Design, Art and Performing Arts Chats and Auditions
Welcome to our FAQs page.
As part of the application process for our Performing Arts and Art and Design courses you will have been invited for an informal chat, audition, or portfolio review. Here you can find some information on what to expect during your chat or audition, or what to include and how to submit a digital portfolio. Simply find your course below and read through the information.
Where will my audition take place?
Your audition will take place face-to-face in our on-campus performance space at Waterside campus, this is the best way for us to get to know you and for you to get to know us. Please attend in loose fitting clothing suitable for movement. Dates are limited so if you need to reschedule, please contact us as early as possible.
How long will my audition take?
Your audition will last approximately four-six hours. You will meet tutors and students from the course and be able to ask any questions you may have about actor training at UON.
Is there any preparation work to do before my audition?
In preparation for your audition, you will need to memorise two monologues, no longer than two minutes long. These will be performed to the group.
- 1 contemporary monologue from a published play
- 1 classical/Shakespeare monologue
One of our Acting lecturers will be giving you directions during your monologues.
What should I bring with me to my audition?
You will need bring a recent passport sized (showing head and shoulders) photo with you to your audition and a form of photographic ID.
Who can I contact if I have any questions about my audition?
If you have any questions about your audition, please email Rory O’Neill (Programme Leader) on rory.oneill@northampton.ac.uk.
If we really like your application its likely that we will want to see and discuss some of your work with you. We’re sure you would also like to get to know us better and this will be an opportunity to do just that!
Where will my chat take place?
Your chat will take place online using Blackboard Collaborate. For online chats you will need a device with video capability to participate.
Your chat invite email will detail how to download and access the Blackboard Collaborate and the Games Art team will email you a link to join before your scheduled date.
How long will my chat take?
Your chat will last approximately 30 minutes.
Is there any preparation work to do before my chat?
Please email a digital portfolio of approximately six to eight pieces of work to animation@northampton.ac.uk, no later than one week before your chat. Your portfolio should contain work for any animation related projects you have created or contributed to. This could include observational drawing, animations, digital artwork, character concepts or storyboarding.
Please refer to your chat invite email for the digital portfolio requirements.
What should I do on the day?
Please have a form of photographic ID (passport, drivers licence/student ID, visa) ready to present and make sure to log in five minutes early to check your microphone and camera
We recommend using Chrome or Firefox on a laptop or desktop.
Who can I contact if I have questions about my chat?
If you have any questions regarding your chat, please contact lewis.sanderson@northampton.ac.uk.
We’d now like to invite you to share examples of your portfolio work. A successful assessment of your portfolio may lead to your offer being upgraded to unconditional.
What should my portfolio include?
Your digital portfolio should include examples of your best work. Please include:
- One piece which evidences your drawing ability
- Two other pieces which demonstrates your design development
We’d also love to see some of your sketchbook work. Don’t worry if not everything is finished – works in progress are ok. We want to see your ideas and experiments as well.
How should I submit my portfolio?
Please submit your digital portfolio within 21 days via the ‘Documents’ section of the application portal as a pdf or word document with the file name: My Portfolio. Please ensure that the files are no larger than 10MB, and HEIC files are not supported. The Admissions Tutor will then review your submitted work alongside your completed application.
If you have any questions or problems with submitting your digital portfolio, you can email admissions@northampton.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 300 303 2772.
Who should I contact if I have questions about my portfolio?
If you have any questions about your portfolio, you can email Emmeline Child (Programme Leader) on Emmeline.child@northampton.ac.uk.
We’d now like to invite you to share examples of your portfolio work. A successful assessment of your portfolio may lead to your offer being upgraded to unconditional.
What should my portfolio include?
Your digital portfolio should include between 10-20 examples of your best work. This could include examples like painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture/3D, photography and digital art. We’d also love to see some of your sketchbook work. Don’t worry if not everything is finished – works in progress are ok. We want to see your ideas and experiments as well.
How should I submit my portfolio?
Please submit your digital portfolio within 21 days via the ‘Documents’ section of the application portal as a pdf or word document with the file name: My Portfolio. Please ensure that the files are no larger than 10MB, and HEIC files are not supported. The Admissions Tutor will then review your submitted work alongside your completed application.
If you have any questions or problems with submitting your digital portfolio, you can email admissions@northampton.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 300 303 2772.
Who should I contact if I have questions about my portfolio?
If you have any questions about your portfolio, you can email Stefan Gant (Programme Leader) on Stefan.gant@northampton.ac.uk.
If we really like your application its likely that we will want to see and discuss some of your work with you. We’re sure you would also like to get to know us better and this will be an opportunity to do just that!
Where will my chat take place?
Your chat will take place online using Blackboard Collaborate. For online chats you will need a device with video capability to participate.
Your chat invite email will detail how to download and access the Blackboard Collaborate and the Games Art team will email you a link to join before your scheduled date.
How long will my chat take?
Your chat will last approximately 30 minutes.
Is there any preparation work to do before my chat?
Please email a digital portfolio of approximately six to eight pieces of work to games@northampton.ac.uk, no later than one week before your chat.
Your portfolio can contain any of the following: Observational drawing (subjects containing perspective and/or anatomy), painting (digital or traditional media), concept art (designs for video game characters, props, and environments), animation, sculpture, graphic design, any digital 3D modelling and texturing that you may have done, any game related projects that you have contributed to, and any modding that you may have done (such as level design for commercial video games).
Please refer to your chat invite email for the digital portfolio requirements.
What should I do on the day?
Please have a form of photographic ID (passport, drivers licence/student ID, visa) ready to present and make sure to log in five minutes early to check your microphone and camera.
We recommend using Chrome or Firefox on a laptop or desktop.
Who can I contact if I have questions about my chat?
If you have any questions, or if you do not receive the Blackboard Collaborate link, please contact daniel.mccaul@northampton.ac.uk.
If we really like your application its likely that we will want to see and discuss some of your work with you. We’re sure you would also like to get to know us better and this will be an opportunity to do just that!
Where will my chat take place?
Your chat will take place online using Blackboard Collaborate. For online chats you will need a device with video capability to participate.
Your chat invite email will detail how to download and access the Blackboard Collaborate and the Games Art team will email you a link to join before your scheduled date.
How long will my chat take?
Your chat will last approximately 30 minutes.
Is there any preparation work to do before my chat?
Please email a digital portfolio of approximately six to eight pieces of work to games@northampton.ac.uk, no later than one week before your interview. Your portfolio should contain work for any game-related projects you have created or contributed to, any 3D modelling, or any modding for commercial games.
Please refer to your chat invite email for the digital portfolio requirements.
What should I do on the day?
Please have a form of photographic ID (passport, drivers licence/student ID, visa) ready to present and make sure to log in five minutes early to check your microphone and camera.
We recommend using Chrome or Firefox on a laptop or desktop.
Who can I contact if I have questions about my chat?
If you have any questions regarding your chat, please contact david.nicholls@northampton.ac.uk.
Now that we’ve made you an offer, we’d like to see some of your portfolio work.
What should my portfolio include?
Your digital portfolio should contain 5-10 pieces. We’re looking for work that shows your ideas, creativity and curiosity. This might include:
- Logo design
- Branding
- Advertising
- Editorial
- Publishing
- Typography
- Photography
- Illustration
- Other forms of Art and Design work
- Digital work such as web/app design, animation or moving image
If your work lives online, feel free to include links or embedded videos (please make sure links work before sending).
We’d also really like to see sketchbook pages, experiments and works in progress as they help us understand how you think.
How should I submit my portfolio?
Please submit your digital portfolio within 21 days via the ‘Documents’ section of the application portal as a pdf or word document with the file name: My Portfolio. Please ensure that the files are no larger than 10MB, and HEIC files are not supported. The Admissions Tutor will then review your submitted work alongside your completed application.
If you have any questions or problems with submitting your digital portfolio, you can email admissions@northampton.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 300 303 2772.
Who should I contact if I have questions about my portfolio?
If you have any questions about your portfolio, you can email the course team on graphicdesign@northampton.ac.uk.
We’d now like to invite you to share examples of your portfolio work. A successful assessment of your portfolio may lead to your offer being upgraded to unconditional.
What should my portfolio include?
Your digital portfolio should include 10 – 15 pieces of your best work. We’d love to see examples of your research, ideas and developments, as well as finished projects. This could include sketchbook pages, life drawing, painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture/3D, photography, digital painting and drawing or animation.
We’d also love to see some of your sketchbook work. Don’t worry if not everything is finished – works in progress are ok. We want to see your ideas and experiments as well.
How should I submit my portfolio?
Please submit your digital portfolio within 21 days via the ‘Documents’ section of the application portal as a pdf or word document with the file name: My Portfolio. Please ensure that the files are no larger than 10MB, and HEIC files are not supported. The Admissions Tutor will then review your submitted work alongside your completed application.
If you have any questions or problems with submitting your digital portfolio, you can email admissions@northampton.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 300 303 2772.
Who should I contact if I have questions about my portfolio?
If you have any questions about your portfolio, you can email Louise Bird (Programme Leader) on louise.bird@northampton.ac.uk or illustration@northampton.ac.uk.
Now that we’ve made you an offer, we’d like to see some of your portfolio work.
What should my portfolio include?
When considering applications for the Interior Architecture and Spatial Design programme, we look for applicants who can demonstrate their creativity through a variety of mediums. While you are welcome to include mood boards or 3D interior visuals, these are not required and not the focus at this stage.
What we would like to see are strong examples of conceptual thinking, experimentation, and creative exploration that reveal how you generate and develop ideas.
Your portfolio may include any of the following:
- Drawing and sketching – observational sketches & conceptual drawings
- Sketchbooks/process books – pages showing ideation, research, conceptual development, and how you arrive at ideas
- Model making or prototyping – hand-built physical models, experimental materials studies, sculptural pieces, or 3D form-finding explorations
- Finished artwork/project outcomes
- Photography – creative, abstract, or documentary photography demonstrating, atmosphere, and narrative
- Printmaking or mixed media & painting – collages, monoprints, lino cuts, digital-analogue hybrids, or experimental graphic work
- Spatial experiments – installations, paper constructions, object studies, or any work exploring scale, form, and spatial relationships (not polished interiors or renders)
- Textile or material exploration – weaving, fabric manipulation, pattern creation, material tests, or surface studies
- Any interdisciplinary or personal projects – that reveal your curiosity, visual thinking, or ability to generate and develop ideas
How should I submit my portfolio?
Please submit your digital portfolio within 21 days via the ‘Documents’ section of the application portal as a pdf or word document with the file name: My Portfolio. Please ensure that the files are no larger than 10MB, and HEIC files are not supported. The Admissions Tutor will then review your submitted work alongside your completed application.
If you have any questions or problems with submitting your digital portfolio, you can email admissions@northampton.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 300 303 2772.
Who should I contact if I have questions about my portfolio?
If you have any questions about your portfolio, you can email Nasir Ahmed (Programme Leader) on nasir.ahmed@northampton.ac.uk.
If we really like your application its likely that we will want to see and discuss some of your work with you. We’re sure you would also like to get to know us better and this will be an opportunity to do just that!
Where will my chat take place?
Face-to-face chats will take place at the Development Hub. Virtual chats take place online using Blackboard Collaborate. For virtual chats, you will need a device with video capability to participate. Your chat invite email will detail how to access the Blackboard Collaborate platform. Our Music Production team will email you a link to join your chat before your scheduled date.
How long will my chat take?
Face-to-face chats will last between one and two hours and will include a tour of the facilities. You’ll get to sit down with someone from the Music Production team to chat about your audition video, your work, the course and your goals. You’ll also get a tour of the studio spaces and a chance to interact with some of the technology we have.
Virtual chats will last approximately 30 minutes. You’ll chat with someone from the Music Production team, who will review your audition video and ask you about your work and why you want to join the course. Feel free to ask any questions you have about the course too.
Is there any preparation work to do before my chat?
You will need to make or send a short audition video to music@northampton.ac.uk, no later than one week before your interview date. Please refer to your chat invite emails for the the audition requirements. You can include footage of you making music in a DAW of your choice. For example, Logic Pro, Ableton – whatever package you use. Alternatively, you could send us footage of you DJing or making live music using software.
What should I do on the day?
Please remember to bring with you a form of photographic ID (passport, drivers licence/student ID, visa) and have this ready to present at registration when you arrive for your face-to-face chat. For virtual chats, check your microphone and camera are working, find a quiet place free from interruption, join using the link you have been sent and wait for the academic to welcome you.
Who can I contact if I have any questions about my audition?
If you have any questions, or if you do not receive the Collaborate link, please contact Mark Thursby (Programme Leader) on mark.thursby@northampton.ac.uk.
We’d now like to invite you to share examples of your portfolio work. A successful assessment of your portfolio may lead to your offer being upgraded to unconditional.
What should my portfolio include?
Your digital portfolio should include 5-10 images of your best work.
We’d like for you to include examples of your visual research/journal work, and a short piece of writing on photography or other lens-based mediums (essay, contextual report, exhibition review etc). This will help us get a feel for your writing style and see how familiar you are with some key texts. There is no minimum or maximum word count for this, and we’re happy for this to be a piece of school/college coursework.
How should I submit my portfolio?
Please submit your digital portfolio within 21 days via the ‘Documents’ section of the application portal as a pdf or word document with the file name: My Portfolio. Please ensure that the files are no larger than 10MB, and HEIC files are not supported. The Admissions Tutor will then review your submitted work alongside your completed application.
If you have any questions or problems with submitting your digital portfolio, you can email admissions@northampton.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 300 303 2772.
Who should I contact if I have questions about my portfolio?
If you have any questions about your portfolio, you can email Richard Whitehead (Programme Leader) on richard.whitehead@northampton.ac.uk.
If we really like your application its likely that we will want to see and discuss some of your work with you. We’re sure you would also like to get to know us better and this will be an opportunity to do just that!
Where will my chat take place?
Chats will take place online using Blackboard Collaborate. You will need a device with video capability to participate. Your invite email will detail how to access the Blackboard Collaborate platform.
How long will my chat take?
Your chat will last approximately 30 minutes.
Is there any preparation work to do before my chat?
You will need to make and send a short audition video of yourself either playing an instrument (or both) to music@northampton.ac.uk, no later than one week before your chat date. Make sure to use your strongest instrument and most accomplished song.
What should I do on the day?
Make sure you have identification (passport/drivers licence/college card/visa) ready to present. Please log in five minutes early to check your microphone and camera are working, find a quiet place free from interruption, join using the link you have been sent and wait for the academic to welcome you.
Who can I contact if I have any questions about my chat?
If you have any questions, please email Stace Constantinou (Programme Leader) on stace.constantinou@northampton.ac.uk.
We’d now like to invite you to share examples of your portfolio work. A successful assessment of your portfolio may lead to your offer being upgraded to unconditional.
What should my portfolio include?
Your digital portfolio should include 3 – 5 pieces of your design work.
We’d love to see a range of 2D and 3D work. This could be ideation and sketching, concept renderings and visualisations, sketch-modelling and prototyping, 2D and 3D CAD drawings, images of finished designs or artwork.
We’d also love to see some of your sketchbook work. Don’t worry if not everything is finished – works in progress are ok. We want to see your ideas and experiments as well.
How should I submit my portfolio?
Please submit your digital portfolio within 21 days via the ‘Documents’ section of the application portal as a pdf or word document with the file name: My Portfolio. Please ensure that the files are no larger than 10MB, and HEIC files are not supported. The Admissions Tutor will then review your submitted work alongside your completed application.
If you have any questions or problems with submitting your digital portfolio, you can email admissions@northampton.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 300 303 2772.
Who should I contact if I have questions about my portfolio?
If you have any questions about your portfolio, you can email Paul Hines (Programme Leader) on Paul.hines@northampton.ac.uk.
