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Universities United Kingdom Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Courses Sound Design and Production, BA

Sound Design and Production, BA
at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

London, United Kingdom

Tuition Fee £ 22,302
Country Rank-
Duration36 Months
Score IELTS: 7

Program Overview

This course explores all aspects and possibilities of Sound Design and Production. Grounded in theatre, you’ll learn the art of creating sonic worlds integral to dramatic narratives. You will develop the technical ability to control the sound environment of live performance, using state-of-the-art equipment and working with tutors who are active professionals.

Studying on the Sound Design and Production specialism of the BA (Hons) Theatre Practice degree course, you will:

Learn the skills and techniques of contemporary Sound Design for performance
Production and Engineering work to realise Sound Systems for performance and installation
Develop skills for Mixing Musicals and Sound Operation for plays
An understanding of acoustic and technical theory
Gain experience in one of the most rapidly evolving theatre disciplines
Get real world experience through professional placement opportunities and industry networks
Collaborate on projects and work independently at the highest level

You’ll explore the newest professional performance technologies, including computer-based show control, audio recording, waveform editing, digital mixing, audio and computer networking, MIDI, scripting and OSC. Relevant acoustic and technical theory helps you use this equipment effectively in practice and allows you to adapt to emerging technologies in the future.

Course Content
Year 1: Developing and extending your skill base
- Examine core aesthetic and technical understandings to inform practice in theatre sound, including content design and production sound
- You are encouraged to understand current professional practice and to develop your own design aesthetic
- You engage in practical exercises, including speculative projects, looking at the link between theory and practice while expanding your understanding of working collaboratively in cross-disciplinary groups.
Year 2: Identifying an individualised career path
- Engage with principle areas of practice, working ‘in role’ across a variety of productions, under the guidance of tutors, support staff and outside professionals
- Take responsibility for sound design and production elements of public productions, working collaboratively
- You will enhance your design and technical skill set, and your ability to work as a valuable team member.
Year 3: Focus on professional development
- Undertake key sound design and production roles across a variety of public productions at Central, including the management of sound teams and budgets
- You continue to research industry practitioners and practice
- Begin integration with the professional industry outside Central through placements and/or offsite projects.
Entry Requirement
Our standard academic entry requirements range between 120 and 64 UCAS tariff points. You can see how many tariff points your qualifications would gain on the UCAS Tariff Calculator. International qualifications and others not covered within the UCAS tariff can also be accepted.

Please note that we make lower offers (including unconditional) to exceptional candidates and those who have alternative or prior experience to offer. All candidates invited to interview are asked to bring a portfolio. Interview and portfolio are key factors in determining which applicants are accepted on to the course.

English Language Requirements

Applicants for whom English is not their first language are required to prove their English language proficiency by gaining an overall score of 7.0 in an IELTS test. We do accept equivalent English language qualifications. Applicants are advised to gain this certification as early as possible and more information can be found
Fees & Scholarships
The fees for Sound Design and Production, BA may vary from £20,000 to £35,000 annually for tuition fees. The fee's prices may get higher for International Students.
Career Prospect
Graduate employment and career pathways include:

Sound Designer
- West Side Story (Ivo van Hove - Broadway)
- Hamlet (Robert Ike - Almeida, West End & Park Avenue Armoury/New York)
- Scene’s with Girls (Lucy Morrison - Royal Court Theatre)
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Jon Tiffany - West End, Broadway, Worldwide)
- Life of Pi (Max Webber – Sheffield Theatre & West End)
- All My Sons (Marianne Elliot & Miranda Cromwell, Young Vic & West End)
- Death of England (Clint Dyer - National Theatre)
- King John (Eleanor Rhode - Royal Shakespeare Company)
Production Sound
- National Theatre
- Royal Court Theatre
- Young Vic
- West End
- Autograph Sound
- Show Works
- Have Sound
Teaching and freelance Staff as professional practitioners:
- Peter Rice / Course Leader / Sound Designer / Jesus Hopped the A-Train / Young Vic
- Peter Rice / Course Leader / Sound Designer / Avalanche : A Love Story / Barbican
- Peter Rice / Course Leader / Sound Designer / The Tragedy of Richard II / Almeida
- Peter Rice / Course Leader / Associate Sound Designer / Yerma (Simon Stone – Young Vic, Park Avenue Armoury/New York)
- Donato Wharton / Course Tutor / Sound Designer / Three Sisters (Nadia Fall - National Theatre)
- Donato Wharton / Course Tutor / Sound Designer / Norma Jean Baker of Troy (Katie Mitchell - The Shed/New York)
- Helen Skiera / Course Tutor / Sound Designer / The Effect / (Anthony Neilson, Boulevard Theatre – West End)
- Dom Bilkey / Visiting Lecturer / Head of National Theatre Sound & Video / Sound Designer / The Lehman Trilogy (Sam Mendes – National Theatre / Park Avenue Armoury/New York)
- Claire Windsor / Visiting Lecturer / Royal Shakespeare Company / Sound Designer / Imperium (Gregory Doran – RSC, West End)
- Roisine Mamdani / Visiting Lecturer / #1 Sound / Company; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
- Emma Laxton / Visiting Lecturer / Sound Designer / Emilia (Nicole Charles – The Globe / West End)

Cost Of Studying At Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

Interest rates as low as 8.9% ^*

250K+

Students Assisted

800Cr+

Loan Amount Disbursed

5000+

Loans Sanctioned

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Sound Design and Production, BA at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama