Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is one of the world’s most successful conservatoires for musical theatre training. Our alumni have appeared in the West End, on Broadway and across the world.
Our courses are ranked 5th in the UK for drama and dance in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023, 6th in the UK for drama, dance and cinematic in the Complete University Guide 2023, and 7th in the UK for drama and dance in the Guardian University Guide 2023.
We provide you with personalised industry-focused instruction and education, within the discipline of an ensemble, to develop your skills and abilities in preparation for a successful and rewarding career in musical theatre.
Our music course offers training in a huge range of styles from classical and popular, to musical theatre, jazz and contemporary music. You’ll be able to make music on your own and with others, perform in orchestras, choirs and bands, and work with improvisation.
As a performer, you’ll receive free instrumental/vocal lessons, enjoy 24/7 practice room access and the opportunity to take part in regular concerts. As a composer you’ll have access to excellent recording facilities, state of the art Mac labs and many opportunities to showcase your work. All music students benefit from visits by industry professionals, including: performers, composers, promoters, publishers and educators.
Whether you’re interested in performance, composition, music history, analysis or the music industry itself, our experienced staff and vibrant musical community can help unlock your musical potential.
Our award-winning Professional Training placements prepare students for roles in industry.
Our BMus (Hons) Creative Music Technology course offers you a route to an exciting career in the arts and creative industries. Our course will equip you with the skills for making innovative music in the 21st century, helping you to develop your own unique musical style. On this course you’ll be taught by music technology experts and creative practitioners, and work in a unique environment using world-class professional facilities. You’ll also have opportunities to collaborate with students from across the department.
On this practice-led course you’ll study the creative use of music technology using a wide range of specialist software and hardware, preparing you for a broad range of careers in the creative industries.
You’ll choose from areas of study such as electronic music creation and performance, sound design, music for moving image and creative music programming. Traditional music skills are also an important part of the course, and you may also choose to study traditional instrumental music, including performance.
Our vision is to create ‘thinking musicians’. We’ll work with you to develop analytical and interdisciplinary approaches to composing and performing with technology and to produce a strong portfolio of creative work.
The skills that you develop will prepare you for professional opportunities in the creative industries as well as future postgraduate education.
Our BA (Hons) Actor-Musician course is run by Guildford School of Acting (GSA), one of the most highly regarded theatre schools in the UK. You’ll be taught by industry-leading professionals, and join a vibrant community of talented individuals.
We’ll develop your combined talents as an actor and a musician, including the versatility to work professionally as an actor or actor-musician in a wide range of theatrical contexts.
On our BA (Hons) Actor-Musician course, you’ll develop performance skills in acting, musicianship, dance, voice and singing, alongside essential critical and analytical work.
In your first year, you’ll strengthen core skills in acting, dance, singing, voice and music. With classes in all disciplines and project work on storytelling, ensemble work, modern text, screen acting and musical theatre.
In your second year, you’ll work on diverse texts, ranging from classical theatre to musical theatre, with musicianship skills integrated within all your studies. Voice, singing, music and dance skill classes continue and broaden the technical base of your training.
In your third year, you’ll work on three main projects: a play, a musical and a classical piece, alongside a showcase of your work, connecting you with casting directors and agents across the creative industries.
By developing your skills as an actor-musician, you’ll be able to take advantage of the ever-growing demand for versatile professional performers who can combine superb acting ability with a high standard of musicianship. Recent graduates have worked across a range of media including exciting projects with HBO, Netflix and also have worked in a wide range of theatre from Shakespeare through to musical theatre.
This course is designed to build on HND or Foundation Degree qualifications in music. It combines degree-level theoretical studies with further training in musical performance, musicology, creative sound and participatory practice. The result is a mix of academic rigour and practical skills that makes our Music course a stimulating journey of discovery, reflection and achievement.
Why us?
- Top up an HND or foundation degree to a full honours degree, studying with award-winning lecturers
- Pursue your passion through independent music study with either a practical or theoretical focus
- Opportunities to participate in musical theatre projects and choir performances and collaborate with dance, drama and media students
- Study in a vibrant city music scene with new arts, culture and music venue investment
- Exceptional menu of modules, ranging from musicology and creative sound to community/education work and musical multimedia
- Aspiring teachers can gain experience of working as a music facilitator in educational and community settings
This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Performing Arts course, with an integrated foundation year. Learn to be a versatile performing artist. Personalise your studies to suit your evolving interests and aspirations. Become a confident, experienced, industry ready professional.
Study in a multidisciplinary way – which you will know is reflective of the industry. Experiment with new things, create a personal pathway with a focus on dance, drama or musical theatre or a mix of all three. Personalise your studies to suit your evolving interests and aspirations. Build the necessary skills to succeed in higher education, recognise your own strengths and idiosyncrasies and establish yourself as an employable practitioner.
Whether you wish to dance, act, devise, choreograph, teach or facilitate, this course will give you the skills, techniques, confidence and experience to be industry ready. You will develop as a creative and versatile individual; we want you to graduate with the best opportunities possible that will prepare you for a successful career in the performing arts world.
If you've studied sound or music technology at university, been working in sound professionally, or if you've been experimenting with sound as a composer, sound artist or engineer and are looking for a way to develop your voice, this programme is for you.
We offer an interdisciplinary taught Masters programme at the forefront of the University of Edinburgh’s rich expertise in the creative arts, music and digital media design.
Uniquely, we balance challenging practical project work with theoretical study. This creates an inspiring and motivating work environment.
Studying for an MSc in Sound Design will expand your appreciation of the potential for sound design across a range of musical and artistic practice. Crucially, you’ll develop as a sonic artist, be challenged to rethink what sound design is and why it is central to a number of developments in the arts, the media, critical theory and even science.
The MMus in Musicology allows you to develop specialised skills in researching and writing about music, and to pursue, in greater depth, an area of special research interest.
There is considerable scope to tailor the programme to suit your own research interests. In addition to the compulsory courses, students choose two courses from a range of options that changes each year. A further, free elective allows you to choose one course from a very large number of options across the whole university, allowing you the added perspective offered by disciplines outside of musicology, or to study a further course in Music. In addition to the final dissertation, students also devise and undertake a smaller research project in the earlier part of the programme.
The MMus in Musicology provides an excellent foundation for further postgraduate work, and many of our students have gone on to work in academia.
Recent graduates have also established successful careers in performance, journalism, arts administration, music education, and librarianship.
