CertHE Foundation Musical Theatre
Course Overview
This one-year intensive and industry-driven programme aims to prepare aspiring performers for further training within the musical theatre sector. Driven by industry trends and innovation, the CertHE Foundation Musical Theatre course, delivered by Shockout, will provide you with a foundational understanding of core acting, voice, and dance techniques and styles, preparing you to undertake an undergraduate degree course. The partnership between Shockout Arts and the University of Bolton offers you access to a number of undergraduate opportunities through our audition process.You'll be based at Shockout Arts, studying and training in their world-class, purpose-built, high-specification studios that are equal to professional industry standards. This demanding and intense CertHE offers students the opportunity to acquire and develop essential foundation technical, artistic and theoretical skills to enable them to progress to a degree programme. Delivered by a range of highly qualified expert industry specialists and faculty, it will ensure you receive the highest possible standard of foundation training that reflects the current needs and requirements of the sector to enable you to progress onto a degree course. Progression onto a Shockout degree is not guaranteed.
Shockout's teaching staff are professional and world-renowned practitioners and choreographers. They are keen to make your time with them as stimulating and rewarding as possible and enjoy a well-deserved reputation for being approachable and interested in your progress. As teaching often takes place in small groups, you'll have access to individual support and guidance at every stage.
For full details about Shockout, their open days and accommodation, please visit http://www.weareshockout.com/.
The course venue is:
Shockout Arts
Valo Building
Brian Statham Way
Old Trafford
Manchester, M16 0PU
Highlights
- You'll have regular classes with professional artists from the performing arts, film and TV, and dance industries, such as professional actors and dancers, directors, producers and choreographers.
- You can gain additional insights and knowledge of the performing arts industry by attending our 'master class' sessions and guest workshops given by renowned industry experts from the performing arts industry, including musical theatre, TV and film.
- We aim to immerse you in the current performing arts, TV, film, and live theatre/performance arenas so you can understand and prepare for the industry's constant changes and innovations.
- You'll be based at Shockout in Manchester and train in their purpose-built, high-specification performing arts studios.
Key Features
- We'll focus on helping you gain a wide range of relevant knowledge and skills, such as singing techniques, voice and speech, movement and acting techniques for actors, storytelling, and improvisation, as well as jazz, ballet, tap, and commercial dance techniques.
- We'll guide you as you explore musical theatre, allowing you to gain experience in the history, traditions, practitioners, and innovators that form the foundations of contemporary and future performing arts.
- You'll have the chance to learn specialist techniques for performance, rehearsal and audition scenarios.
- We'll help prepare you for the practicalities of paperwork and self-promotion that professional musical theatre artists face. We'll cover how to perfect your CV and job applications, deal with agencies, tackle the tax and self-assessment system, create showreels and develop your online and social media presence.
- We'll encourage you to develop essential transferable skills and attributes, such as effective communication, creative problem-solving, working collaboratively with others, resilience, adaptability, self-awareness and confidence.
Entry Requirements
- 64 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T-levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
- Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. Subjects that include experience of dance, drama or performing arts are preferred.
- You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent), including English and Mathematics.
- You'll be required to attend an audition and interview, staged at Shockout.
- If you don't have the above qualifications but possess equivalent qualifications or experience, we'll be happy to consider your application. In addition to attending an audition and interview, we may require you to provide a portfolio of work or complete another form of test so that we can assess your application.
- You'll need to provide a satisfactory medical report signed by your GP to confirm you are fit and well to undertake full-time intensive and rigorous physical training.
- If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
- This course is open to Home students only. Applications from International and EU students cannot usually be accepted because the study location for this course is not licenced by UKVI to sponsor students. Therefore, if you require sponsorship under the Student Visa Route to study in the UK, then, unfortunately, we'll be unable to consider your application for this course. Some EU students are eligible to study this course under the EU Settlement Scheme or Common Travel Area arrangement – for details, please visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/studying-in-the-uk-guidance-for-eu-students.
Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.
Career Opportunities
This CertHE aims to provide an industry-relevant specialised education that will develop your skills, knowledge, and expertise in singing, dancing, and acting to the university foundation level. In addition, you could gain a range of key transferable skills such as confidence, self-presentation, teamwork, self-awareness, communication skills, and the ability to cope with criticism.
What can I do with this qualification?
Fees & Funding
You’ll be required to pay a one-off enrichment fee. The enrichment fee is refundable if you do not gain the UCAS points required for entry to the course or a satisfactory medical report.
Successful applicants and students on the course will need to wear suitable dance attire (a list of items will be provided). You may well have many of these items, but for an estimate of the cost if you need to buy them new, please contact Admissions at Shockout.
Home/EU Fees
No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.
International Fees
International applications are not possible for this course
As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.
We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.
Bursaries
Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.
The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.
How to apply
Home Applicants
If you wish to apply to multiple institutions or courses for September, then apply through UCAS
You can apply for up to 5 courses through UCAS (at the same or different institutions) for a fee of £27. Alternatively, if you only wish to apply for a single course at a single institution then a reduced applicant's fee of £22.50 is applicable.
The online application form and guidance notes are available on the UCAS website.
You will need the following information to complete your UCAS application form:
Institution Code Name: BOLTN
Institution Code Number: B44
Tel: 0870 1122211
Web: www.ucas.com
International Applicants
International applications are not possible for this course
As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.
We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.
Partner Organisation Applicants
Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk
Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom
Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk
Teaching & Assessment
We use a variety of teaching and learning strategies throughout the programme to develop appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills and help you achieve the intended learning outcomes. We take a blended learning approach that includes practical sessions, lectures and workshops. Practical sessions are designed to teach each of the core performance techniques and specialist areas within acting, dance and voice. In addition, we'll expect you to spend time on guided independent study, for example, rehearsing and practising for your dance, singing and acting core techniques, engaging in general background reading, preparing for seminar activities, and working on assignments. During the course, we'll also support you in developing employability and information literacy skills and exploring personal development planning (PDP).
We'll expect you to attend traditional lectures, seminars, practical sessions, workshops, and tutorials. You may also have opportunities to work on live projects as part of your practical modules. Through these, you can gain unique insights and a thorough understanding of the performing arts industry operating in international markets and across many sectors.
This programme's key assessment forms include in-studio technical assessments, practical skills assessments, showcase performances, practical project reports, portfolios, oral presentations and written coursework. You'll receive feedback on your assessments to help you understand what you have done well and where you can improve.
Modules
The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.
- Foundation Dance Techniques
- Foundation Acting Techniques
- Foundation Singing Techniques
- Foundation Contextual and Academic Studies
- Foundation Musical Theatre Performance
Assessment methods
| Level | Assessment method |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Coursework 66% Practical exams 34% |
Learning Activities
| Level | Activity |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Guided independent study 29% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 71% |
The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.
