Performing Arts
Become a creative practitioner and leader. Develop valuable skills, knowledge and personal attributes. Graduate with industry experience and contacts.
Courses we offer
We offer a range of high-quality courses based at our City Campus and at partner colleges across the North East. Our Drama and Dance courses are 13th in the UK (Guardian University Guide, 2023). Successful completion of our BA (Hons) Performing Arts course will qualify you for Spotlight adult performer membership. You'll also get the chance to rehearse and perform in the new £18million Fire Station theatre, which is just a short walk from our studios in Priestman Building. Other student performance venues include the Customs House in South Shields and Washington Arts Centre. Take a look below to find the right course for you and begin your career in the performing arts industry.
Undergraduate courses
BA (Hons) Performing Arts
Take your talent to the next level. Personalise your course with flexible modules suited to your interests and passions across dance, drama and musical theatre. Perfect your skills in state-of-the-art, extensive facilities. Graduate with a wealth of experience and a host of transferable skills.
Find out more about Performing Arts
BA (Hons) Performing Arts with Integrated Foundation Year
This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Performing Arts course, with an integrated foundation year. Take your talent to the next level. Personalise your course with flexible modules suited to your interests and passions. Perfect your skills in state-of-the-art, extensive facilities. Graduate with a wealth of experience and a host of transferable skills.
Find out more about BA (Hons) Performing Arts with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) Professional Dance
This new and unique course is offered by North East dance organisation Dance City in partnership with the University of Sunderland. All of your practical and academic sessions will take place at Dance City in Newcastle upon Tyne which will give you access to professional tutors and facilities as well as placing you at the heart of the region’s dance industry networks. As a University of Sunderland student, you will also benefit from all of the University facilities and support on offer.
Find out more about Professional Dance
BA (Hons) Screen Performance
Explore the practical, theoretical and contextual aspects of the highly specialist areas of screen performance with this exciting new course. You will learn the insider skills and techniques for Television, Film and Radio and master industry standards and conventions alongside practitioners and leading researchers. We’ll guide you through the different genres of screen performance such as drama, comedy, soap opera and factual reportage.
Find out more about BA (Hons) Screen Performance
BA (Hons) Screen Performance Integrated Foundation Year
This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Screen Performance course, with an integrated foundation year. You will learn the insider skills and techniques for Television, Film and Radio and master industry standards and conventions alongside practitioners and leading researchers. We’ll guide you through the different genres of screen performance such as drama, comedy, soap opera and factual reportage.
Find out more about BA (Hons) Screen Performance Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) Modern Music Industries
The BA (Hons) Modern Music Industries course covers the areas of music production, music marketing, event planning, composing, music industry knowledge, stylistic studies and musical instruction. You will gain practical skills in, and knowledge of, these areas in order to pursue a career in commercial music and associated fields.
Find out more about Modern Music Industries
BA (Hons) Music (Top-Up)
Top up your HND or Foundation Degree to full honours in Music. Build skills, complete work placements and graduate as a skilled candidate with extensive dance experience.
Find out more about Music (Top-Up)
Customised Awards Scheme
Pick and choose the modules you want to study to build a tailor-made course. Available at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, this course allows you to gain a qualification that closely matches your particular needs.
Find out more about Customised Awards SchemePostgraduate courses
MPhil Master of Philosophy
Take your education to the next level. Choose the areas you want to study, and which questions you want to research. Take the initiative while we support you with advice, guidance and facilities.
Find out more about MPhil Master of Philosophy
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Refine your own agenda and do what you find interesting every day. Develop mastery of research methods that are appropriate to your chosen field. Discover things that no-one else has ever discovered.
Find out more about PhD Doctor of Philosophy
DProf Professional Doctorate
Study for a doctoral qualification based on your professional role. Reflect on contemporary issues in the workplace.
Find out more about DProf Professional Doctorate
PhD by Existing Published or Creative Work
Take the fastest route to a PhD. Convert your previous research outputs into a qualification which will increase your employability and open up new opportunities. Progress your academic career and add credibility in applications for research funding.
Find out more about PhD by Existing Published or Creative Work
Higher Doctorate
Take your academic career to the highest level. Make a very significant and sustained contribution to your subject. Gain an elite qualification that will mark you out as an outstanding contributor to your field.
Find out more about Higher DoctorateResearch courses
Partner Centres
BA (Hons) Professional Dance
This new and unique course is offered by North East dance organisation Dance City in partnership with the University of Sunderland. All of your practical and academic sessions will take place at Dance City in Newcastle upon Tyne which will give you access to professional tutors and facilities as well as placing you at the heart of the region’s dance industry networks. As a University of Sunderland student, you will also benefit from all of the University facilities and support on offer.
Find out more about Professional Dance
BA (Hons) Modern Music Industries
The BA (Hons) Modern Music Industries course covers the areas of music production, music marketing, event planning, composing, music industry knowledge, stylistic studies and musical instruction. You will gain practical skills in, and knowledge of, these areas in order to pursue a career in commercial music and associated fields.
Find out more about Modern Music IndustriesOnline
Ignite your passion
A degree in the performing arts, which includes dance, drama and music, is for passionate performers who have a genuine interest in a career within the arts and entertainment industries. The University of Sunderland will ensure you are ready for work upon graduation, having studied with experienced and enthusiastic lecturers bringing a vast range of knowledge in their fields of interest. Staff are research active, and their 'internationally excellent' research will play a major role in your development during your time at the University.
You will be based at City Campus, in the heart of our thriving city, working within our purpose-built Performing Arts facilities. Here, you will be part of an active student community, with a host of events and activities on offer. Close at hand is the Murray Library, open 24 hours a day with excellent IT facilities, books, journals and resources.
Studying Performing Arts at the University of Sunderland can unlock a career in a broad range of areas, with graduates going on to work as performers, teachers, producers, community practitioners, arts administrators, managers and freelancers as well as in many other stimulating jobs in the creative industries. We can ensure that you will not only improve your practice, but also plan and take steps towards your dream career.