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Design for Theatre and Live Performance

  • BA (Hons)
  • 3 Years
  • Full-time
  • September 2026
  • Undergraduate
City Campus
More about Nottingham Trent University

Course options

2025-20262026-2027
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Course summary

Explore all aspects of contemporary design practice for theatre and the live performance, including set and costume design; construction; digital technologies and design; lighting design and audio visual; site-specific design; puppetry; heritage installation; and design for community and education. The course is facilitated by the highly skilled team of staff and technicians who have years of professional and academic knowledge.

Key features

  • This course is a member of the Performance Design Education Collective (PDEC), and the Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD). Through these, we are also a member of the International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT).

  • As a dedicated art and design school, our facilities promote collaboration and innovation. You’ll be working alongside artists, designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, and filmmakers.

  • All first-year students within the School of Art & Design will work together on a joint project.

  • Study in dedicated facilities, including a studio theatre, construction and paint workshops, and large teaching spaces.

  • Work on live projects with industry such as The Royal National Theatre, Birmingham Opera Company, The National Trust and Nottingham Playhouse.

  • Go on study visits for inspiration, research and experience, including live performances, museums and heritage and educational organisations.

  • Enter competitions set by organisations such as The Royal National Theatre’s Connections festival, and the Linbury Prize.

  • Opportunity to apply for a European or international exchange to one of our partner institutions, such as Ryerson University in Canada.

  • We're ranked 12th best University for Art and Design in the UK. (The Complete University Guide 2021).

  • NTU is ranked the top 15 universities in the UK for Design and Crafts (14th). (Guardian University Guide 2021)

  • NTU is ranked joint 30th in the UK for Art and Design. (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021)

  • 100% of BA (Hons) Theatre Design (FT) students would recommend studying at NTU to others. (National Student Survey 2020).

Assessment

Assessment is 100% through coursework. You’ll receive feedback throughout each module and will be awarded a grade.

Employability

Graduates have been employed as designers and assistant designers on a multitude of live productions or have gained employment in specific production roles with companies such as: the English National Opera (drawing room), National Theatre (scenic art) and Cameron Mackintosh (model-making).

Graduates have also freelanced alongside internationally renowned designers in and out of the UK and worked on gallery installations, festivals, in film and TV, and for events and as community artists and practitioners.

Your space to create at NTU

We’re committed to helping you explore, expand and refine your craft, as you discover new creative horizons with some truly great tools, equipment and workspaces. Visit our facilities hub at www.ntu.ac.uk/artfacilities to find out more.

Our students’ work – ‘We Are Creatives’

Explore our online showcase ‘We Are Creatives’ - celebrating the work of the School of Art & Design students. You will find a sneak peak of some of our students’ work and gain a real insight into what it’s like to be part of the NTU creative community at wearecreativesntu.art

Modules

[Year One]

  • Design for Stage and Screen: Introduction (80 credit points)
  • Contextual Studies: Introducing Research (20 credit points)
  • Skills Passport (20 credit points)

[Year Two]

  • Exploration (Design for Theatre and Live Performance) (60 credit points)
  • Contextual Studies: Research and Impact (20 credit points)
  • Co Lab: Research, Exploration and Risk-taking (20 credit points)
  • Optional module - You will also choose one 20-credit module from:
    Model Making: Object and Narrative
    Character Ideation
    Telling Stories
    Materials and Making
    Ethical Design
    3D Materials and Exploration
    Millinery: Object and Narrative
    Storyboarding: Visualising the story, enhancing the narrative

[Final year]

  • Exposition (Design for Theatre and Live Performance) (100 credit points)
  • Contextual Studies: Research and Professional Practice (20 credit points)

Ways to study this course

Campuses

  • City Campus

Study options

  • BA (Hons) • Full-time • 3 Years

Start dates

  • September 2026

Apply by
14 January

This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.

Application codes

Course code:
W460
Institution code:
N91
Campus name:
City Campus
Campus Code:
1
Points of Entry:
Year 1

Nottingham Trent University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?

How to apply

Apply by
14 January

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.

Application codes

Course code:
W460
Institution code:
N91
Campus name:
City Campus
Campus Code:
1

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

UCAS Tariff 104 - 112 points

104 - 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications (two of which must be A-level equivalent)

A level

104 - 112 UCAS Tariff points from up to four qualifications (two of which must be A-level equivalent)

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) DMM

DMM from a BTEC Extended Diploma

Access to HE Diploma

Pass your Access course with 60 credits overall with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

104 - 112 UCAS Tariff points from your BTEC Level 3 National Diploma and up to two other qualifications.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

104 - 112 UCAS Tariff points from your BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate and up to three other qualifications (one of which must be A-Level equivalent).

T Level

We will consider T Levels for entry to this course, either as stand-alone qualifications or in conjunction with other Level 3 qualifications, in accordance with the specified course tariff points.

A lower offer may be made based on a range of factors, including your background (such as where you live and the school or college you attended), your experiences and individual circumstances (you may have been in care, for example). This is called a contextual offer and we get data from UCAS to make these decisions. NTU offers a student experience like no other, and this approach helps us to find students who have the potential to succeed here, but may have faced barriers that can make it more difficult to access university.

We also consider equivalent qualifications and combinations. Please contact Nottingham Trent University Admissions team for further information.

Additional entry requirements

Portfolio

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

NTU makes contextual offers for this course to give everyone a fair chance to access their chosen degree.

Contextual offers are lower than our standard entry criteria or may be an unconditional offer for courses that require a portfolio. We also take individual circumstances into account when we receive results and may accept grades lower than our published criteria.

We use a range of data from UCAS to make our offers and more information on our approach is available at the link below.

Learn more on the Nottingham Trent University website

Historical entry grades data

This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).

It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.

Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

Tuition fees for 2026 entry are yet to be confirmed. As a guide and to enable you to plan your finances, the fees for Home undergraduate students for 2025 are £9535 .The current expectation is that the University may increase this for future and subsequent years of study in line with inflation and as specified by the Government.

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