Manchester Metropolitan University
BA (Hons) Acting
Manchester, United Kingdom
BA
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 21,500 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* full-time fee for EU and Non-EU International Students
Key Summary
BA (Hons) Acting is a vocational training programme with an outstanding reputation for training actors in the skills of theatre, radio, TV and film; more recently encompassing motion capture and animation.
We are looking for your curiosity, imagination, and playfulness. You will be expressive people who are energetic, dynamic and driven to tell stories. We will teach you your craft and encourage you on the path to creative excellence. Through diverse creative modules, you’ll refine your skills and gain the experience needed to excel in a broad range of industry environments.
You’ll be trained by industry experts with specialisms in directing, voice and movement, acting, and theatre-making - academic professionals who continue to work in the field and many of whom are engaged in theatre and performance research.
Studying within our state-of-the-art theatre facilities in the heart of Manchester, a vibrant cultural hub, you'll have access to a wealth of theatres, festivals, and performance events, all of which will enrich your learning.
Features and Benefits
- Federation Membership: As a proud member of the Federation of Drama Schools, our three-year programme equips you with the skills to excel across diverse performance mediums and adapt to industry demands.
- Bursaries and Scholarships: You’ll have the chance to apply for prestigious awards like the Carleton Hobbs, Spotlight Prize, and the Buffini Chao Elevate Scholarship.
- Industry Connections: Rooted in tradition but future-focused, we maintain strong connections with key employers like the BBC, ITV, and The Royal Exchange Theatre.
- Professional Training: Our industry-experienced team offers hands-on training in areas such as motion capture, acting through song, devising, and puppetry.
- Collaborative Opportunities: As part of Manchester Metropolitan University, you can collaborate with departments like Digital Arts, Law, and the Manchester Writing School.
- Expert Lecturers: You’ll learn from professional lecturers and visiting experts who ensure you receive cutting-edge, relevant training.
- State-of-the-Art Facilities: With purpose-built rehearsal rooms and a dedicated theatre, you’ll train and perform in a professional environment.
- Cultural Hub: Located in Manchester’s cultural heart, you’ll have access to theatres, festivals, and performance events to enrich your experience.
Course information
The first two years of this course are all about training. The third year is industry facing, preparing and readying our actors for the profession. The first year is entirely process driven with little emphasis on performing. The second year introduces elements of performance through workshops and culminates in a black box production readying the students for the third year.
Year 1
In the first year of your training you will explore your voice, your body and your self. You will experience the ensemble as a tangible, meaningful presence and you will begin the rudiments of the actor’s craft, working with key principles derived in part from the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky, Uta Hagen and Michael Chekhov. You will learn how to read a play and turn dried ink into character and action. You will learn the rudiments of working on camera and have several opportunities to experience truthful self and the transformation into a present character. You will start to apply what you have learned in a series of scene studies working with both contemporary and European Naturalism texts. By the end of your first year you will have experienced using self as the basis of character and have established a personal, structured process to apply to rehearsal.
Core modules
- Exploring Movement
- Exploring Voice
- Exploring Acting for Stage and Screen
- Contextualising Practice - Critical Analysis
Year 2
In the second year of your training, you will consolidate and develop what you have learned in the first year. You will work have considerably more experience in front of the camera as well as behind the mic. You will work with heightened stakes, intense feeling and poetic speech through your Shakespeare project and you will have further classes in singing, combat, acting for camera, improvisation, poetry, as well as deeper and more sustained scene studies in which to develop your process and hone your craft.
Core modules
- Advanced Voice
- Advanced Movement
- Advanced Acting for Stage and Screen
- Contextualising Practice - Critical Reflection
Year 3
Your final year is very much about preparing for and engaging with the profession. You will work with professional directors on at least one public performance per term. You will have workshops and talks from practitioners and professionals including successful directors of stage and screen, agents, producers, casting directors, artistic directors and many more. You will have the opportunity to audition for the various awards and bursaries, including the Sam Wannamaker Festival, the Carleton Hobbs Bursary Award (which we have won and come runner up in several times in recent years) the RSC weekend and many more. You will receive advice on auditions and self-tapes culminating in a series of mock auditions. You will also take part in the annual Showcase, which will be at our new theatre in Manchester and in a West End theatre in London.
Core modules
- Autumn Production
- Spring Production
- Professional Portfolio
- Independent Project
Through our Careers Service, you will be supported and encouraged to get ready for further study or working life, including starting your own business.
Through Future Me, you’ll explore your career plans. And through Rise, you will top up your skills with hundreds of online short courses.
Our groundbreaking research with industry means we have unrivalled business connections that can help open doors to your dream career.
You’ll get chances to meet employers, and help preparing for interviews.
And the support doesn’t stop when you graduate. Our recent graduates can access services and support to start and boost their careers. As an alumnus, you will have lifelong access to our online career resources.
Former students who have gone on to highly successful careers in film, television and theatre and graduates include Sarah Amankwah, Zawe Ashton, Zora Bishop, John Bradley, George Bukhari, Amanda Burton Steve Coogan, Ashley Gerlach, Richard Griffiths, Graeme Hawley, Zoe Henry, Bernard Hill, Noreen Kershaw, Elliot Knight, Adam Kotz, Nathan McMullen, Yasmin Mwanza, David Threlfall, John Thomson, Annie Wallace, Julie Walters CBE, Assad Zaman.
Study
- Year 1 80% lectures, seminars or similar; 20% independent study
- Year 2 80% lectures, seminars or similar; 20% independent study
- Year 3 80% lectures, seminars or similar; 20% independent study
Assessment
- Year 1 100% coursework
- Year 2 100% coursework
- Year 3 100% coursework