The Three Year Course with BA Hons in Musical Theatre is delivered in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire at Emil Dale Academy’s campus, based in Hitchin Hertfordshire, only 30 minutes on the train from London King’s Cross. The course itself was bespoke-written for EDA, focusing on the key elements of vocational training required for a course of this level, to ensure students have the best possible opportunities to progress into a career in musical theatre.
EDA consistently deliver intensive, triple-threat musical theatre training with high contact hours, private weekly singing lessons, industry-focused masterclasses and delivered by specialist tutors.
We ensure that our students become industry ready with outstanding technical tuition and study.
We guarantee agency representation for our students in their final year, alongside a London showcase performance in front of casting directors and agencies.
Eligible students have access to Student Finance England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, covering £9250 (non means tested) per year towards fees, and up to £9,200 (means tested) per year towards maintenance costs. These are otherwise known as a student’s tuition fee and maintenance loan.
In partnership with:
The University of Bedfordshire
Emil Dale Academy is in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire for delivery of the BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre course. We are a study centre of the University of Bedfordshire, meaning our students are enrolled as University of Bedfordshire students. The University of Bedfordshire is the awarding body for the BA Hons Musical Theatre course, taught at Emil Dale Academy. When applying for student finance, please apply under the University of Bedfordshire.
This partnership also means that students have access to all of the services and facilities that the University of Bedfordshire have including clubs, sports, library access, online library services, and student services. For more information on the School of Arts and Creative Industries (that Emil Dale Academy is partnered with), visit their website HERE.
By partnering with the University of Bedfordshire, Emil Dale Academy is able to widen participation and access to higher education, enabling young people to have a University education as well as receiving exceptional Musical Theatre training. Emil Dale Academy draws upon the experience of the School of Arts and Creative Industries to deliver a strong, robust, and creative BA Hons in Musical Theatre degree programme.
Application and Eligibility
Applicants must be aged 18 years or over by the start date of the course.
Entry onto the course is based on both audition and academic qualifications. The follow academic criteria is desirable:
When Emil Dale Academy is satisfied with that an applicant from an unconventional academic background without formal work experience fulfils the audition criteria, the academic requirements may be waived, although good spoken English is a requirement for all of our courses.
Applicants are offered after a successful audition and interview.
If you can demonstrate exceptional talent and can satisfy the panel of your ability to successfully complete the course, you may be considered for a place irrespective of your academic background. Details of your examination results will be requested upon application.
International Students
If you are applying to Emil Dale Academy as an international student, please contact admissions@emildale.co.uk before applying.
Currently, international students must have an eligible visa to reside in the UK that does not require Tier 4 sponsorship. The visa must not depend on student status, but rather must carry a different status to allow you to reside in the UK.
If you have a British passport, you may qualify for the degree programme but you must have lived in the UK for 3 years prior to starting the course.
UCAS
You can apply through UCAS for this course, but you will also be asked to apply through EDA’s site and complete our audition form, select an audition date and pay the £40 audition fee.
If you do not wish to take up one of your UCAS places you can also apply directly through our website and at a later date you will be asked to complete a direct application form to the University.
To apply, please CLICK HERE. You must pay an audition fee of £40, which is non-refundable. This is a one-off fee payable upon applying and covers the cost of the workshops and panel auditions, as well as any recall auditions if required.
We ask you to complete your application as robustly as possible, including detailing any specific access requirements you may have that need to be considered to ensure you have a fair audition opportunity.
Audition process
We audition throughout the year.
There are four things to prepare. You will need to learn two monologues of your choice lasting approximately 2 minutes, and two contrasting musical theatre songs with sheet music (you must bring the sheet music with you), cut to 2 minutes also.
You will take part in one jazz class where you will be taught and asked to perform a routine, and may also be invited for an interview at the end.
In some cases, students may be recalled to a later date, with advice as to why we need to see them again. There are no additional fees for this.
We are looking for trainability. Many people come to us as a strong singer or a stronger dancer. Do not let anything hold you back!
What the course offers:
Emil Dale Academy’s three-year course offers the following:
Weekly (Please note that a condensed timetable is run during show terms to accommodate rehearsals and shows):
Additional weekly classes may include a combination of the following:
Termly:
Emil Dale Academy is a funded and private fee paying college.
The total cost of the course is £12,700 per academic year (there are three years in total).
Fees explained - breakdown of fees
BA hons in Musical Theatre: £9,250 per academic year (paid to the University of Bedfordshire) and also comes with access to student finance towards fees and living costs (maintenance loan)
This covers all of the education and support required to complete the University of Bedfordshire degree programme. The University of Bedfordshire is the awarding body for the Cert-HE in Musical Theatre Performance course, taught at Emil Dale Academy.
Private sector hours: Emil Dale Academy offers a range of private sector vocational hours, which is paid privately to EDA.
£2875 + £575 VAT = £3450 per academic year. We offer payment plans which can spread the costs over the three years the private sector.
What are private sector hours?
Private sector hours are the additional studio based hours that Emil Dale Academy offers you throughout your three year course. Private sector hours make up 15-18 hours per week of our three year course. This enables us to provide you with additional contact hours in private 1:1 weekly singing technique lessons (and repertoire lessons in years 2 and 3), ensemble singing, guest masterclass, commercial, contemporary, acting, cardio, acting through song, song and dance and performance class.
These vocational hours and the fee charged are not associated with the University of Bedfordshire.
In order to complete your BA Hons in Musical Theatre qualification, it is not compulsory for any student to undertake the private sector hours.
Scholarships for Private Sector
Emil Dale are proud to offer full and part scholarships which are granted after applicants audition successfully. These are means tested and based upon audition results. We cannot guarantee scholarships to everyone and those we do give are not replenished by any other source of income, and therefore we ask for as much detail as possible when filling in a means testing form.
Everybody should have the right to train at Emil Dale Academy and we do not discriminate on the basis of an individual’s race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or disability.
Tuition Fee Loans
There are two elements of fees payable to participate in the full course (see breakdown of fees above).
For the £9250 per year payable to the University, you can apply through Student Finance for funding for this element of the course (providing that you are eligible to do so). Find out more about student finance here: www.gov.uk/student-finance. This can also be paid privately by the student directly to the University.
The university pay EDA a percentage of this fee to cover the course delivery.
For the private sector fees, students will need to pay a deposit to secure the student's place at our academy by the date specified in the offer pack. You will be given fee payment plan, which gives the options to pay the private sector fee upfront, monthly or in bi-annual instalments.
Maintenance Loan
Accommodation, food, transport, additional course fees and other living expenses will need to be accounted for, and eligible students will be able to apply for a maintenance loan alongside their tuition fee loan.
The exact amount you can borrow for your maintenance loan will depend on:
Your household income
*Note, The tuition fee loan is not means tested which means that your household income will not be taken into consideration.
This funding is typically paid directly to students in three instalments at the start of each term.
Find out more about student finance here: www.gov.uk/student-finance
Repaying your Student Loan
Your repayments will be taken out of your salary at the same time as tax and National Insurance if you’re an employee. Your payslips will show how much has been deducted.
If you are self-employed, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will work out how much you pay from your tax return. You pay at the same time as you pay your tax.
You’ll only repay your student loan when your income is over the threshold amount for your repayment plan, unless you’ve been overpaid.
Your income is the amount you earn (including things like bonuses and overtime) before tax and other deductions.
The threshold amounts change on 6 April every year.
The earliest you’ll start repaying is:
For more information, you can look on the government website here: https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/when-you-start-repaying
Your repayments automatically stop if either:
Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)
Students may be entitled to a DSA if they have a form of disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty (SpLD).
Please note that this allowance is not based on income but is based on the students' needs.
DSA can be used to pay for various elements such as any additional support, resources or travel fees.
Other payments
Aside from tuition fees, there are other elements that students will need to budget for including accommodation, bills, food (if they are moving away from home) transport, books, photocopying and printing.
Additional income is often sourced by students through part-time jobs, which the Emil Dale Academy recommends. We strongly advise against loans due to extortionate interest rates and potential implications they can cause.
There are lots of other ways to save money, such as student bank accounts and discounts offered with NUS Extra cards (available to BTEC and Degree students). Full-time students living with other students (only) will also be exempt from paying Council Tax.
When you are offered a place, we will send a Kit List detailing the uniform/ kit required for EDA classes for example ballet kit, jazz uniform and so forth. We estimate the cost of this to be £250.
EDA does have a second hand uniform shop which may help reduce those costs.
At the Emil Dale Academy, we understand that student finance may seem daunting however it really is just a case of being aware of the expected costs and doing some upfront planning to make sure the required finances are in place.
Here at Emil Dale, we appreciate that this will be the first time that many students will be away from home which can be daunting – we have a Welfare Officer as well as a Head of Student Experience who can help students cope with independent living.
There are two options for accommodation - privately let houses/flats with other students or host accommodation.
EDA sets up a private EDA Facebook "accommodation page" which allows new students to be contacted by existing students with information on houses and rooms that are available. This private web page is also constantly updated by EDA with links to prospective housing.
Host families are available in the local area who rent out their rooms. EDA has a referral scheme to local hosts, and we require them to hold a valid DBS check.
Costs
We are driven by results! Take a look at student destinations by CLICKING HERE
If you are applying to Emil Dale Academy as an international student, please contact admissions@emildale.co.uk before applying.
Currently, international students must have an eligible visa to reside in the UK that does not require Tier 4 sponsorship. The visa must not depend on student status, but rather must carry a different status to allow you to reside in the UK.
If you have a British passport, you may qualify for the degree programme but you must have lived in the UK for 3 years prior to starting the course.
2025 entry now open! Please select one of the options below to apply for our BA (Hons) course with access to student finance towards fees and living costs, Sixth Form and Gap Year course.
Any problems please email admissions@emildale.co.uk
Email us at admissions@emildale.co.uk | Difficulties completing the form? Please call 01462 677 808.
The audition fee for all courses is £40 and is non-refundable. This is a one-off fee payable upon applying and covers the cost of the workshops and panel auditions, as well as any recall auditions if required.
Emil Dale Academy is dedicated to widening participation within the industry and has set up an Audition Fee Waiver Scheme to encourage applications from talented candidates who are deterred from applying by financial barriers.
Please view our Audition Fee Waiver Scheme Policy to find out if you are eligible to apply for a scheme, and to find out how to apply.
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