Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Behind every memorable character is a team of creative professionals who help bring stories to life. From realistic screen make-up and intricate hairstyling to dramatic fantasy transformations and advanced prosthetics, this course will help you develop the skills needed to create characters for stage and screen.

At Northampton, you'll combine creativity with technical expertise as you learn specialist techniques across hair, make-up and prosthetics. Through practical workshops and studio-based learning, you'll develop skills in make-up application, body painting, hair styling, wigs, character design, special effects and prosthetic techniques while building confidence in professional practice.

You'll work in dedicated hair and make-up studios, specialist body-painting spaces and prosthetics facilities designed to reflect professional environments. Learning from industry practitioners and experienced researchers, you'll gain insight into both the creative and technical demands of working across theatre, television, film and other performance contexts.

A distinctive feature of the course is its focus on transformation. You'll explore how hair, make-up and prosthetics work together to create believable characters, communicate identity and support storytelling across a range of genres and production styles.

Theory is an essential part of the curriculum, underpinning practical and technical development by enabling you to understand the creative, cultural, historical and contextual influences behind your work. By combining academic theory with practical application, you will develop the critical thinking, research and analytical abilities needed to make informed creative decisions, articulate your ideas and become a confident, reflective and adaptable practitioner.

By graduation, you'll have produced a portfolio showcasing your creative and technical abilities, helping prepare you for opportunities within hair and make-up artistry, prosthetics, special effects, theatre, film, television and the wider creative industries.

By studying at the University of Northampton, you can be confident that:

At the University of Northampton, you’ll benefit from a supportive, career focused experience designed to help you succeed.

Personalised learning\
Benefit from small group teaching, expert academics and dedicated one to one support within our close-knit learning community.

Built for your future\
Develop valuable skills, gain real world experience and build the confidence to succeed in your chosen career.

Guaranteed accommodation\
We guarantee a room in our Halls of Residence for all new full-time first-year students who apply and accept their offer by June 2027.\*

Exceptional student benefits\
Receive a brand-new laptop at no additional cost, with essential textbooks available through our library.\*\*

A modern campus experience\
Study at our purpose-built Waterside Campus, designed to support learning, collaboration and student life.

The Northampton Employability Promise\
We'll support you to achieve your career goals through personalised careers coaching and ongoing graduate support, including access to paid internships and discounted postgraduate study.\*\*\*

✱ eligibility criteria apply. See northampton.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/ for more information\
✱✱ eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. See northampton.ac.uk/benefits for more information

✱✱✱ see our website for full terms, eligibility criteria and further information.