Curious about studying Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Film and Performance - BA (Hons)at Bucks New University? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
High Wycombe Campus
Full Time
Oct 2026
2 Year
Become part of the team behind films and theatre. Your role in hair and make-up will help bring to life the vision of entertainment. Our creative briefs and projects will help you develop a portfolio showing off your talent as an expert storyteller in the form of Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Film and Performance.
Why study Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Film and Performance at BNU?Facilities
Across our High Wycombe BNU teaching base, you’ll benefit from state-of-the-art facilities that will help you bring your ideas to life. Your classroom base offers bright lighting and dressing tables, where you’ll practice techniques and turn models into looks. We also have a range of photography facilities where you’ll have the opportunity to shoot your designs for your portfolio.
Industry ConnectionsLed by a dedicated and experienced course team, you’ll benefit from their industry knowledge and the industry links they bring to the course. You’ll get direct access to guest lectures, who are specialists in the sector, and can benefit from live project briefs, master classes, and networking opportunities. Our High Wycombe Campus is only a short train ride away from London, meaning you are only a stones-throw away from the hustle and bustle, where you’ll also have the chance to visit outside bodies, such as makeup prep rooms, wig stores, museums and galleries. Here you’ll gain inspiration, insight and a feeling for how the industry works.
Career-focusedWith a history of delivering expert craft, art and design education for more than 130 years, Buckinghamshire New University is the perfect place to start your creative career in hair and make-up. During your time on the course you’ll lend your hand to a range of styles, techniques and periods. Your modules and briefs allow you to develop the skills that employers are looking for, whilst ensuring you have a varied and desirable portfolio.
What will I study?The practical elements of our hair and makeup course are designed with industry in mind. On the course you will explore pre-production and film set etiquette, which will help you understand the rules, roles and responsibilities of individuals in a production team, as well as explaining who you will report to and the expectations within a professional context.It is key to master different makeup and hair techniques, so we’ll help you explore a range of period eras and how they form the basis for fashion designs. Alongside, your modules in prosthetics and special effect makeup will allow you to experiment with a range of materials to understand what it takes to bring characters to life.It’s not just about crafting something that looks great, it will be your job to create character designs that fit a script. We'll teach you about various period hairstyles and show you how to recreate them. Most importantly you'll understand the history and theory that informs your designs and be able to reflect critically on your practice.You'll get to grips with professional practice and we will help you to develop essential entrepreneurial skills. As many people in this area work as freelancers, we’ll teach you everything you need to know for success, from how to set up to paying taxes and creating a winning portfolio.
This module aims to provide you with the practical skill and technical knowledge to work within the Fashion industry. The learning will focus on editorial theory, techniques, creative design, industry expectations and professional practice. You’ll develop your own personal artistic style and progress their attention to detail.
This module introduces you to key cultural developments, practices and movements related to design history, and visual and popular culture, as well as the influence of new technologies, new products, tools and materials relevant to the history and evolution of the film and media industries.
This is an engaging and dynamic module exploring the range of opportunities within the expanding field of Hair and Makeup. From traditional crafted processes to cutting-edge of new skills, you will investigate and experiment with a broad range of materials and techniques to design, make, and validate your ideas and concepts.
This module is helps you understand three dimensional creative processes and techniques associated with the development of creative ideas and solutions relevant to specific special make-up effects. It develops knowledge and understanding of the visual language required to communicate initial ideas and outcomes using both hand and digital modelling techniques.
This module will focus on the basic techniques to achieve period designs ranging from the 1930’s to the end of the 20th Century. Creating an understanding of the different silhouettes and shapes synonymous with each era and contextualising these designs in relation to social, economic and historical research. You’ll assimilate this research and knowledge to create a character driven design suitable for an HD film or television production.
This module aims to inform you on the personal and professional skills required to thrive in an industry environment. It will explore industry hierarchy not just within your specific modality but across all areas of the filming, fashion, television, and theatrical industries, examining how each department is integral to the creation of a professional output and the importance of collaboration.
This module aims to build upon the skills learnt in Introduction to hair and make-up. Extending exploration of period hair and make-up from the beginning of the 1800 (19th century) to the 1920’s. You’ll be introduced to wig work and application skills which can be utilised in film, fashion and the theatre.
Study will focus on colour theory and the use of light and shade to create realistic effects. These techniques can be applied to a range of make-up disciplines such as SFX and fashion. You will master the techniques and artistry, enabling you to create a piece of artwork on the body.
This module will enable you to deepen your practical understanding, developing the professional skills needed to design and fabricate realistic prosthetics-based characters. You’ll cover a varied range of technical knowledge and skills related to chemical ratios, mould making techniques, curing temperature and duration. These elements must be considered to ensure the prosthetics piece is of a high quality and fit for purpose, i.e. application.
This module builds on skills developed in previous hair and make-up modules, exploring hair and make-up design through a multi-faceted approach. Students will create historical and cultural styles - from Ancient Egyptian and 18th-century looks to modern-day Drag Queen designs - using wigs, hairpieces, natural hair, and innovative make-up techniques while working to professional standards and time constraints to produce portfolio- and showreel-ready outcomes for film, TV, runway, and fashion editorial contexts.
This module will introduce you to special effects make-up methods and approaches, including application of silicone prosthetic appliances. It will familiarise you with a new set of materials used in the industry and techniques involved in standard prosthetics work. You’ll gain a creative and practical understanding of fundamental core skills that the completion SFX character entails.
This module aims to provide learners with a basic understanding of cutting skills and the safe use of clippers. It also embeds a deeper understanding of culture and context, for example the different styles that the armed forces/ enforcement officers observe and how rank can alter styling.
This module aims to provide students with the essential skills for creating hand knotted postiche and wigs, an essential skill for those wishing to enter the film/TV and theatrical areas of the industry. The module will focus on the practical fitting, preparation and finishing.
This module aims for you to explore and define the scope of your FMP. The module will concentrate on design and development of an academic proposal describing the focus and boundaries for your FMP. This module brings together all the experiences and taught subjects from the course as well as any other skills and knowledge that the you have pursued independently.
This module aims to equip and prepare you for the professional workplace with an understanding of the design, management skills and collaborative processes required to design a conceptual project to completion. Choosing one brief from either film and TV, fashion editorial or SFX, you’ll work independently to design and complete the projects to a high professional standard.
The aim of this module is to prepare you for all aspects of the industry. You’ll cover a variety of subjects such as in- depth information on each industry, how to market yourself as a professional, invoicing, tax returns and industry etiquette. You’ll also have portfolio workshops to ensure your portfolio is up to industry standards.
You are provided with an opportunity to sustain the creative dialogue between your research and subject-based practice, enabling you to establish your professional and creative identity through a self-directed brief/proposal. This will go on show to the public.
4.4Bucks New University (BNU) is a student-focused university based in High Wycombe, with over 130 years of educational his...
