Study
Creative & Performing Arts

Dive into a world of curiosity, collaboration and creativity

Be challenged to think deeply and broadly about the changing world and the role the arts play within it. Spend time honing your craft in specially designed studios and workshop spaces, guided by professional artists, industry practitioners and academic experts.

Develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become a leading creative professional in your chosen field, contributing to our shared future. Specialise in acting, creative writing, music, theatre studies, visual arts or visual arts and design. 

From study to stage

From bewitching performances in Bell Shakespeare's Macbeth to illuminating the Sydney Opera House as lighting technicians, witness their artistic evolution.

Isobel: Hi, I'm Isobel Burton. I graduated in 2018 and I am currently here on the set of Bell Shakespeare's Macbeth in Melbourne, where I play a witch and Lady Macduff. 
 
Tom: Hi, I'm Tom. 

Ellie: Hi, I'm Ellie. 
 
James: Hi, I’m James. 

Tom: I graduated from theatre in 2019. 
 
Ellie: I graduated from theatre in 2022 

James: And I graduated in 2021 
 
Tom: And we all now work as lighting technicians at the Sydney Opera House. 
 
Lily: My name is Lily Hayman. I graduated the Bachelor of performance at UOW in 2018. I am currently the associate producer at Shopfront Arts, so I kind of make our program happen, and I also run purple type productions with my dear friend and also UOW graduate Tyler Fitzpatrick. 
 
Aaron: Hey guys, my name is Aaron Lucas. I graduated UOW in 2015 and I'm on my balcony over here in Berlin where I'm working as a filmmaker, between Sydney and Berlin. 
 
Michael: Hello. My name is Michael Ho. I graduated in 2018 and I am actually on tour in Saudi Arabia puppeteering some dinosaurs for a company called Erth.

Belong to one of the best

Develop the specialist skills that employers want

The Bachelor of Creative Arts allows you to choose your specialisation with:

The Bachelor of Performance & Theatre is a specialist course that will develop you as a self-reliant, highly skilled performing artist or theatre professional through a practice-based program.

  • Two majors: Choose to major in Acting Intensive or Theatre Making.
  • Add a minor or another major: As part of their elective subjects, students are encouraged to undertake a minor study. Students studying the Theatre Making major may choose to complete a second major from within Law, Humanities and the Arts.

A performance student working on a lighting rig

Developing well-connected future leaders:

  • Internships: Get hands-on experience in cultural organisations with Internship subjects. 
  • Build your portfolio: You will graduate with a portfolio of work and experience informed by up-to-date industry knowledge that you can present to future employers and clients.
  • Practical skills: You will participate in a series of simulated workplaces in your chosen major, such as creative and technical studios, rehearsals and editorial workshops.

Students edit photos on computer   

 

Be at the forefront of technology:

  • Hands-on learning: You decide what to work on, and you are in charge of your own media projects.
  • Purpose-built facilities: A brand new UOW creative facility houses specialised facilities including:
    • Theatre spaces with professional performance and rehearsal spaces
    • Technical production space including sound lighting and backstage theatre
    • Music spaces with professional recording studios, a host of post production facilities and rehearsal rooms

 

two students studying in a cafe with a laptop

A degree from UOW opens doors:

  • Learn from professionals: You’ll learn from professional artists, published authors, respected playwrights, performers, actors, musicians and designers.
  • Get noticed: Showcase your work at end of year Graduate Exhibitions and Performances. 
  • Travel: take part in an international exchange program or internship program through our global network of over 140 partner universities and organisations. 

Teacher and student in Sculpture studio

5 stars

UOW received a 5-star rating for undergraduate skills development.

The Good Universities Guide 2023

Number 1 in NSW

UOW ranked number one in NSW for staff qualifications.

The Good Universities Guide 2023

Become one of the world's most employable graduates

At UOW, you'll develop real-world practical skills and content, not just theory. The latest QILT Employer Satisfaction Survey (2021) ranked employers' overall satisfaction with UOW graduates at 91.7% (84.7% national average), placing UOW 1st among all universities nationally.

Employment in creative industries is growing 40% faster than the Australian economy as a whole. There are thousands of creative careers waiting for people with the right mix of skills and experience. Here is just a sample of careers you can pursue:

  • Actor 
  • Copywriter 
  • Creative director 
  • Curator 
  • Digital game designer 
  • Digital media manager 
  • Editor 
  • Feature writer 
  • Film and television producer 
  • Fine artist  
  • Graphic designer 
  • Lighting designer
  • Museum manager
  • Musician 
  • Novelist 
  • Photographer 
  • Screen writer 
  • Sculptor 
  • Stage manager 
  • Theatre director 
  • Theatre performer 
  • Web designer 

Read more: What can I do with my degree? 

 

Meet Sarah

I chose Creative Arts mainly for the theatre aspect, I wanted to get into acting and I wanted to figure out what it was like to share stories and learn empathy through other people's stories as well. My passion is to empower other younger Indigenous students and enable a stronger platform so they can feel strength in their identity. Sarah Bachelor of Creative Arts (Theatre) | Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies

Help others tell their own story

Daniel wants to use his creativity to help other people tell their own stories. He graduated from the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor in Digital Media and now works for a not-for-profit arts organisation, making art in the community to promote social change.

ALUMNI STORIES

My name is Daniel De Filippo and I've just graduated a Bachelor of Digital Media. I'm working for the not-for-profit organisation, Beyond Empathy. They're an arts organisation. We made art in the community to promote social change.

Over the last six months I've been learning coding. We did a show, Beyond Empathy and I called Blue Rose and that was using sensory installations using that coding that I'd learnt. I want to use my creativity yo help others tell their own stories.

Facilities to match your ambitions

Student production Performance & Theatre
Music
Visual arts and design studios

Follow your passion

A UOW Creative and Performing Arts degree immerses you in creative industries and equips you with the practical experience to be cutting-edge in a fast growing creative economy. Experimenting with different art forms and mastering your craft will help you build your skills and cultivate your own creative identity. Be inspired to do your best at a university that understands what it means to be creative.

One of the most satisfying things about teaching at UOW is to see students achieve things that they never imagined they would be doing. When our students begin their foundation year they're very enthusiastic and you can see their creativity and critical thinking really developing. So the best thing about creative arts is that it has the flexibility to cater to you. It's really up to us we get to create our own piece or composition that in the end of the degree can all come together to create a portfolio as fast as artists.

We set up real world scenarios as much as possible we emulate an industry-based practice so we're teaching people not only how to be thinkers and conceptualisers, but also practitioners in a very real industry world.

All the teaching staff and academics are experts in the areas that they're teaching. For example in visual arts all staff teaching are practicing artists. We have musicians and composers, we have theatre play writers, we have actors. So students studying here really studying with practitioners people who are expert in their field.

Every student that comes here can engage with technology to the degree where they can make their own album, get that out to the world in a professional way, that in in no way is lesser than anything that they would do at any commercial facility.

I think it's really fantastic to see our students develop really close working relationships. These relationships continue beyond university where they continue to make music together. Through studying I've met people who have helped me grow and done some exhibitions together, done some collaborative graphic design projects that have eventuated into real briefs with real clients. The students that we turn out here I think are really well equipped to begin that journey into the creative industries. There is a real investment both from students and the teaching faculty in this idea of building a community.

A brighter future starts here

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