Postgraduate application information

Applying to East 15

Masters Apply

Applying for a postgraduate course

Please read this information carefully before applying.

Information about our courses including entry requirements, fees and modules can be found on the individual course pages on the University of Essex website. We suggest you review these before you start your application.

Please note that MA/MFA Advanced Professional Theatre Practice has been suspended and we are not accepting applications  to this course.

Applicants who require a Student Visa to study in the UK: Applications are now closed for 2023 entry. Applications for 2024 entry will open in October.

If you do not require a Student Visa to study in the UK, we advise you to submit your application as soon as possible. We do not have a definite deadline, but may close our courses at any time.

If you have any questions, please visit our FAQs page or e-mail us.

 

The details

How to apply

There is no upper age limit for applicants to any programme. Applicants will need to hold academic qualifications equivalent to the entry requirements for their chosen course or provide evidence of suitable experience (e.g. CV/Resume detailing at least 2 years’ experience in any field, not necessarily in theatre/acting). Applicants will need to undertake an audition or interview when we will assess your experience (both academic and practical) and your potential for success.

Our Research Degrees page has further information on these courses and how to apply.

Follow the steps below to apply for our masters programmes:

Step 1

Step 2

  • Those applying only for MA/MFA Theatre Directing or MA Advanced Professional Theatre Practice do not need to complete this step and should go straight to Step 3.
For all other masters courses:
  • Prepare your video audition. You will need to include a URL link for your audition video before you can move to the next step as we cannot process your East 15 Application Form  without this.

    Full details on what to prepare can be found on the Auditions page.  

Step 3

  • Complete the East 15 Application Form. At this stage, you will be able to select up to 2 East 15 courses that are your preferred course choices. Your first preference should be the course that you would most like to be considered for. Only complete the other preference if there is another course that you would be particularly interested in should you not be successful in your first preference. We do automatically consider applicants for all our courses, taking into account the course preference that you enter on the East 15 Application Form.

Step 4

  • Pay the £15 Round 1 audition fee. This applies to all applicants who are submitting video auditions and is non-refundable. There are also links to the payment form in audition section of the application form itself and in the confirmation email that you will receive when the form is submitted. Please do not pay the fee without submitting your East 15 application form first. Please note that this fee is non-refundable. See terms and conditions (.pdf). 

    Applicants applying only to MA/MFA Theatre Directing or MA Advanced Professional Theatre Practice do not need to pay the audition fee.  If you are also applying for one of our auditioning masters courses, you will need to submit a video audition with your application and pay the £15 fee.

Information for applicants requiring a Student Visa

Overseas applicants are likely to require a Student visa to study in the UK. If you think this applies to you, and you are offered a place following audition or interview,  you may be required to provide the following documentation:

  • A copy of your passport
  • A personal statement which states clearly why you wish to study at East 15 Acting School
  • Colour copies of your final degree (or your highest level of qualification) transcripts and certificate
  • If you do not hold a degree or equivalent academic qualification, evidence that you have at least 2 years work experience, e.g. a CV or resume.
  • Proof that you have undertaken an approved English language test (for example, Academic IELTS with a score of 6.0 overall and a 5.5 minimum in each component) if English is not your first language

Further information about the documents you will need to provide will be sent to you by the Admissions Office at the University of Essex as part of your formal offer. These documents are not required as part of your application and audition.

What's next?

All applicants are required to submit a video audition or participate in an interview. 

Applicants may only apply and audition once in each academic year.

We strongly recommend that you read the information provided on our website about how to prepare for your audition.

Audition or interview date


Following submission of your application to East 15, you will receive confirmation that it has been received. If we require any further information from you, our Admissions Team will contact you by email. If you have applied for an auditioning course, our tutors will review your Round 1 video audition and we will notify you of the outcome. If you are successful, we will invite you to a Round 2 audition. If you have applied for an interviewing course only, we will be in touch as soon as possible following receipt of your application to arrange your interview.  

Please read our audition guidance and the Terms and Conditions for Audition (.pdf) for more details.

All correspondence from East 15 and admissions will be via email. Please ensure that you check your inbox regularly (we also recommend that you check junk/spam folders just in case your email provider filters our emails).

Outcome

You should expect to hear from us via email within 10 working days of your application - at busy times, this may take longer. The outcome of your audition/interview will be one of the outcomes below:

Outcome  Meaning
Round 1 video audition applicants
Progress to Round 2 audition/workshop You have been successful in the first stage of your application and will receive an invite to participate in a Round 2 audition/workshop. This may take place on campus or online.
Unsuccessful

You have not passed the Round 1 audition and we are not able to offer a place on any of our acting courses at East 15 Acting School. If you have also applied for one of our courses that requires an interview, we will contact you by email to ask if you are still interested and to set up an interview date.

Round 2 audition and interview applicants
Formal Conditional Offer

You have been successful at audition/interview and made an offer.  

You will receive all the information you need from us by email including setting up your myEssex applicant portal, where you will be able to view and download your offer letter.

All East 15 offers are conditional on paying the refundable £300 course deposit (refunds subject to Terms and Conditions for Course Deposit (.pdf)) by the deadline stated in your offer. Other conditions, such as exam results or receipt of requested documents may also be included in offer.

In some cases, we may ask for further information from you before we can process your offer. It is important that you respond as quickly as possible to any information requests. If you fail to provide requested information, you may lose your offer of a place at East 15 Acting School.
Wait List You are wait listed for one of our courses and we will contact you by email if a place becomes available on an appropriate course.  There is no guarantee of an offer. Offers to Wait List applicants can be made at any time, up to the start of the course. You will also be told by email if we close our wait list and are not making any further offers.
Unsuccessful You have not been successful at audition/interview and we are not able to offer a place on any of our courses at East 15 Acting School.

 

If an applicant is offered a place on their first choice of course, they will not be considered for any other choices. East 15 will consider applicants for all courses, taking note of the applicants’ course choices. You could therefore, be recalled and/or offered a place on a course that you have not applied for, but is one that our tutors feel would best suit your skills. If an alternative course is offered, then you have been unsuccessful in your application for your other course choices.

Receiving an offer

You will receive an email from us informing you of your offer and directing you to your myEssex applicant portal where you will be able download your offer letter. Your letter will include the conditions of our offer and important response deadline information. It is important that you respond to any requests for further information within the period given as our offer may be withdrawn if we do not hear from you.

Please note, successful applicants must also submit a formal response to the University (accepting or declining the offer) through their myEssex applicant portal. You must also pay a refundable £300 course deposit (refunds subject to Terms and Conditions for Course Deposit (.pdf) by the deadline stated in your offer in order to secure your place at East 15. 

FAQs

Need a question answering about our audition process or preparation? Want to know the difference between some of our courses?

Find an answer on our FAQ page.

How to apply

There is no upper age limit for applicants to any programme. Applicants will need to hold academic qualifications equivalent to the entry requirements for their chosen course or provide evidence of suitable experience (e.g. CV/Resume detailing at least 2 years’ experience in any field, not necessarily in theatre/acting). Applicants will need to undertake an audition or interview when we will assess your experience (both academic and practical) and your potential for success.

Our Research Degrees page has further information on these courses and how to apply.

Follow the steps below to apply for our masters programmes:

Step 1

Step 2

  • Those applying only for MA/MFA Theatre Directing or MA Advanced Professional Theatre Practice do not need to complete this step and should go straight to Step 3.
For all other masters courses:
  • Prepare your video audition. You will need to include a URL link for your audition video before you can move to the next step as we cannot process your East 15 Application Form  without this.

    Full details on what to prepare can be found on the Auditions page.  

Step 3

  • Complete the East 15 Application Form. At this stage, you will be able to select up to 2 East 15 courses that are your preferred course choices. Your first preference should be the course that you would most like to be considered for. Only complete the other preference if there is another course that you would be particularly interested in should you not be successful in your first preference. We do automatically consider applicants for all our courses, taking into account the course preference that you enter on the East 15 Application Form.

Step 4

  • Pay the £15 Round 1 audition fee. This applies to all applicants who are submitting video auditions and is non-refundable. There are also links to the payment form in audition section of the application form itself and in the confirmation email that you will receive when the form is submitted. Please do not pay the fee without submitting your East 15 application form first. Please note that this fee is non-refundable. See terms and conditions (.pdf). 

    Applicants applying only to MA/MFA Theatre Directing or MA Advanced Professional Theatre Practice do not need to pay the audition fee.  If you are also applying for one of our auditioning masters courses, you will need to submit a video audition with your application and pay the £15 fee.

Information for applicants requiring a Student Visa

Overseas applicants are likely to require a Student visa to study in the UK. If you think this applies to you, and you are offered a place following audition or interview,  you may be required to provide the following documentation:

  • A copy of your passport
  • A personal statement which states clearly why you wish to study at East 15 Acting School
  • Colour copies of your final degree (or your highest level of qualification) transcripts and certificate
  • If you do not hold a degree or equivalent academic qualification, evidence that you have at least 2 years work experience, e.g. a CV or resume.
  • Proof that you have undertaken an approved English language test (for example, Academic IELTS with a score of 6.0 overall and a 5.5 minimum in each component) if English is not your first language

Further information about the documents you will need to provide will be sent to you by the Admissions Office at the University of Essex as part of your formal offer. These documents are not required as part of your application and audition.

What's next?

All applicants are required to submit a video audition or participate in an interview. 

Applicants may only apply and audition once in each academic year.

We strongly recommend that you read the information provided on our website about how to prepare for your audition.

Audition or interview date


Following submission of your application to East 15, you will receive confirmation that it has been received. If we require any further information from you, our Admissions Team will contact you by email. If you have applied for an auditioning course, our tutors will review your Round 1 video audition and we will notify you of the outcome. If you are successful, we will invite you to a Round 2 audition. If you have applied for an interviewing course only, we will be in touch as soon as possible following receipt of your application to arrange your interview.  

Please read our audition guidance and the Terms and Conditions for Audition (.pdf) for more details.

All correspondence from East 15 and admissions will be via email. Please ensure that you check your inbox regularly (we also recommend that you check junk/spam folders just in case your email provider filters our emails).

Outcome

You should expect to hear from us via email within 10 working days of your application - at busy times, this may take longer. The outcome of your audition/interview will be one of the outcomes below:

Outcome  Meaning
Round 1 video audition applicants
Progress to Round 2 audition/workshop You have been successful in the first stage of your application and will receive an invite to participate in a Round 2 audition/workshop. This may take place on campus or online.
Unsuccessful

You have not passed the Round 1 audition and we are not able to offer a place on any of our acting courses at East 15 Acting School. If you have also applied for one of our courses that requires an interview, we will contact you by email to ask if you are still interested and to set up an interview date.

Round 2 audition and interview applicants
Formal Conditional Offer

You have been successful at audition/interview and made an offer.  

You will receive all the information you need from us by email including setting up your myEssex applicant portal, where you will be able to view and download your offer letter.

All East 15 offers are conditional on paying the refundable £300 course deposit (refunds subject to Terms and Conditions for Course Deposit (.pdf)) by the deadline stated in your offer. Other conditions, such as exam results or receipt of requested documents may also be included in offer.

In some cases, we may ask for further information from you before we can process your offer. It is important that you respond as quickly as possible to any information requests. If you fail to provide requested information, you may lose your offer of a place at East 15 Acting School.
Wait List You are wait listed for one of our courses and we will contact you by email if a place becomes available on an appropriate course.  There is no guarantee of an offer. Offers to Wait List applicants can be made at any time, up to the start of the course. You will also be told by email if we close our wait list and are not making any further offers.
Unsuccessful You have not been successful at audition/interview and we are not able to offer a place on any of our courses at East 15 Acting School.

 

If an applicant is offered a place on their first choice of course, they will not be considered for any other choices. East 15 will consider applicants for all courses, taking note of the applicants’ course choices. You could therefore, be recalled and/or offered a place on a course that you have not applied for, but is one that our tutors feel would best suit your skills. If an alternative course is offered, then you have been unsuccessful in your application for your other course choices.

Receiving an offer

You will receive an email from us informing you of your offer and directing you to your myEssex applicant portal where you will be able download your offer letter. Your letter will include the conditions of our offer and important response deadline information. It is important that you respond to any requests for further information within the period given as our offer may be withdrawn if we do not hear from you.

Please note, successful applicants must also submit a formal response to the University (accepting or declining the offer) through their myEssex applicant portal. You must also pay a refundable £300 course deposit (refunds subject to Terms and Conditions for Course Deposit (.pdf) by the deadline stated in your offer in order to secure your place at East 15. 

FAQs

Need a question answering about our audition process or preparation? Want to know the difference between some of our courses?

Find an answer on our FAQ page.