Acting for Stage and Screen MFA



An unrivalled opportunity to develop your stage and screen acting skills in the world’s greatest festival city.

Overview

Our 2-year MFA is a unique vocational training that offers you a full run in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the end of your first year and extensive screen acting work and showreel opportunities in your second year.

You will be training within a vibrant, interdisciplinary postgraduate community of film and theatre directors as well as screenwriters and playwrights.

Classes are delivered by staff with extensive industry experience and our programme is respected within the profession. Our graduates have been featured on Netflix, Starz, BBC, Amazon Prime, Channel 4, and ITV, as well as working at the Royal National Theatre, The Traverse, the Lyceum Theatre, Dundee Rep, Bard in the Botanics, London Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, and have been nominated for Olivier and Ian Charlson Awards.

Typical entry point to this course is in September. Please enquire for more information.

To ensure there is sufficient time to process your application, we encourage you to submit your application by the 30th of June.

Due to extremely high demand for our programmes starting in September 2023, we are no longer accepting applications from international applicants for this programme. We’re sorry that you won’t be able to join us in September.

a man acting on stage, in a costume

Mode of Study:

Full-time

Duration:

2 years

Course details

The MFA Acting for Stage & Screen is a unique 2-year degree that will reflect the challenge for most working actors today, which is to work confidently both in stage and screen acting.  This is a practice-based course, and it aims to prepare students for an industry in which creative problem solving, advanced practical skills, business acumen, teamworking, and self-generated work are critical.  We hope to train students who will graduate with all these abilities and can thrive as freelance performing artists across a range of opportunities within the creative arts industries.

Your first year focuses on stage acting.  Alongside taught classes, you will be working with MFA Directors and Playwrights to workshop, develop and hone an original piece for production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 

The second year begins with both stage and screen acting, and in the final two trimesters you will be working with MA Film Directors and Screenwriters to work on short films that will be entered into festivals around the world.  You will also have the chance to work with professional film directors and to create short films of your own devising.

  • calendar

    How you’ll be taught

     This is a practical course, and will be taught in workshop settings, rehearsals, one-to-one tutorials, and through independent research and practice.
  • note and pen

    Assessments

     Your assessments will be based on a variety of practical performances and are the culmination of workshops and focused rehearsals, supported by tutorials. 
  • briefcase

    Work placement

     Optional supervised work placement or overseas study module. Study modules mentioned above are indicative only. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study. Full information on this is available in our disclaimer.

Disclaimer

Study modules mentioned above are indicative only. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

Full information is available in our disclaimer.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

The entry requirement for this course is a Bachelor (Honours) Degree at 2:2 or above in a Drama or Humanities subject.

We may also consider lesser qualifications if you have sufficient professional work experience within the industry.

The application process also includes an audition.

 

English Language requirements 

If your first language isn't English, you'll normally need to undertake an approved English language test.  The English Language requirements for this programme are IELTS (Academic) with 7.0 with no individual component score less than 7.0.  For guidance on the acceptability of other English Language tests please contact pgadmissions@napier.ac.uk

This may not apply if you have completed all your school qualifications in English, or your undergraduate degree was taught and examined in English (within two years of starting your postgraduate course). Check our country pages to find out if this applies to you.

We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.
Entry requirements by country

Please note that international students are unable to enrol onto the following courses:
  • BN Nursing/MSc Nursing (Pre-registration) (Adult, Mental Health, Child, Learning Disabilities)
  • BM Midwifery/MM Midwifery
  • All Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

See who can apply for more information on Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

We’re committed to admitting students who have the potential to succeed and benefit from our programmes of study. 

Our admissions policies will help you understand our admissions procedures, and how we use the information you provide us in your application to inform the decisions we make.

Undergraduate admissions policies
Postgraduate admissions policies

Fees & funding

The course fees you'll pay and the funding available to you will depend on a number of factors including your nationality, location, personal circumstances and the course you are studying. We also have a number of bursaries and scholarships available to our students.

Tuition fees
Students From 2023/24 2024/25
Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland £5,335 tba
Overseas and EU £14,730 tba
You study this course over two academic years, fees listed are per annum.
Please note tuition fees are subject to an annual review and may increase from one year to the next. For more information on this and other Tuition Fee matters please see Frequently Asked Questions about Fees Click this link for Information of Bursaries and Scholarships
The University offers a 20% discount on Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes to its alumni. The discount applies to all full-time, part-time and online programmes. The discount can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount. For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount.
Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2021 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here.


Please note:

The discount for Edinburgh Napier alumni can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount.

For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount.

Please read our full T&C here

Careers

Two actors, in costume on stage

This course will give you the skills necessary to work in a variety of areas within the performing arts industry, as well as a wide range of transferable skills (confident communication, leadership, collaborative team working skills, and creative problem solving) that can take you into employment in many other fields.

Career opportunities include:

  • Stage and screen acting
  • Small-scale producing
  • Directing
  • Managing and launching small theatre companies
  • Theatre company management
  • Arts administration
  • Various roles in the entertainment industry which require initiative and creativity
  • Teaching
an actor getting dressed for a scene