Acting - MA / PgDip

Transform your career with our postgraduate qualification in acting. Designed to advance your practical and professional progress, our MA Acting course provides intense training from staff with rich industry experience.

Previous graduates of this course have gone on to succeed as established performers, including roles at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

• Royal Birmingham Conservatoire staff have vast experience, both within the UK and internationally. Staff have worked with well-known individuals, projects and companies such as the BBC, the RSC, the NHS, British repertory and festival theatres, and much more.
• To ensure high quality tuition, we normally have a maximum of 14 students enrolled onto the course each year.
• By joining Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, you will also be part of Birmingham City University, meaning you’ll have access to all the University’s state-of-the-art facilities, including TV and radio studios and a green screen, all of which you’ll have the opportunity to experience.
• Our graduates have gone on to perform with prestigious companies in the UK and internationally.
• One of the most unique things about our programme is the solo performance project, performed as part of our yearly MA FEST.

The MA Acting course is the first anywhere to use the University’s new £62m TV production facilities at Parkside, Birmingham, of which Birmingham Conservatoire is a part. Recorded Media training will prepare you for work in film, television, radio drama and audiobooks.

How to apply

Please read our information on the audition process before making your application. We charge an audition fee of £46, which must be paid prior to audition and covers the entire audition process. 

You can find guidance on how to prepare for an Audition by visiting the page below. 

Audition Guidance

If you are applying from outside the UK/EU and are not able to attend an audition in the UK, you may wish to submit an online audition. Details of how to do this can be found here. 

Audition Guidance (International Applicants)

The MA in Acting operates as a one-year, full-time course. As a Master’s student, you will be expected to take a proactive attitude toward study with timetabled classes as well as time for self-directed study.

Throughout the course, you will be taught through a series of modules covering a different aspect of the acting field, teaching you a diverse, yet specialised combination of knowledge and skill. You will formulate a strong understanding of the importance of context to your work, maintaining an awareness of developments within the acting field.

Towards the end of your Master’s you will be expected to devise and present a research project. This project is designed to demonstrate an accumulation of the skills and knowledge you have developed throughout the programme. You will be expected to engage in independent study, researching a specific area of your theatrical interest.

Student stories - Danielle Pinnock

"I chose Birmingham School of Acting because I have always wanted to study abroad in England for as long as I could remember. I think the acting training in England really is special, because you are learning from tutors from all over Europe. I wanted to study acting, because I graduated with a directing emphasis from my undergraduate college, Temple University. I really wanted to sharpen and challenge my acting skills and I was able to do that and more at BSA. I am now in Chicago working at The Goodman Theatre on Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage’s new play ‘By the Way, Meet Vera Stark’. I am understudying for the role of Lottie.

Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

• Explore some of the good reasons why you should study here.
• Find out how to improve your language skills before starting your studies.
• Find all the information relevant to applicants from your country.
• Learn where to find financial support for your studies.

In the past, we have welcomed students from international countries such as Norway and further afield. We encourage international students to study with us, as we feel you will benefit from experiencing a new culture and bringing your own perspective and flair to the programme.

As a University, we are one of Britain’s leading providers of creative, talented professionals. We have a range of visiting tutors, industry connections and innovative teaching. In Birmingham alone there are various performing arts programmes and venues, and with London just a train journey away, you will be surrounded by creativity and possibility.

The MA Acting course will be delivered in English, and the ability to speak and to write English with considerable fluency is a requirement for entry to the course. In most cases, a candidate whose first language is not English may be required to take a standard test in English in order to evaluate your level of comprehension, skills in conversation and writing. The result of this test will be necessary prior to being offered a place on the course.

Our Facilities

Location

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is based at the University’s City Centre Campus. A part of the Arts, Design and Media faculty, we are based within Millennium Point but also have access to facilities at the Parkside Building.

The Parkside Building boasts state-of-the-art facilities such as radio and television studios, edit suites, photography studios, and much more. 

Rehearsal space

There are ten rehearsal spaces, a ‘black box’ performance studio, showers, lockers and workshop space within the Department of Acting. The ‘black box’ performance studio, also known as the Patricia Yardley Studio, is our in-house performance theatre. Using variable acoustics which can be adjusted, and housing a fully operational lighting rig and a quadraphonic sound system.

Each studio contains: specialist acoustic panelling; specialist sprung floors; a heating system that radiates heat equally around the studio; and an air replacement system that maintains a constant room temperature.

Performances

Students regularly perform at professional theatres across the West Midlands, including The Birmingham Central Library Theatre; Crescent Theatre; Hippodrome Studio (Patrick Centre); The Old Rep Theatre and The Drum.