Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen

Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen BA (Hons) is specifically designed to provide you with a varied practical skills-set to prepare you for a career within the make-up and special effects sector of the ever-growing creative industries. With a placement opportunity and a focus on the etiquettes of industry environments, the course has a strong employability focus. Alongside practical and employability skills, the programme provides historical and cultural academic contextualisation of hair, make-up and prosthetics across a range of stage and screen contexts. Other highlights include:

• A range of teaching and learning deliveries from practical workshops to interactive small group seminars.

• Opportunity to by taught by a team of both industry experts and published academic researchers.

• Gain actual industry experience and put what you have learnt into practice via a work placement element to the course.

• Be taught in specially designed spaces with industry standard facilities to prepare you for a career working in the make-up, hair and prosthetics sectors of the creative industries.

Our Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen has been successful in the 2026 Guardian University Guide as part of the Fine Art subject grouping:

Ranked 16th for Satisfied with Feedback for Fine Art*

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

• You will experience student life at the University’s £330 million Waterside Campus. Come along to an Open Day and find out more.

• Students enrolling on this course at Northampton will be provided with their own brand new laptop** to keep at no additional cost. All sports clubs and societies are free to join at Northampton and every essential course text book is available via the library, meaning you won’t have to purchase copies. For more information on this visit our website (northampton.ac.uk/benefits).

• At UON we guarantee a room in our Halls of Residence for all new full-time, first year students who apply and accept their room offer by June 2025 - and we won't ask for a deposit for September 2025***.

• Our expert academics teach in small groups supported with one to one assistance. Our academics and students form a tight bond, providing individualised support and guidance whilst challenging students academically.

• Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd.

The Northampton Employment Promise

• In fact, we’re so confident in our careers and employability support that if you achieve at least a 2:2 degree and complete either our Employability Plus Gold programme or achieve a Changemaker Gold Certificate during your time studying with us, but still haven’t secured full-time employment 12 months after graduating, we will secure a three – six month paid internship for you or support you into postgraduate study.

✱ Data taken from the 2026 Guardian University Guide Fine Art Subject table, filtered by Satisfied with Feedback.
✱✱ eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. See northampton.ac.uk/benefits for more information
✱✱✱ eligibility criteria apply. See northampton.ac.uk/student-life/accommodation/ for more information

STAGE 1
• Make-up for Stage, Screen and In-between (Compulsory)
• Hair for Stage, Screen and In-between (Compulsory)
• Cosmetic Constitutions: The Critical Connection Between Hair, Make-up and Identity (Compulsory)
• Introduction to Fantasy Transformation (Compulsory)

STAGE 2
• Introducing Prosthetics (Compulsory)
• Character Transformation in a Transmedia Universe: Prosthetics and Identity (Compulsory)
• Advanced Hair, Wigs and Design (Compulsory)
• Burnished, Buffed and Brushed: Bringing Together Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics (Compulsory)
• Researching Trends in Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics (Compulsory)

STAGE 3
• Professional Skills and Industry Etiquettes in Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics (Compulsory)
• Breaking the Mould: Advanced Prosthetics and 3D Design (Compulsory)
• Short Dissertation (Compulsory)
• Showcasing Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics (Compulsory)

Module information is quoted for 25/26 entry. Please note that modules run subject to student numbers and staff availability, any changes will be communicated to applicants accordingly. 26/27 entry modules will be released in June 2026.

The majority of the course will be assessed through practical assignments and presentations which will equate to approximately 70% of your final grade. There will also be written assessments in the form of reflective sketchbooks, critical portfolios, character and case studies and essays. Finally, there is a work based placement assessment and this, along with all other written assessments, will equate to approximately 30% of your final grade.