Applying to East 15

Information about entry requirements for our courses can be found on the individual course pages on the University of Essex website.

Step 1

• Read our Audition Terms and Conditions (.pdf). Please note our Terms and Conditions are subject to change.

Step 2

Complete either a UCAS or Direct Application form. Please do not complete both. If you have already done this and are applying for a course that requires an audition, go to Step 3 below for instructions on how to complete the East 15 Application form.

If you are only applying for BA Stage and Production Management or BA Creative Producing (Theatre and Short Film) you do not need to do anything further. Following receipt of your UCAS or Direct Application form, you will receive an email from us inviting you to book an interview. There is no fee for attending an interview for these courses.

UCAS or Direct Application form?

If you are not intending to apply to any other universities or enter UCAS this year, you must first complete our Direct Application form (if you are applying to other institutions as well and already have a UCAS application, you cannot use our Direct Application form).

If you are already in UCAS, or intending to apply to other universities through UCAS, you should first add us as one of your choices and submit your UCAS application form. Please see below for the UCAS codes you will need. You only need to use one of your choices on your UCAS application as you will be able to add further course choices at the next stage of your application.

• To complete your UCAS application you will need the following information:
  
  Institution Name: Essex
  Institution Code: E70
  Campus Code: L for Loughton; S for Southend
  
  Cert HE Theatre Arts - Campus Code: L or S  UCAS Code: W410
  
  BA Acting - Campus Code: L  UCAS Code: W411
  
  BA Acting (International) - Campus Code: L  UCAS Code: W83A
  
  BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre - Campus Code: L  UCAS Code: W441
  
  BA Stage and Production Management - Campus Code: L  UCAS Code: DKAS
  
  BA Acting and Community Theatre - Campus Code: S  UCAS Code W496
  
  BA Acting and Stage Combat - Campus Code: S  UCAS Code W412
  
  BA Acting and Physical Theatre - Campus Code: S  UCAS Code: W494
  
  BA Creative Producing (Theatre and Short Film) - Campus Code: S  UCAS Code: W900
  
  BA World Performance - Campus Code: S  UCAS Code: W495

Once you have submitted either a UCAS or Direct Application form you will then need to follow the instructions in Step 3 below and prepare your audition. You will need your UCAS or Direct Application number and the URL link for your video audition when you go onto Step 4 and complete the East 15 Application Form

Step 3

• If you are only applying for BA Stage and Production Management or BA Creative Producing (Theatre and Short Film) you do not need to do anything further. Following receipt of your UCAS or Direct Application form, you will receive an email from us inviting you to book an interview. There is no fee for attending an interview for these courses.

• For all other undergraduate 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 4

• Complete the East 15 Application Form. At this stage, you will be able to select up to 3 East 15 courses that you would like to be considered for. Your first choice should be the course that you would most like to be considered for. Only complete the other 2 choices if there are other courses that you would be interested in should you not be successful in your first choice. We do automatically consider applicants for all of our courses, taking into account the course preference that you enter on the East 15 Application Form, so you may be recalled for a course that you have not put on your application form. 
• Pay the £15 Round 1 audition fee once you have completed the East 15 application form. There are 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).
• Audition Fee Waiver: Please see the section below for more information on our Audition Fee Waiver. If you think you are eligible for this, you should follow the instructions and have your application form and supporting evidence ready before you complete the East 15 Application Form. .

We believe in fair access to training and therefore provide free auditions to applicants from low-income households.

Eligibility

To apply for a free audition, you must meet all of the following essential criteria:  

• You are applying for undergraduate study.
• You are considered a home student for fee status purposes.
• You attended a state school.  

In addition to the above essential criteria, applicants should also meet at least one of the following criteria:  

• Your household income is under £25,000 per year.
• You are in receipt of benefits including disability benefits: Universal Credit, PIP, DLA.
• You have Caring Responsibilities (Young Carer/Carer).
• You will be considered to be a care leaver when you begin your training.
• You are an estranged student (not supported by your family).
• You can offer other evidence of financial hardship.  

I meet the criteria, what's next?

1. Please download and complete this form (.pdf).  
2. Upload it with your East 15 Application Form along with your proof of household income.
   

Proof of income may include:  

• Personal* or parental** P60s
• Confirmation of income-related benefit payments (e.g. Jobseeker’s Allowance, Universal Credit, Income Support)
• Evidence of tax return from the financial year 2020-21
• Evidence of how your household income has changed since your last tax return (e.g. evidence of reduced income through payslips or accounting documents showing income for last 6 months)

*if you are an independent student
**if you are supported by more than one parent/carer, please include both of their P60s  

If you are awarded an audition fee waiver, your application and audition will be sent to the tutor for a decision.

If you are unsuccessful or we require information from you in order to complete the assessment, we will contact you by email. If your Audition Fee Waiver is refused, you will be told the reason why and asked to pay the audition fee before your application can proceed any further. 

This form must be completed and submitted at the time of application. If you have any difficulty uploading your form or supporting evidence please email us.

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
• transcripts of your highest level of qualification showing the grades achieved
• proof that you have undertaken an English language test (for example, 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 offer.

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 suggest you read our information about what to prepare for auditions thoroughly before applying. 

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 (usually January to April), this might take longer. The outcome of your audition/interview will be one of the outcomes below:

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

Successful applicants must submit a response to the University (accepting or declining the offer). If you applied through UCAS, once you've received a decision from all your choices, UCAS will ask you to accept one offer as your firm (first) choice and one offer as your insurance (second) choice. If you applied through our Direct Application form, you will need to follow the instructions provided in your offer letter to accept your offer.

UCAS Applicants only: East 15 Acting School is unable to keep places open for applicants who make us their Insurance choice and you should either make us your Firm choice or decline our offer.