Director in Performance
Jamahyl Chan-Ellis

"The course has been an amazing, invigorating experience especially the whole university journey as a whole from moving from London to Farnham and adapting to a new environment and engaging with new peers"

Jamahyl Chan-Ellis

Lucy Hellier CDG

"It was clear that the students, as experienced 3rd years at UCA, have learnt so much and are ready to enter into the wider world of acting and performance, and put all their knowledge into practice. I have no doubt they will all do brilliantly."

Lucy Hellier CDG Casting (Skyfall, Spectre)

Acting & Performance news and stories

Read the latest news and blogs from our Acting & Performance courses

UCA acting and performance alumni Gabin Kongolo, right, on stage at Shakespeare's Globe

Acting alum Gabin takes on the Globe
Grace Palma on the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival

Venice premiere for acting starlet Grace
National Theatre, Jan 2015. Photo by © Philip Vile

UCA’s new relationship with National Theatre
Jamahyl Chan-Ellis

Grad Jamahyl celebrates National Theatre debut

Entry & audition requirements

For these courses we’ll need to see an audition.

  • UK applicants: We will invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your audition in person.
  • International applicants: We will ask you to submit an online video audition. 

The requirements vary depending on whether you have a face-to-face audition or upload an online audition. For more details please see more Acting audition advice

Select your country to find the equivalent requirements

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Related courses

Acting BA (Hons) at UCA Farnham

Campus: UCA Farnham