Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen

Hair, make-up, and prosthetics for stage and screen is a specialist creative practice at the heart of how performers are transformed for theatre, film, television, and live performance. It combines craft skills developed over centuries of theatrical tradition with the cutting-edge materials and technologies that enable the illusions of contemporary screen production. Wig-making, period hair styling, character make-up, special effects, and prosthetic design and application each require a different combination of technical knowledge, material understanding, and creative problem-solving.

Working in this field also demands an ability to collaborate under pressure, to manage time and resources in fast-moving production environments, and to maintain the professional etiquette of creative industry workplaces.

Studied part-time at the University of Northampton, this degree provides a varied and rigorous practical skills foundation across all the major areas of the discipline. You will develop technical competence in hair, make-up, and prosthetics alongside the historical and cultural knowledge needed to contextualise your work: understanding period styles, the conventions of different genres and production types, and the relationship between the aesthetic choices of make-up and the wider artistic vision of a production. The programme has a strong employability focus, integrating placement opportunities and explicit attention to the professional cultures and working practices of the industry.

This combination of practical skill, contextual knowledge, and professional preparation is designed to help you move confidently into the creative industries on graduation.

Graduates work across theatre, film, television, opera, ballet, music video, advertising, and events production. Roles include make-up artist, hair stylist, prosthetics technician, special effects make-up artist, and wig maker, with many practitioners building portfolio careers that move across several of these areas. The creative industries are highly competitive, and the degree's focus on both technical excellence and professional practice is designed to give you a distinctive foundation.

Many graduates continue to develop their skills through further training, specialist workshops, or postgraduate study, while others build experience through assisting established practitioners in the industry.