The BA (Hons) in Live Events Production at Backstage Academy introduces you to the technical, design and management areas of live events with four distinct pathways for you to choose from including lighting design and technology, live sound, live visuals and event business. Working with industry-leading practitioners, you’ll have opportunities to explore a range of exciting careers first-hand.

Key information

Award:

BA (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Full-time

Duration:

3 years

Location:

Backstage Academy

UCAS points:

104

UCAS code:

N821

Start date:

20/09/2021

Course Details

Covering most aspects of the live events industry – including live music, festivals, conferences and the corporate sector – this unique training programme aims to give you a comprehensive understanding of a range of roles in this exciting field of work.

BA (Hons) Live Events Production introduces you to the technical, design and management areas of live events with four distinct pathways for you to choose from:

Lighting Design and Technology
Live Sound
Live Visuals (LED walls, projections and video
Event Business

The first year of the course gives you a strong grounding in a range of technical, creative and production management disciplines. In the second year, you will begin to specialise by choosing two pathways to focus on. In the final year of the course, you will focus entirely on one pathway.

The first two years of this course can also be taken as a foundation degree (FdA), after which there is then the option to carry on to the third year by applying for the BA (Hons) Top-Up.

By involving some of the industry’s leading practitioners and using a broad range of industry partnerships, we ensure you have access to the most up-to-date and relevant expertise and resources. The modules have been developed in conjunction with industry experts, so you can be sure that the course is focused on enhancing your employability.

As well as engaging with a range of artistic and creative products, the course aims to help you develop an understanding of the wider industry. For example, you’ll be taught how to prepare a creative brief and understand and implement a range of research and presentation tools.

The course is a partnership between the University of Bolton and Backstage Academy. The course is based at Production Park in South Kirkby, home to Backstage Academy, more than 10 live events companies and Europe’s largest purpose-built rehearsal facility.

Highlights

A range of industry collaborations and partnerships allow us to provide a unique range of training content supplied by leading manufacturers and practitioners.
The course has been designed with the help of industry practitioners to ensure graduates meet the needs of the live events production sector.
You can take advantage of world-class facilities, industry partnerships and opportunities to engage with industry professionals and productions.
Many seminars and workshops are delivered by acknowledged industry experts who are eager to pass on their years of real-world experience.
You may have the chance to participate in international events that in the past have included Ibiza Rocks Hotel, Le Mans 24 Hour auto-sport race in France and MTV Malta music festival.

Key Features

This course is highly distinctive as it focuses on equipping you with the skills and knowledge to produce a wide range of live music and festival events, conferences, street parades, corporate events, and parties.
As well as traditional lectures, seminars, examinations and tutorials your learning will be enhanced with visits from a variety of experienced guest speakers. Master class seminars will be provided by industry professionals.
The course aims to build your knowledge of live events production as well as its practical application.
You’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate personal expression, imagination and creativity as well as develop deeper levels of interpretation, insight and originality in your work.
You’ll have the chance to develop your skills in collating information, identifying problems and proposing solutions.
Through its connection with Production Park, Backstage Academy offers unique commercial opportunities, balancing academic rigour and real-world experience in the modern live events industry.

Professional recognition

104 UCAS points. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points.
Your Level 3 subjects must include a mathematical or physical science subject, a technology based subject or a music, literature or creative art subject; for instance, A-level English Literature or BTEC Extended Diploma in Computing.
You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics.
We’ll be happy to consider your application if you have non-standard qualifications and/or a proven employment record in the live events production industry. Please contact the programme leader.
You’ll be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
If English isn’t your first language you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
This course is open to Home students only. Applications from International and EU students cannot usually be accepted because the study location for this course is not licenced by UKVI to sponsor students. Therefore, if you require sponsorship under the Student Visa Route to study in the UK then, unfortunately, we’ll be unable to consider your application for this course.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

Professional training on the creative use of entertainment technology will help prepare you for a wide variety of roles within the live events industry. The course spans a broad range of subject areas, from staging, lighting, live sound and live visuals, to event planning, concept design, entertainment networks and contemporary issues, to help you gain an all-round introduction to the aspects of producing a live event.

You’ll be encouraged to complete a number of group projects based on typical professional briefs where you’ll develop teamwork skills. Written reports and research tasks will help deepen your knowledge and lay the foundations for progression to further study.

What can I do with this qualification?

The Live Events Production degree is designed to equip you with the creative and technical skills needed to succeed in the backstage sector, across music concerts, festivals, theatre, corporate and sporting events, brand activation and cruise ships – anywhere a live event takes place! Potential careers range from technical and “hands on” production (either working as crew, design, programmers or operators) through to support (working for suppliers in specifying, preparing and supplying a range of resources and services to the live events industry).

Some of the job roles include lighting technician, lighting designer, sound system engineer, production manager, live visuals engineer, video wall technician, moving light technician, pyrotechnician, site manager and stage manager.

With experience, our graduates can progress to a range of management roles – managing crew, stages, venues, productions or tours. Some graduates also choose to work as freelance engineers or set up their own business. Upon completion of your degree, you have the opportunity to progress your studies further to a range of postgraduate study options, leading to masters, research and doctoral qualifications.

Alternative career options

You can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include:

Broadcast engineering
Technical theatre
Technical sales and support
Teaching and education
Event technology
Acoustics
Event management
TV and film
Tour management
Safety enforcement

Course fees

Home Fees	Year of study				Total
Entry year	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25
2020	£9,250	£9,250	£9,250	-	£27,750

Useful information

This course is open to Home students only. Applications from International and EU students cannot usually be accepted because the study location for this course is not licenced by UKVI to sponsor students. Therefore, if you require sponsorship under the Student Visa Route to study in the UK then, unfortunately, we’ll be unable to consider your application for this course.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2021/2022 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for ‘Home’ fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for ‘Home’ fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance eligibility 2021/2022 policy on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student’s course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2021-2022 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2021-2022 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton undergraduate students.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

September start

Please apply through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) for September entry.

The online application form and guidance notes are available on the UCAS website.

You can apply for up to 5 courses through UCAS (at the same or different institutions) for a fee of £24. Alternatively, if you only wish to apply for a single course at a single institution then a reduced applicant's fee of £13 is applicable.

You will need the following information to complete your UCAS application form:

Institution Code Name: BOLTN
Institution Code Number: B44

UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

Tel: 0870 1122211
Web: www.ucas.com

The University welcomes applications from international students from all over the world. We try to make the application process as simple and as fast as possible for our international applicants.

How you apply is determined by your current location and what you are choosing to study:

Apply direct to the University. Links for the next available intakes of this course are shown below. Please click the link which will direct you to the online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this.
Apply via one of our approved in-country referral partners. A list of our partners may be found on the International pages of this website.
Apply via UCAS for courses starting in September only – visit www.ucas.com.

Should you have any queries please contact the International Team on +44 (0) 1204 903110 or email international@bolton.ac.uk

Apply online: Backstage Academy BA (Hons) Live Events Production - Backstage Academy-20 September 2021 (Intake not currently accepting international applications)

University of Bolton Group Partners

Bolton College
University Technical College
University of Bolton

The University welcomes applications from our group partners and progressing students so we try to make our application process as simple and as fast as possible. By selecting the link for your chosen course from the list shown below you will be taken directly to our online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this and ensure you upload all supporting documents such as certificates and your personal statement when you apply.

Please ensure when you are asked to add a contact email address you add your college/university email account address as well as your personal address. If you do not add your college address as your contact address we will be unable to identify you as a partner and you will be referred to apply via UCAS, which incurs a cost.

Apply online: Backstage Academy BA (Hons) Live Events Production - Backstage Academy - 20 September 2021

We look forward to receiving your application and you continuing your academic journey with us!

Course content will be taught through lectures, seminars, practical workshops and tutorial sessions. You’ll be able to learn theoretical principles and be allowed to apply these in practical contexts through both group and individual study.

The course’s assessment strategy is designed to make sure you achieve the overall aims and objectives of the programme. The strategy ensures that both individual and group assessments are used at levels 4, 5 and 6. A variety of assessment methods are employed to increase opportunities and develop your abilities. The Live Events Production programme has been developed to maximise key transferable skills and enhance employability.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Academic and Professional Skills for the Event Industries
Concept Design and Presentation
Staging
Live Sound
Lighting
Visual Production
Research Methods for Event Studies
Event Production Management
Production Planning and Realisation
Live Sound Systems and Mixing
Lighting Systems and Programming
Visual Production Systems and Design
Live Events Business
Industry Networking
Live Events Industry Perspectives
Event Logistics
Work Related Project
Major Project
Sound Engineering Practice
Lighting Design Practice
Visual Production Practice
Contemporary Issues in Live Events

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 65%, Practical exams 35%
Level two	Coursework 72%, Practical exams 28%
Level three	Coursework 82%, Practical exams 18%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 65%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 35%
Level two	Guided independent study 61%, Placement/study abroad 12%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 27%
Level three	Guided independent study 62%, Placement/study abroad 20%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 18%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.