BA (Hons) Acting for Stage and Screen
- Study Mode: Full Time
- Location: High Wycombe
- Duration: Three or Four Years
- Start Date: September 2025
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If you’re looking to break into the performance industry, this degree in acting is an excellent launch pad to help you get there. On this BA (Hons) Acting Stage and Screen course you’ll get to fine-tune and extend your acting skills, working on live briefs, networking with industry creatives, and taking part in diverse projects.
Why study BA (Hons) Acting Stage and Screen at BNU?
While numerous acting programs predominantly concentrate on theatre, our curriculum uniquely prioritizes both stage and on-screen acting. Recognizing the substantial demand for roles in film, television, and online media in today's industry, our course ensure you are prepared for the many roles that make up the industry.
This BA (Hons) Acting Stage and Screen degree is led by a dedicated and experienced course team. Benefit from their industry knowledge and the industry links they bring to the course. Many of our guest lecturers are industry-experts and alongside your lecturers, they’ll nurture your learning and professional development.
As well as this we seek to bring your work into the wider world and to bring the world into the university. During your time at BNU you’ll have the opportunity to perform at external venues and take part in workshops with leading companies, both on and off campus. Previous theatre companies and practitioners include Paper Birds on devising theatre, Out of Joint on contemporary texts, Mark McGann on acting for camera, and Station House Opera on intermedial theatre.
On occasion you could also find yourself using the professional venue at Wycombe Town Hall, which is less than two minutes from our campus.
At BNU we ensure you have creative spaces to bring your ideas to life. On this course you’ll have access to drama studios. Each space brings with it unique features, from moving lights and fully equipped sound systems and projection to mirrors, a tiered seating bank and sprung floors. You’ll also have access to our props store where you can find everything you’ll need to bring your performances to life, from costumes and wigs, to lamps and even a coffin.
You’ll also have access to high quality camera equipment, a greenscreen room and lighting rigs and sound recording facilities, all suitable for film and TV screening.
We also understand that during your time at university, it is also just important to get involved with extra-curricular activities. Our Students’ Union offers a range of free societies and nights out for you to enjoy, from musical theatre society to our yearly festiball event, there is something for everyone.
During your time on this course, you will create your own performances, including your own shows, films and short scenes – and take things in the direction that interests you, whether that’s directing or devising, or focusing on a particular theory, piece of research or playwright. You’ll develop an understanding of what is required for acting on screen as well as stage, and will become a motivated team player able to think about the world around them.
In your final year, you will manage your own significant screen or stage-based production, from conception, to venue booking, marketing and performance. You will also set up your own artistic company, and learn about all the elements involved in that, from budgeting and funding applications, to promoting yourself as a professional artist.
Our High Wycombe Campus is only a short train ride away from London, meaning you are only a stones-throw away from the hustle and bustle of the world-renowned West End and many other independent theatres. You are also only round the corner from Oxford and Reading.
What will I study?
On this BA acting course there is an equal focus on both screen and stage, and lots of opportunity to test out different performance styles and techniques. You will get to fine-tune and extend your acting skills, working on live briefs and diverse projects – and build contacts and the entrepreneurial ability essential to securing work as an actor.
This course is also offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The BA (Hons) Acting Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.
Through practical workshops, and looking at relevant literature, we will take you through different acting styles and techniques, including method acting, physical theatre, post-dramatic styles and more abstract approaches. Working with our professional experts, you will consider a range of acting methods from the last 100 years, and try out different styles and ideas you can integrate into your own performances.
By the time you graduate, you’ll have become a thinking practitioner with a passion for all that acting can be. You will have the entrepreneurial flair, and strong grasp of both stage and screen work, to position yourself confidently as an inspiring and creative practitioner that people will want to work with.
You will be somebody with a clear vision of the sort of acting you want to do, with the skill set on how to achieve it and the knowledge on how it impacts on the world around you.
How will I be taught and assessed?
Assessment is varied, catering for different learning styles and enabling students to develop a wide range of academic and performance skills. These include solo performance, group performance, group presentation, written project proposal, written reflection on creative work, and workshops.
We're passionate about giving our students as many opportunities as possible so you’ll be able to work on a number of exciting projects. We know the importance of catering for different learning styles and enabling our students to develop a wide range of academic and performance skills.
We don't have any written exams and we encourage you to develop your own response to open briefs, giving you independence and creative control over your work.
Throughout the course, an attempt is made to connect practical and critical work, with an understanding of the links between theory and practice evidenced in written work. Teaching methods may vary but will include workshops to develop practical and production skills, seminars and lectures, performances (some of which are formally assessed) where you will perform to an audience or be mediated (i.e. for camera) and study trips, giving you the opportunity to watch professional theatre.
What are the course entry requirements?
A typical offer will require a UCAS tariff score of: 88 - 112 (Full-time) or 32 - 56 (Foundation Year)
UCAS points can be obtained through qualifications such as A levels, T levels, BTEC or an Access to Higher Education course in a relevant subject. Please list all your qualifications on the application form as you will be asked to provide copies when we receive your application.
A minimum of two full A-levels (or equivalent) is required and a typical offer also requires GCSE Maths and English at grade C/4. Every application is considered on an individual basis.
Applicants will need to complete an interview and/or demonstrate portfolio work, further guidance is given on the interview and portfolio advice pages.
For further details of our international English entry requirements, please visit our international pages.
Those with no previous study, work experience, or who do not meet the specified entry requirements, including demonstrating the necessary knowledge and understanding, are welcome to apply for the 3-year BA (Hons) degree, however may be offered the four-year programme which includes a Foundation Year.
Suitable candidates will receive an audition invitation
All suitable candidates will be invited to discuss their work during an audition and interview that will last approximately 15 minutes. The interviewing tutor will be looking for:
- the ability to articulate your views on your own work
- a commitment and enthusiasm for the subject
- the potential for sustained professional development
- the ability to form and present opinions on other performing art work, either as a performer or audience member.
Preparing for your audition
We've put together a guide on how to prepare for your audition with us, as well as information for International students.
Modules
This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.
What are the tuition fees
Home
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Home Foundation Year, Academic Year 2025 - 2026: £9,535 *
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Home, Academic Year 2025 - 2026: £9,535 per year *
International
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Overseas/International Foundation Year, Academic Year 2025 - 2026: £15,150 *
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Overseas/International, Academic Year 2025 - 2026: £15,150 per year *
Following the Government’s announcement of 4 November 2024, we will be increasing our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for UK students to £9,535 per year from the start of the 2025/26 academic year. Our part-time fees for UK undergraduate students will increase to £7,145 per annum. Please visit , on the Government’s website, for more information about the changes.
Tuition fees for Home undergraduate students (including with foundation year) may increase in subsequent years for both new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by the Government.  
Tuition fees for both new and continuing international students may be subject to an inflationary increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period to 31 January each year.  
Tuition fees for postgraduate courses and CPD may be subject to an inflationary increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12-month period to 31 January each year. This increase will apply to both new and continuing students.  
We understand, and really appreciate, the significant financial commitment our students make when they choose to study at BNU. We take our responsibilities to our students very seriously, and are ambitious for each to reach their full potential and succeed in their chosen career. Our fees help us to continue providing our students with a high-quality education, and to invest in the services and facilities which create an excellent student experience at BNU.
The following factors will be considered by the University when we set the annual fees: measures of inflation such as the retail price indices; projected increases in University costs; and any changes in the level of funding for teaching received from the Government.
What are my career prospects?
Film, TV and theatre is a global industry with a rich history in entertainment and innovation. With a broad range of roles for you to take on in the industry, from bringing scripts to life for audiences around the world, to scriptwriting and creating new worlds. Whatever route you dream of taking, a degree in acting allows you to learn a range of transferable skills and confidence building techniques.
By the time you leave us, you’ll be in a strong position to go after acting work. You could work in acting for theatre or films, set up your own performance company, work in education or outreach groups, or across a range of areas in the cultural industries, undertake further professional study or pursue research through a master’s degree.
Using the skills and knowledge learnt on this course, you could find yourself performing the following roles all over the world:
- Actor/ Actress
- Playwright
- Screenwriter
- Performance Company owner
- Teacher.
You may also wish to stay on at Buckinghamshire New University and study our full-time or part-time Postgraduate Courses.
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