Drama Schools in United Kingdom

Full-time actor training in the UK is delivered by specialist drama schools and conservatoires as well as university drama departments, mostly as three-year BA (Hons) Acting degrees entered by audition rather than by academic grades alone. Some schools hold their own degree-awarding powers, while others have their degrees validated or awarded by a university.

Source: rcs.ac.uk/about/our-history/

BA (Hons) Acting validated by a university

Several drama schools offer a BA (Hons) whose degree is validated or awarded by a partner university, for example RADA (King's College London), Mountview (University of East Anglia), ArtsEd (City St George's, University of London) and Drama Studio London (University of West London). Source

Conservatoires and colleges with their own degree-awarding powers

Some institutions confer their own degrees: Rose Bruford College reports Taught Degree Awarding Powers, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland reports its own powers from the Privy Council, and LIPA reports Office for Students powers for students enrolling from 2025-26. Source

Foundation and short courses

Schools also run shorter routes, such as Oxford School of Drama's six-month Foundation Course in Acting and RADA's six-week Advanced Acting Fundamentals, which carry no degree award. Source

Teaching languages. Teaching is in English; the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland states an IELTS requirement of 7.5 overall for its BA Acting.

Admissions and auditions. Acting degrees are typically entered by audition. Published practice includes a first-round self-tape followed by in-person recall workshops (Guildhall, RWCMD, Italia Conti), with applications made through UCAS Conservatoires or UCAS plus a school application form, and an audition or application fee at most schools. Source

Nothing here establishes visa, work-permit or credit-transfer eligibility. Check current rules with the official sources below.

• UK government student visa information
• UCAS Conservatoires