Acting at UCA

Expand and deepen your knowledge and skills in acting and performing in front of the camera on our MA in Acting course at UCA Farnham.

While you don’t need any formal training in performance to join this course, we are looking for creative students who are keen to challenge themselves, experiment and push boundaries.

With the support of expert staff including Dr Sian Rees, Dr Harry Whalley and pioneering intimacy co-ordinator Pia Rickman, you will explore different aspects of performance and how it is consumed, as well as learning about presenting, developing your professional profile, extending your screen acting skills and completing an ambitious final project.

Please note, this course has previously being called MA Screen Acting & Performance.

 

Course entry options

Select from the following options to find out more about the different study options available for this course:

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Campus
UCA Farnham
Start date(s)
September 2025
Duration
1 year full-time
Entry requirements

Honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in the subject/related discipline
and/or
Relevant work experience 

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Campus
UCA Farnham
Start date(s)
September 2025
Duration
2 years full-time
Entry requirements

A recognised bachelor degree or 3 year diploma with a strong portfolio in a relevant subject

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Duration
Entry requirements
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Accreditations, partners and industry connections

National Theatre logo

National Theatre

The National Theatre has been sharing unforgettable stories for more than 50 years. In its role as the leader of theatre in the UK, it works tirelessly to bring theatre to audiences around the world and encourages the art of theatre through commissioned work, learning programmes and strategic partnerships.

British Film Institute (BFI) logo

British Film Institute (BFI)

The BFI is a charity and the UK’s leading organisation for film and moving image. It promotes and supports British film from newcomers to established makers, and cares for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive.

Spotlight logo

Spotlight

Spotlight is at the heart of the performing arts industry and connects performers with roles in theatre, television and film productions. Spotlight are recognised as the industry’s best, and work with its partners to find the right performer for the job, wherever they are in the world.

Equity logo

Equity

Equity is the UK’s performing arts and entertainment trade union, representing more than 47,000 performers and creative practitioners across the country, for more than 100 years.

What you'll study

What you'll
study

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

On this course you’ll prepare for postgraduate study with a mix of online and face-to-face learning that will give you the study skills required to complete a Masters course. 

Screen Acting 1
Get familiar with being in front of camera, and explore various acting techniques – including presenting, radio/TV drama, voice over and podcast. You will examine communication platforms and practice using ‘soundbite culture’ which is at the core of social media broadcasting and influencing. Through camera work, presentation skills and podcasts, you will learn how to tell your story using the narrative of television and podcasting, as well as developing your improvisation schills in front of the camera. You will also practice working with multiple cameras while exploring TV Drama. 

Acting Skills
This unit explores the art of bringing characters to life on screen. Through a series of engaging workshops and exercises, you will explore various techniques to enhance your performances and deepen your understanding of character development. You will also look at various practitioners, including Konstantin Stanislavsky, Nikolai Demidov, Uta Hagen and Lee Strasberg.

Screen Acting 2
You will further develop your screen acting skills in this unit, reflecting existing acting knowledge, and considering how your approaches to character, text and the techniques influence your performance. 
You’ll also be introduced contemporary practice of staging intimacy and working with storylines involving intimacy and/ or touch. This will give you understanding on how consent, intimacy and power are interlinked with each other, and how cast and crew should pay attention to trauma-informed and consent-forward practices.

Practice as Research for Digital Performance  
You will be introduced to a range of research resources and methods that will enable you to consider and question how the role of the actor has evolved with technology, and consider how theories about media, communication and digital cultures provide a lens through which we can critically examine cultural production and the creation of meaning. You will also explore contemporary digital performance spaces and content in terms of practice, history, cultural and theoretical underpinning of this work. You will be encouraged to create innovative content for these spaces that interests and inspires you, and work with students from other courses to hone your collaborative skills to enable you to create a portfolio. 

Final Major Project and Professional Practice
As the culmination of your studies, you will conceptualise, pitch and deliver an original screen project that will demonstrate the level of accomplishment you have developed in your professional practice through the previous units and use it to promote your professional industry presence. 

Alongside the Final Major Project, you will also be developing your understanding of the potential career opportunities that might attract you, enhancing your online industry profile, researching potential employers, collaborative partners or preparing for further study.

Course specifications

Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.

Fees & funding

Fees & financial support

Tuition fees

  • 2025/26: £10,500

Tuition fees

Tuition fees

  • 2025/26 (MA): £18,000
  • 2025/26 (Integrated International Pre-Masters course - Sept & Jan): £17,500
  • 2025/26 (Integrated International Pre-Masters course - May): £8,750

Please note: the fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only. For more detailed information about our course fees please see our fees and finance pages

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Current UCA students and alumni may be eligible for a tuition fee discount.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of the Course Information Document for more details of the costs you may incur.

Explore our gradshow

Each year, we’re privileged to be able to share our graduates’ incredible work with the world. And now’s your chance to take a look.

Visit the online showcase

Facilities

This course has an on-campus performance space and study spaces for group working, tutorials, seminars and technical workshops. On campus there are digital media suites with Macs and PCs with latest programmes for film editing as well as general design work. There is also a modern library with a wealth of books, journals, special collections and online resources.

View 360 virtual tour

Acting & Performance space, UCA Farnham

The Maltings workshop space

Virtual Production & Motion Capture Studio, UCA Farnham

Library, UCA Farnham

Career opportunities

Graduates of this impressive course might find themselves going on to work in a variety of different roles within the creative industry. These might include:

  • Actor
  • Performing arts teacher
  • Director of drama in education
  • Studio manager

You may want to undertake further study or research to specialise even further.

Entry & portfolio requirements

For this course we will need to see your portfolio for review. You can either submit a digital portfolio or request an in-person portfolio review with the course team. Further information will be provided once you have applied.

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Acting
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