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This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Screen Performance course, with an integrated foundation year. Perfect performance for TV and film. Equip yourself with a range of performance skills. Gain experience that'll launch your media career in front of the camera.
Explore the practical, theoretical, and contextual aspects of the highly specialist areas of screen performance with this exciting course. Learn skills and techniques for television and film and prepare for a career in the screen industry.
Gain professional practice in screen performance including multi-camera acting and directing, scriptwriting, production skills, and multi-platform performance.
Throughout your studies, you’ll be guided and supported by our experts, all of whom are working or researching in media and performance. You’ll study alongside actors, directors, agents, casting directors, and independent film makers who'll share their experience and encourage you to build your network.
In the first year – the foundation year – you'll study five modules. After completion of this foundation year, you'll then move on to BA (Hons) Screen Performance three-year degree.
Alongside your practical work, teaching methods include lectures, demonstrations, workshops, seminars, screenings, group and individual projects, and independent learning. The course has been designed to include a number of employability initiatives and links to industry, which are embedded throughout the course.
In the first two years, you’ll develop the core skills in screen performance. The course culminates in a major screen project that supports your individual preference and/or career interests.
You'll be assessed in a variety of different forms, with learning outputs mirroring industry outputs in terms of showreels, audition and on-set standards and etiquette, video essays, adverts, as well as developing essay writing, research, and presentation skills.
Our BA (Hons) Screen Performance course offers a good balance between performance, production, and theoretical knowledge and experience, preparing you for an exciting future in the performance and screen industries.
Discover how to get the most out of your screen performance degree
Each year, our good friend Lord David Puttnam, Oscar-winning film producer, takes a handful of students under his wing in a unique mentoring opportunity. The Puttnam Scholars attend a series of interactive seminars about the film industry, while undertaking a project set by Lord Puttnam himself.
Learn more about The Lord Puttnam Scholars Scheme
We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.
Entry requirements are provided for guidance only and we may offer you an entrance interview which will help us determine your eligibility for your chosen degree. This enables us to consider making you an offer if you're perhaps a mature student who's been out of education for a period of time, or you've gained significant knowledge and skills through employment rather than traditional education.
Eligible entry qualifications:
If you're unsure of whether you think you might be suitable for the course, please contact us.
**If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above. Equivalent alternative qualifications are also accepted, such as Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number.
If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.
The annual fee for this course is £9,535 if you're from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.
Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. The fee for your first year of study for 2025/26 will be £9,535. You will pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.
If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.
Please note, this course isn't available to international students.
Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements, and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.
Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
This degree prepares you for a career in front of the camera. You'll gain highly transferable skills in communication, presentation, and collaboration with others which will be very relevant to roles in TV, new media, and performance.
We actively encourage you to gain relevant work experience while at university. On every year of your course, you'll be guided and encouraged to gain meaningful experience that'll fit around your studies.
You'll undertake a number of practice modules throughout your course, which can include live briefs from clients from outside the University.
We frequently invite guest speakers to run workshops and masterclasses, allowing you to relate your learning to real-life experience. Previous masterclasses have been delivered by:
We have excellent links with national employers such as the BBC and ITV, and strong links with regional productions like Vera and The Dumping Ground.
Creative Industries Week allows everyone to participate in a range of projects, workshops, talks, industry visits, and career events. This exciting week encourages interdisciplinary working and broadens your experience to build your confidence and help develop your career path.