Performance
Award
BA (Hons)
Duration & study mode
4 years full-time
School
Business & Creative Industries
Location
Ayr
Ucas code
W400
Course starting dates
-
Ayr: September
Last updated: 21/12/2021
FIND YOUR PLACE AT UWS. CLEARING NOW OPEN!
With career-focused courses, fantastic campus locations and facilities, outstanding support and a vibrant student community, you’ll be sure to find your place at UWS. And with places still available for September 2022 entry, explore your options below or get in touch now: ask@uws.ac.uk | 0800 027 1000
Overview
Harness the power of performance with UWS’s BA Performance programme.
This programme is designed to help you become a creative, critical thinker who’ll make a positive impact in the workplace.
To help you explore performance critically and practically, teaching on this programme focuses on the practical, historical, theoretical applications of performance.
Plus, masterclasses led by leading industry staff and professionals will enhance your learning and provide insights into contemporary performance industries.
We recognise the important role that having practical experience under your belt has on securing a graduate career, which is why this programme strives to offer real-world professional settings to help you hone your practice.
By offering a combination of practical and theoretical study, this programme will provide you with the opportunities to work across multiple disciplines so that you can learn and create independently and collaboratively.
WATCH A ZOOM SESSION FROM THE PROGRAMME LEADER
Our Programme Leaders have recorded Zoom sessions to help you discover all there is to know about our courses. From professional accreditation to programme modules and career opportunities, our Programme Leaders will help answer all your questions. You can find them on our YouTube Channel or by clicking the link below.
Performance Programme LeaderEntry Requirements
What qualifications do you need?
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience.
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Undergraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
Additional Information
Degree/diploma qualifications in an unrelated subject accompanied by professional theatre experience will be considered.
Applicants may be invited for interview/audition.
Year 1
- Scottish Highers*:
- Standard Entry Requirements - ABBB (114 UCAS Tariff points)
- Minimum Entry Requirements – BBBB (108 UCAS Tariff points)
- A levels:
- Standard Entry Requirements – BBC (112 UCAS Tariff points)
- Minimum Entry Requirements - BCC (104 UCAS Tariff points)
- Irish Leaving Certificate:
- Standard Entry Requirements H1 H2 H2 H2
- Minimum Entry Requirements H2 H2 H2 H2
- International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: 24 points
- Scottish Wider Access Programme (SWAP): Access to Humanities (BBB)
- BTEC Extended Diploma in relevant discipline (MMM)
* for more information on standard and minimum entry requirements, see the drop-down section below
Year 2
- SQA Advanced Highers: BCC (128 UCAS Tariff Points)
- A-Levels: BBB (120 UCAS Tariff Points)
- International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: 28 points
- SQA HNC / BTEC Level 4 HNC: Acting & Performance or Musical Theatre or Theatre Arts or Dance or Performance
- BTEC Extended Diploma in relevant discipline (DDM)
Year 3
- SQA HND / BTEC Level 5 HND: Acting & Performance or Musical Theatre or Theatre Arts or Dance or Performance (for SQA HNDs, with Grade B in the graded units)
English Language Requirements
English language requirements for most courses
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
- overall score 6.0
- no sub-test less than 5.5
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).
Common equivalent English language qualifications
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
- CAE (Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English): 176 overall; no sub-test less than 169
- CPE (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English): 176 overall; no sub-test less than 169
- Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English: ISEII with the minimum of a Pass in all sub-tests
- PTE Pearson Academic English: An overall score of 59 to 64 with no element below 59 (for programmes that require IELTS 6.0 with no element below 5.5). An overall score 65 to 75 with no element below 65 (for programmes that require IELTS 6.5 with no element below 6.0)
IELTS Score Exceptions (Research degrees, Biomedical Science degrees, Nursing & Midwifery degrees with NMC registration, Certificate of Higher Education, etc.)
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
- overall score of 6.5
- no sub-test less than 6.0
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
- overall score of 7.0
- score of at least 7.0 in reading, listening and speaking and no less than 6.5 in writing
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
- overall score of 7.0
- no sub-test less than 6.5
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
- overall score of 5.0
- no sub-test less than 4.5
TOEFL IBT
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
- Reading: 17;
- Listening: 17;
- Speaking: 17;
- Writing: 17
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE)
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
- C6 or above in English
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Pre-sessional courses
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
- 10 week pre-sessional - entry criteria UKVI IELTS 5.0 with no element below 4.5.
- 5 week pre-sessional - entry criteria UKVI IELTS 5.5 with no element below 5.5.
- English Language for University Study - entry criteria UKVI IELTS with score of 4.0 in all elements (10 month course), or 4.5 with no score below 4.0 (7 month course).
*Our Entry Requirements Explained
On our course pages, you will find details of our entry criteria listed as Standard Entry Requirements and Minimum Entry Requirements. These are the academic qualifications that, depending on your personal circumstances, you will be required to meet to allow your application to be considered for a place at UWS.
Competition for places on many of our courses can be very high and even if you meet the standard or minimum qualifications stated, there is no guarantee that your application will progress to the next stage of the admissions process. We review individual applications very closely and place great importance on your personal statement and academic reference as well as your academic qualifications before making selection decisions.
Standard Entry Requirements
Our Standard Entry Requirements are the grades that you will need to achieve to allow you to be considered for entry to a specific programme of study.
Minimum Entry Requirements
Our Minimum Entry Requirements are applicable to those applicants who have not had an equal opportunity to demonstrate their academic ability at school or college and are known as ‘widening access’ applicants. We also sometimes refer to this type of applicant as receiving a ‘contextual’ offer. We may be able to provide you with a contextual offer if you fall into one of the categories below:
- You have been in care (care-experienced/care-leaver)
- You are a young carer
- You have government-recognised asylum or refugee status
- You are estranged from your family or guardians
- You live in an area of high deprivation as defined by the Scottish Government (SIMD20)
If you fall into any of the first four categories above, please mention this on your UCAS application. We will automatically apply category 5 if it applies to you.
If you have already achieved the required grades for either our standard or minimum entry criteria, we may be able to offer you an unconditional offer for some course areas. If you have not yet achieved these grades, we may be able to make you a conditional offer, which will rely on you achieving further qualifications before you can be accepted on to a programme of study.
Further details of our Admissions processes can be found as follows:
- Check our Student Experience section of our Polices & Procedures webspage for the latest copy of our Admissions Procedure.
- Download our Admissions Statement for Entrants in 2022 (pdf)
Course details
Students are enabled to learn in discovery mode as co-producers of the curriculum. We also recognise that a graduate career is important to our students, so we design our programmes such that the first day in the academy for our students is also their first day in industry. In the context of the current development, our Performance provision is distinguished in terms of its cross- and interdisciplinary design, which provides students with a rich and stimulating range of opportunities to learn and produce collaboratively, mirroring the dynamics of real world professional settings. The programme is also underpinned by an epistemological commitment to integrated practice as praxis, rather than an artificial and creatively unsustainable separation of practical and theoretical activity.
The programme provides students with space to develop their practice holistically and in a context of expressive collaboration across and between disciplines over three days of the week. It will also equip graduates with the interpersonal and interdisciplinary capacity to deploy their creativity in pluralistic professional settings. The programmes should therefore appeal to the growing number of creative practitioners who want to define their practice in a research-infused context.
Year 1
Modules
- Performance Histories - Term 2
- Collaboration & Practice - Term 1 (Option)
- CREATIVE WRITING – TERM 1 (OPTION)
- Performance Contexts: Production Aesthetics - Term 2
- Practice Text Based - Term 1 & 2
- Reading Performance - Term 1
Year 2
Modules
- Performance Contexts: Creative Processes - Term 1
- Theory & Performance - Term 1
- Practice: Devised - Term 1 & 2
- Culture & Society - Term 2
- Crossmedia Collaboration - Terms 2
Year 3
Modules
- Research in Creative Practice - Term 1 & 2
- Performance Contexts: Testing ideas - Term 1
- WRITING FOR STAGE AND SCREEN – TERM 1
- Practice: Creative Festival - Term 1 & 2
- Contemporary Arts in Context - Term 2
Year 4
Core Modules
- Creative Arts Research Project - Term 1 & 2
- Practice in Context - Term 1
- CI: Entrepreneurship & Professional Practice - Term 2
Optional Modules
- Performance Realisation - Term 1
Teaching & Assessment
Learn a Language (optional)
This course also gives you the option of taking a language module, which can count towards your degree. These modules cover multiple languages and range from absolute beginner to near-native speaker level. The cost of your language module is included in the tuition fees. Find out more
Course Structure
Career prospects
Jobs
With this qualification, you could find yourself acting, directing, producing or writing for stage and screen. Or you could be designing and delivering community theatre projects or even forming your own theatre company. You may also go on to become a primary school or secondary school drama teacher.
Undergraduate Tuition Fees (Academic Session 2022/23)
Academic Session 2022/23 Undergraduate Tuition Fees - Full-time
Scottish
£1,820 Cost of study per year (paid by the Scottish Government via SAAS*)
Rest of UK (English, Northern Irish, Welsh)
£9,250 Cost of study per year (for four years but you will not pay more than £27,750)
Republic of Ireland
£9,250 Cost of study per year (for four years but you will not pay more than £27,750)
International (including EU)
£14,500 Cost per year of study
Academic Session 2022/23 Tuition Fees for 20-credit Modules (face to face)
Scottish
£305 Cost per 20-credit module of study
Rest of UK (English, Northern Irish, Welsh)
£1,550 Cost per 20-credit module of study
Republic of Ireland
£1,550 Cost per 20-credit module of study
International (EU/EEA & non-EU/EEA)
£2,420 Cost per 20-credit module of study
Undergraduate Tuition Fees (Academic Session 2023/24)
Undergraduate Tuition Fees - Full-time
Scottish
£1,820 Cost of study per year (normally paid by the Scottish Government via SAAS)
Rest of UK (English, Northern Irish, Welsh)
£9,250 Cost of study per year (for four years but you will not pay more than £27,750)
Republic of Ireland
£9,250 Cost of study per year (for four years but you will not pay more than £27,750)
International (including EU)
£15,250 Cost per year of study
Tuition Fees for 20-credit Modules (face-to-face)
Scottish
£305 Cost per 20-credit module of study
Rest of UK (English, Northern Irish, Welsh)
£1,550 Cost per 20-credit module of study
Republic of Ireland
£1,550 Cost per 20-credit module of study
International (EU/EEA & non-EU/EEA)
£2,540 Cost per 20-credit module of study
Additional Costs & Sources of Funding
The cost of attending university is an investment in your future career.
In addition to tuition fees and living expenses, some courses involve extra costs like study materials, field trips, equipment and uniforms.
Fortunately, there is a great deal of financial support available to help students meet the cost of their study. This ranges from:
- statutory government loans to pay for tuition fees
- scholarships for Scottish, EU and International (non-EU) students
- bursaries to help towards living expenses
The sections below provide details of additional costs that your course may involve along with any financial support that may be available.
You can also find additional information in our Undergraduate Money, Fees & Funding section.
Additional Costs - Updated October 2020
Students on certain degrees will incur some additional costs not covered by their tuition fees. These could be for things like specialist equipment, study materials and textbooks, work placements, graduation, membership of relevant organisations or costs related to carrying out fieldwork.
For students on course with an element of fieldwork, there may also be extra costs for travel and accommodation.
Note: The library will hold some copies of the textbooks but not enough for every student. Students can purchase second hand copies when possible or use older versions if advised by the module cordinator. Students can also sell their copies after the course. This helps manage the cost.
Year 1
Course materials & costs (Mandatory)
Books and other printed materials are estimated at £30 for the session.
Art & drawing materials (Mandatory)
Additional materials may be required whih are relevant to the students' choice. These additional materials relate to costumes and props for various productions but you will never be asked to buy these new. Generally, these can be sourced from family, friends, or can be hand-made.
Year 2
Course materials & costs (Mandatory)
Books and other printed materials are estimated at £30 for the session.
Art & drawing materials (Mandatory)
Additional materials may be required whih are relevant to the students' choice. These additional materials relate to costumes and props for various productions but you will never be asked to buy these new. Generally, these can be sourced from family, friends, or can be hand-made.
Placement, field trips & study abroad (Mandatory)
It is highly recommended that you purchase local theaatre tickets for the year. These study trips form anintegral part of the course and will cost circa £60.00 per annum.
Year 3
Course materials & costs (Mandatory)
Books and other printed materials are estimated at £30 for the session.
Art & drawing materials (Mandatory)
Additional materials may be required whih are relevant to the students' choice. These additional materials relate to costumes and props for various productions but you will never be asked to buy these new. Generally, these can be sourced from family, friends, or can be hand-made.
Placement, field trips & study abroad (Mandatory)
It is highly recommended that you purchase local theaatre tickets for the year. These study trips form anintegral part of the course and will cost circa £60.00 per annum.
Year 4
Course materials & costs (Mandatory)
Books and other printed materials are estimated at £30 for the session.
Art & drawing materials (Mandatory)
Additional materials may be required whih are relevant to the students' choice. These additional materials relate to costumes and props for various productions but you will never be asked to buy these new. Generally, these can be sourced from family, friends, or can be hand-made.
Placement, field trips & study abroad (Mandatory)
It is highly recommended that you purchase local theaatre tickets for the year. These study trips form anintegral part of the course and will cost circa £60.00 per annum.
Tuition Fees* & Living Cost Support
Tuition Fees & Additional Costs
Tuition fees are calculated based on where you are from and what you are studying. Some courses also involve additional costs, such as mandatory field trips, equipment or studying abroad.
Find out how much it will cost you to study at UWS as an undergraduate student.
Funding for Scottish Students
Scottish students studying at undergraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
Funding for English, Welsh & Northern Irish Students
English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying at undergraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
Funding for EU Students
EU students studying at undergraduate level of UWS may be eligible for SAAS funding, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
Funding for International Students
There are several scholarship and incentive schemes available to international students studying at undergraduate level at UWS, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
Other Financial Support
Discretionary & Childcare Funds
UWS administer a range of discretionary and childcare funds. These are designed to support students who are experiencing financial difficulty or struggling to meet the costs of childcare.
Benefits & Tax Credits
Becoming a student can have an impact on your entitlement to certain benefits. It may mean you are no longer eligible to claim a benefit you have been receiving, or your new income from student funding may affect the amount you are able to receive.
Additional Financial Support
If there isn’t a statutory source of funding for you or your course, or you are in need of additional financial support, you may wish to consider more alternative sources of funding such as trust funds and scholarships.
Money & Debt Advice
Choosing to become a student can have a big impact on your budget and you may need to reassess your spending to account for a reduced income. We’ve put together some guidance to help you manage your money and make the right financial choices for you and your family.
How to apply
Full-time (domestic & EU/EEA)
All UK and EU applicants for undergraduate study, not applying through an agent or partner, should apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service)
The on-time application deadline for 2022/23 entry is 26 January 2022, 18:00 (UK time). For some courses it may still be possible to apply beyond this period, subject to suitable vacancies remaining. The final deadline for late applications via UCAS is 30 June 2022, 18:00 (UK time). Beyond this deadline, you may be able to apply via ‘UCAS Clearing’ if the course you are interested in has remaining places.
Please refer to our Undergraduate Application Guide to find more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS.
Full-time (non-EU/non-EEA), Part-time & Online (all students), Erasmus & International Exchange
Students from non-EU/non-EEA countries can apply directly to UWS via our dedicated online application system. The latest we can process your application is 6 weeks before the course start date to allow for visa processing times. For more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS please refer to our International Undergraduate Application Guide.
For part-time & online study, you should apply directly to the University through our online application system, not through UCAS. Please select the part-time mode of study when submitting your application. Before you begin your application, it is important to read the part-time application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.
To come to UWS as a visiting student on a study abroad or exchange programme, you must apply entirely through our online system.
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Get in touch
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
- ask@uws.ac.uk
- 0800 027 1000 (UK)
- +44 (0) 141 849 4101 (out-with UK)
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Discover More About UWSWe will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.