Performance and Media
Build a deeper understanding of film, TV, theatre, and online media, while exploring how to bring new ideas to life in digital, interactive and multi-media performance. You’ll discover your creative identity and strengths through practical projects and find your voice in the industry.
How to apply Apply through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us/prod01/channel_2/media/university-of-south-wales/site-assets/images/03-courses/performance/ba-performance-media.jpg)
Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
W400
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Start Date
September
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Location
Cardiff
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Campus Code
B
Fees
Home students
£9,790*
International students
£16,800*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
Learn how to be a content creator and producer for live performance and recorded media.
DESIGNED FOR
If you’re fascinated by all things media, be it film, TV, theatre or online, and you want to develop the skills to thrive both in front of and behind the camera, this course is for you. You’ll get opportunities to explore the industry, find your place and build a body of work that gets you noticed.
Career Paths
- Researcher
- Producer
- Videographer
- Writer
- Performer/actor
- Artistic directors
- Teaching or youth theatre
Skills taught
- Visual and audio recording
- Presenting and performing
- Project management
- Collaboration and communication
- Research and idea generation
Performance and Media at USW
Performance and Media Showreel
Course Highlights
Module Overview
Learn the fundamental concepts and skills involved in performance and production across various media. Refine your skills and showcase them during international festivals and industry placements, before specialising and preparing to enter the industry in your final year.
Year One
Thinking Through Practice *
Acting and Direction
Analysing Studio Production
Professional Practice: Toolkit
Year Two
New Media Performance *
Performance Analysis and Critical Theory
Create: Specialist Studies 1
Professional Practice: Collaborate
Year Three
Research Project *
Graduate Project
Create: Specialist Studies 2
Professional Practice and Employability*
*These modules can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
Examine performance concepts, conventions and perspectives by engaging in practical workshops, viewing live performances and films. Build foundational creative and technical skills to develop, produce, record and edit your own work and performance for stage and screen.
Thinking Through Practice *
Practically explore ‘performance’ and how its components interact to create meanings.
Acting and Direction
Learn how to work effectively and collaboratively in a studio environment and explore actor/director training methodologies as you develop your own performance with support.
*This module can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
Analysing Studio Production
Investigate meanings and intentions in contemporary theatre and short film as you explore the use of semiotics, a foundation of practical work later in the course.
Professional Practice: Toolkit
Get to grips with media tech including digital audio/video recorders, cameras, and editing playback technologies, and understand how they support performances.
Explore new, interactive and digital elements in traditional theatre and media-based forms and refine your creative processes for performing live and for recorded media.
New Media Performance *
Explore multimedia, immersive performance using digital tools to develop a group performance.
Performance Analysis and Critical Theory
Investigate the role theatre, performance and media play in social, historical, cultural and aesthetic contexts, including social and political debate.
*This module can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
Create: Specialist Studies 1
This flexible module gives you the chance to be involved in a TV, or Virtual Production film project in a variety of roles. The projects are developed under professional conditions.
Professional Practice: Collaborate
Collaborate with students and industry professionals to make a series of video podcasts at the international Iris Film Festival.
Prepare to make your mark in the media and performance industry as you hone your specialist skills and build a portfolio that stands out to employers. Get industry experience on placement with a studio or production company and grow the business skills required to thrive as a creative freelancer.
Research Project *
Plan, execute and present a research project focusing on a way in which performance relates to global society, such as class, gender, race, identity or technology.
Graduate Project
Develop, plan, and produce a short film, audio production, video podcast, or multimedia performance. An opportunity to showcase skills you have developed on the course.
Create: Specialist Studies 2
Engage in advanced study of a specialist area media production developing your creative and critical proficiency.
Professional Practice and Employability *
Plan for life after graduation as you identify career paths, reflect on your strengths and aspirations and get your CV and portfolio up to scratch.
*These modules can be studied 100% through the medium of Welsh
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
The course boosts your cultural knowledge and gets you ready for the media and performance industry. You’ll work on practical projects in our studios and be assessed mainly on filmed and mixed media performances. We’ll teach you theory through interactive seminars and guest speakers from the industry. Instead of exams, you’ll be graded on performances, media content, essays, blogs, pitches and presentations. This hands-on approach helps you prepare for life after graduation.
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Teaching staff
Our staff bring diverse expertise from theatre, media, and performance. Your course leader is a well-known choreographer and artistic director with global teaching and publishing experience. Other team members have roles as directors, scriptwriters, producers, and camera operators with organisations like the BBC, ITV, Theatr Genedlaethol, and National Theatre Wales. This broad expertise ensures top-class teaching. They use their industry knowledge to help you discover your strengths and career path, and their network provides opportunities for placements, guest speakers, field trips, and live projects.
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Facilities
As a performance and media student, you’ll use our industry-standard studios, suites, and equipment, which we regularly update. You’ll have access to a 140-seat auditorium with a sprung stage, a full lighting rig, and drama studios. Our campus features four black box theatres, professional film studios with green screen and motion capture, podcast and radio suites, and editing suites with the latest software. We also have cutting-edge filming and audio gear, including FX3 and FX6 cameras used in the industry.
Equipment
At our Cardiff Campus we have a vast range of equipment that you will be trained to use as part of your course. To help support your studies we have a Media Loans facility that allows you to hire the equipment, at no cost, for you to then use for your assignments and practical work. We have both basic and high-end film and photography cameras, portable lighting and sound equipment as well as a range of professional studio recording microphones, instruments and associated equipment to use in our music studios or on location. The team of technical officers and instructors are also available to help you with any queries and technical issues.
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Placements and work experience
You’ll gain real-world experience throughout the course, whether that’s supporting USW events or working with external companies. Our staff and careers team help you source all manner of opportunities that support your aspirations. Our students have worked as runners, researchers, assistant directors, assistant camera operators, or in youth arts or community radio and theatre. Previous placements include Hijinx Theatre, Bad Wolf Studios, Netflix, Mad Dog Casting and Made in Cardiff TV. You’ll also play a key role in USW’s famous Immersed Festival, collaborating with other creative students as you help deliver the event.
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Niamh Davies
Performance and Media student
Zoe
Performance and Media student
John-Joe Flynn
Music student
Tom
Performance and Media student
Foxxglove
Music graduate
Louis Miles
Live Event student
Joe Ridgeway
Music Producing student
Shaila Mudhoo
Theatre and Drama student
Matteo Depares
Songwriting and Production graduate
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS Points: 96 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: CCC to include a relevant art and design subject (this is equivalent to 96 UCAS tariff points).
- Welsh BACC: Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and CC at A Level with a relevant art and design subject (this is equivalent to 96 UCAS tariff points).
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Merit Merit Merit in a relevant subject (this is equivalent to 96 UCAS tariff points).
- Access to HE: Pass the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 96 UCAS tariff points
- T Level: Pass (C and above)
Additional requirements include:
- The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
- Selection for this course is based on a suitable application. If you do not meet the entry criteria, you may also be required to provide a portfolio of your work to help us assess your suitability for the course.
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£9,790
per year*£16,800
per year*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
Grad Show materials. Year 3
Cost: £50
Theatre/Performance Visits. All academic years
Cost: £50
Occasionally students are asked to contribute to the cost of enrichment activities (e.g. Professional networking events, Production visits, Festival attendance)
Cost: Up to £100
We suggest students invest in a 1TB external SSD for storing film footage, and completed projects
Cost: £100
We suggest students invest in a laptop and smartphone. Laptops can be loaned temporarily from the University if you do not have your own.
Cost: £1000
Students undertaking work placements are responsible for their own travel, and living expenses
Cost: Variable
Students may be expected to travel to master classes/ conferences at their own cost
Cost: £100
Media Loans
You can hire a range of equipment, for your assignments and practical work, for free from our Media Loans facility.
Media LoansUniversity Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time).
Advanced entry
If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.
International admissions
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
Life at USW
Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.
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