Hereford College of Arts
Performing Arts (Top Up) BA (Hons)
Hereford College of Arts

Key Course Facts

Student Reviews

Below you can see course specific reviews for 20 graduates of Performing Arts (Top Up) BA (Hons) at Hereford College of Arts for each of the survey questions in comparison to the average for all UK degree courses in others in creative arts and design.

Overall student satisfaction
95 /100
20 total respondents
The NSS is commissioned by the Office for Students

Salary

Salary of Graduates in Creative Arts and Design

Important: Salary data below is not course specific, but contains data of all students of others in creative arts and design at the university. Due to data collection methodology, salary data is mainly based on data related to undergraduate students.

  15 months after graduation 3 years after graduation 5 years after graduation
Median salary £21000 £15500 £18000
25-75 percentile range £16000 - £23500 £11500 - £18500 £14000 - £22500


Salary of all UK Graduates of Creative Arts and Design

  15 months after graduation 3 years after graduation 5 years after graduation
Median salary £20000 £16977 £20190
25-75 percentile range £17667 - £24333 £11760 - £21991 £13937 - £25916

Course Description

Let’s prepare you to step into the performing arts industry.

Actively create, make and perform your own work, as well as collaborate with students from other courses across the arts school – these are all things you will get to do whilst in the process of improving and building your techniques and skills to a high standard on our Performing Arts course.

Your experience with us will be one of being mentored to become the creative professional you want to be. You will work in multiple collaborations across other disciplines and with external industry professionals. You will work on live and recorded performances in theatre venues, ‘found’ venues, and festivals. You will create films, audio dramas, animations, as well as immersive and multi-media events.

You will get to create, devise, develop, perform, as well as collaborate with students from other courses across the arts school – an ideal opportunity to meet and network with potential future collaborators.

This course will allow you to discover what performance is and how you create it. You will be supported to freely explore and to develop a comprehensive repertoire of skills, such as: acting, movement, aerial circus, voice, writing, directing, choreography, puppetry, and mask.

Working in small groups, you will benefit from high levels of individual attention from tutors. Throughout the course, you will learn the practical skills you need to become a successful entrepreneur in the creative arts. These skills include: film editing, music making, website design, and business planning.

You will create several performances, collaborating with professional directors or art, music and film students. Your performances will be staged in a range of venues – from professional theatres, to festivals, and innovative performance spaces. Alongside this rich portfolio of work, you will also learn important marketing strategies to promote your own practice.

Studying Performing Arts at HCA offers the space, contact time and opportunities needed to establish a strong creative practice.

Industry Links

You will learn how to network and get into the industry by working with a wide variety of professionals from different areas of the Performing Arts, such as film and TV sets, repertory theatre and small-scale touring companies. All our tutors are actively engaged in the Performing Arts industry through their work outside of HCA.

After this Course

You will have the confidence built and your skills improved to help you be ready to take control of your own career as an innovative and self-sustaining performer and performance-maker. You can also explore broader opportunities in the creative arts such as art management or teaching, or transfer your creative and collaborative skills to other areas of employment or postgraduate study. In your third year, to help you take control of your career, you will provide you with a small personal professional development fund so you can book additional professional workshops or use it as an initial investment to set up a company.

Highlights

  1. Small group sizes and individual attention from tutors.

  2. Exciting creative collaborations within a dynamic arts school community.

  3. Focus on innovative and emerging contemporary art practices.

  4. Work with professional directors.

  5. Workshops lead by professional companies such as The RSC and Frantic Assembly.

  6. Student work showcased at professional theatres, festivals and innovative performance spaces.

Jobs & Career Perspectives

15 months after graduation, graduates of this course were asked about what they do and, if they are working, about their current job and their perspectives.

Current jobs

Required skill level of job after 15 months

Jobs of graduates of this course (15 months after graduation)

Example below based on all graduates of Performing Arts (Top Up) BA (Hons) at Hereford College of Arts

50% Customer service occupations
20% Information Technology Professionals
20% Finance Professionals
10% Teaching Professionals

Grading & Study Time

Entry Requirements / Admissions

We are unable to offer this course to international applicants (including EU/EEA) who have overseas qualifications.
Get advice on which foundation courses are best for you to still study Performing Arts (Top Up), BA (Hons), if you do not meet the minimum requirements in terms of UCAS score, A levels, or English language requirements.

Costs

Tuition Fees Performing Arts (Top Up) BA (Hons)

Ireland £9000
England UK £9000
Northern Ireland £9000
Scotland £9000
Wales £9000
Channel Islands £9000

Additional fee information

In addition to the degree fees, the nature of creative arts practice means you will need to allow for some additional costs, such as for materials you choose to use in the production of work and activities, and for trips to external events and exhibitions.

The courses at HCA have been designed to minimise the impact of additional costs; all course leaders have an annual budget and some trips and materials will be fully funded by the college or heavily subsidised. However, typically, a student will choose to spend an additional £400 in their final year, depending on scale of work and materials chosen or other related costs. Students spend different amounts depending on the areas in which they specialise and individual choices.

We appreciate that not all students will be able to invest the same money in their work, and staff assessing it will not judge work by the cost of materials or other resources. The college shop includes many specialist materials at good value prices and digital equipment can be borrowed from the media stores at no cost to students.

All students at HCA are offered an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for use outside of college hours. In the 2022-23 academic year this cost was £16.24 per month. Please note Adobe Creative Cloud is provided free to use for any student working within the college.

Students on all courses will also have the chance to take part in optional trips that require payments towards their costs. Again, non-attendance will not incur assessment penalties, though trips are designed to help students develop their practice. There is an optional annual cross-course residential trip abroad. In the 2023-24 academic year, the trip was a four-day visit to Paris at a cost to students of £425. This fee included a shared dorm room and all travel costs from Hereford to Paris including Eurostar tickets.

Support Available From Hereford College of Arts

Progression Bursary

A progression bursary of £250 (£125 per year for part-time students) is available to students from our progression partner colleges* who have successfully completed their Level 5 or equivalent course within the last 2 academic years and progress on to a top-up degree programme at Hereford College of Arts.

*Partner colleges include Bath College, Dudley College, NPTC Group, NWRC Derry & Evesham College (Warwickshire College Group).

Average student cost of living in the UK

Rent £518
Water, gas electricity, internet (at home) £50
Supermarket shopping £81
Clothing £35
Eating out £33
Alcohol £27
Takeaways / food deliveries £30
Going out / entertainment (excl.alcohol, food) £24
Holidays and weekend trips £78
Transport within city £17
Self-care / sports £20
Stationary / books £13
Mobile phone / internet £13
Cable TV / streaming £7
Insurance £51
Other £95
  
Average student cost of living £1092

London costs approx 34% more than average, mainly due to rent being 67% higher than average of other cities. For students staying in student halls, costs of water, gas, electricity, wifi are generally included in the rental. Students in smaller cities where accommodation is in walking/biking distance transport costs tend to be significantly smaller.

How to apply

Application deadline:

January 1, 2025

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Possible Entry Points:

  • year 1 (Default entry point)

About Hereford College of Arts

Hereford College of Arts is a specialised art school located in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. Students can expect to work in an environment that values and respects their artistic vision, thanks to the college’s philosophy of interfering as little as possible with the work that students wish to create.

List of 21 Bachelor and Master Courses from Hereford College of Arts - Course Catalogue

Student composition of Hereford College of Arts

undergraduates:
postgraduates:
Total:
0
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Where is this programme taught

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