Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen BA Welcome Pack
Welcome to Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen BA 2025.
The Hair, Make-Up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen BA (Hons) is specifically designed to provide you with a varied practical skills-set to prepare you for a career within the make-up and special effects sector of the ever-growing creative industries. With a placement opportunity and a focus on the etiquettes of industry environments, the course has a strong employability focus.
Alongside practical and employability skills, the programme provides historical and cultural academic contextualisation of hair, make-up and prosthetics across a range of stage and screen contexts.
Course teaching, both practical and theoretical will be supplemented with guest speakers and special events which will give you key insights into the industries which you will be working in. Overall, this helps to provide students with industry relevant opportunities within their wider university experience and environment.
Your Course Leader
Laura Cotterill
Senior Lecturer in Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Stage and Screen
Welcome and Induction Sessions
This is your induction timetable with an online session starting on Wednesday 17 September, and in-person sessions starting on Monday 22 September. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact induction Laura Cotterill: Laura.Cotterill@northampton.ac.uk.
Wednesday 17 September
Session: Pre-Induction Welcome Session (Online)
- Time: 10am – 12pm (BST)
- Online Link: https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/f09df045d1a4473b8df6daa6d4f9b7ea
This session will take place online and will provide you with an opportunity to get to know your new peers, understand the course structure and support systems available to you and also obtain some insight into what your first semester will look like on campus.
Monday 22 September – Friday 3 October
Welcome Week activities
From karaoke to outdoor cinema, wellbeing walks to Silent Disco, and much more – there’s something suitable for everyone.
See our Welcome timetable to find out more.
Monday 22 September
Session: ‘Welcome to Hair, Makeup & Prosthetics for Stage & Screen’ with the full course team. Welcome talk, campus tour, ice breaker activity and group timetables.
Please bring notetaking equipment.
- Time: 9:30am – 12pm (BST)
- Location: Creative Hub, CH305 (third floor), Waterside campus
Session: ‘Getting to know You’ with your Personal Academic Tutor (PAT), with Laura Cotterill. PAT Introduction, the role of your PAT, student expectations, tutoring schedule, UON support systems.
- Time: 1:30 – 3pm (BST)
- Location: Creative Hub, CH305 (third floor), Waterside campus
Session: ‘Work placement expectations and patch testing’ with Laura Cotterill & Harriet Bond. The work placement agreement and patch testing.
- Time: 3:15 – 4:45pm (BST)
- Location: Creative Hub, CH305 (third floor), Waterside campus
Tuesday 23 September
Session: ‘Health & Safety’ with Harriet Bond & Poppy Twigger. Studio agreement, Health and Safety measures, working in the studio, safe working practices
- Time: 10 -11:30am (BST)
- Location: Creative Hub, CH305 (third floor), Waterside campus
Session: ‘Kit Allocation & working effectively’ with Harriet Bond & Poppy Twigger. Studio orientation, kit labelling and locker etiquette. Label makers will be provided for you to add to your kit, however, please feel free to bring alternative methods to personalise and label your professional makeup kit.
- Time: 11:45am – 1pm (BST)
- Location: Creative Hub, CH305 (third floor), Waterside campus
Session: ‘Library Quest’. To introduce and orientate new students around the Learning Hub.
- Time: 2:15 – 3:15pm (BST)
- Location: Learning Hub, Library (second floor), Waterside campus
Wednesday 24 September
Session: ‘Digital Orientation: Getting set up on MyPad’ with Laura Cotterill and Poppy Twigger. Online orientation to MyPad portfolio and digital expectations.
Laptops will be required.
- Time: 10 – 11:30am (BST)
- Location: Creative Hub, CH306 (third floor), Waterside campus
Session: ‘What’s this Theory all about?’ with Anthony Stepniak
- Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm (BST)
- Location: Creative Hub, CH306 (third floor), Waterside campus
Session: Face to Face tutorials with Laura Cotterill.
- Time: 2pm onwards (BST)
- Location: Creative Hub, CH306 (third floor), Waterside campus
Thursday 25 September
Session: ‘Intimacy Co-Ordination in Creative Industries’. Intimacy and guidelines to working in Intimacy Co-ordination.
This is Mandatory Training for all L4 students and attendance is compulsory.
- Time: to be confirmed
- Location: online
Friday 26 September
Free day! A chance for you to independently explore Northampton, book into UON central induction sessions and get ready for week 1.
Equipment
The total cost of your UON Hair, Makeup and Prosthetics level four starter kit is £650. UON will contribute £300 per student towards this cost and you will be required to contribute the remaining £350 towards your kit. We will send you information about how to do this through our online shop before you arrive and during your first week.
Please note your kit is a starter bundle and you will be required to build this as you progress through your studies and into your professional career. We work closely with our kit suppliers to ensure they are diverse, of a high-quality and provide you with a range of fundamental items to get you ready for your studies and beyond.
Enhancing skills, building networks and engaging in the wider University community
Throughout your academic year there are a variety of extra-curricular opportunities for self-initiated networking. These provide you with an opportunity to engage in professional work practice, build your portfolio and expand your creative network.
As a course team, we actively work alongside complimentary degree courses such as Photography, Fashion Design, Acting & Drama, Journalism, Creative Film, Nursing and Paramedics to simulate real world scenarios for our students to engage in, this is fundamental to fostering a collaborative culture.
In addition to this, we are often contacted by local and national companies and our students have contributed to several events across the last academic year. All of the events enable students to build their technical and transferable skills and some of our involvements include Northampton Film Festival, Graduate Fashion Week, Rutland Musical Theatre Company, Northampton Musical Theatre Company, BBC Northampton, Pride Northampton, Born to Perform Performing Arts Group, STEAM Northants, Changemaker Awards and the Royal & Derngate Summer shows.
Educational trips and guest speakers are core to our teaching and learning strategy on the program as they enable students to engage in the wider makeup community and inspire their learning journey. Key trips have included The British Library, The Design Museum, Banbury Postiche and The Prosthetic Event.
Notable guest speakers who have contributed to the curriculum are Ve Neill (Oscar and BAFTA winning Hair and Makeup Designer), Donald Mowat (BAFTA winning Hair and Makeup Designer), Stuart Bray (Renowned Prosthetic and Digital Makeup Artist), Peter Tindall (Prosthetic Makeup Artist), Bridgette Ellwood (TV Makeup artist), Caroline Bell (Afro textured hair specialist), Mitchell Gough (Barber and Hairdresser) and James Campbell (Avant Garde Hair Designer).