Entry Requirements

Entry is by audition only; there are no academic requirements for any of our courses.

We are unable to accept international students on our Three Year or One Year course unless they have UK residency with indefinite leave to remain/settled status.

Applicants from the EU/EEA/Switzerland who do not have settled status in the UK are eligible to apply for the Six Month Acting Foundation Course and Six Month Acting with Musical Theatre Foundation Course.

Minimum age for acting courses:

Acting Foundation Course – 18 years
Acting with Musical Theatre Foundation Course – 18 years
Three Year Course – 18 years
One Year Course – 21 years

There is no upper age limit for any of our courses. It is essential however, that you meet the minimum age requirement by the time the course starts in September. e.g. if you would like to apply for the One Year Course and you will not turn 21 until June 2024, for example, you are able to apply.

Now that we have a new Acting Foundation Course with Musical Theatre, you can apply for a maximum of three courses on your full time course application. During the recall audition process, the Panel will decide which of your choice they think is right for you at this time.

Free audition
Check Step 2 to see if you are eligible for a free audition.

Audition Fee

The First Round audition is by self-tape and the audition fee of £15 is paid on application. We have a lower fee for the First Round self-tape audition to give more people the opportunity to audition for the School.

Please note that the audition fee is non-refundable, and applications received without the audition fee will not be processed. 

The Recall audition is held at the School and the audition fee of £30 is paid when confirming your place at your First Recall audition. All Recalls are held in person and include a workshop alongside your individual audition with the panel. You will not be asked to pay any additional audition fees if you progress to the Second (final) Recall stage. The Recall audition fee must be paid by the deadline in the email because this confirms your attendance at the First Recall Audition. If you are unable to attend then please let us know so that we can allocate the space to another applicant. Please email: auditions@oxforddrama.ac.uk if you have any queries.

Check if you are eligible for a free audition
The Oxford School of Drama aims to increase access by offering a free audition to eligible applicants who aspire to train at the School. The Oxford School of Drama is committed to ensuring fair access to students who have the talent and potential to benefit from our training, regardless of their background. To support this, we are able to offer 100 audition free auditions to people whose financial circumstances may prevent them from applying to us. To be eligible for the audition fee waiver you must meet all of the criteria listed below:

• You are resident in the UK
• You are new to higher education
• You live in a household with a gross annual income of below £35,000

Please download the Apply for a free audition – Application Form and email the completed application and income evidence to auditions@oxforddrama.ac.uk before applying to the School. Please note, in order to get a free audition, applicants must apply for it before they submit their application. We are unable to reimburse audition fees once we have processed your application. 

The Application Procedure

The First Round audition is via self-tape and the First Recall and Second/final Recall audition is held in person at the School and includes a workshop alongside your individual audition (with direction) with the panel.

Please follow the instructions below regarding submitting your First Round audition with your application.

Submitting Your First Round Application Self-Tape

Before completing your application form, you will need to film and submit your introduction below along with two speeches of no more than 2 minutes each. If you are applying for the Acting Foundation Course with Musical Theatre you are also required to film a Song of no more than 2 minutes long.

You are required to upload one link with the three or four parts (you can film in one take or use a programme to edit them into one) onto your application. The speeches are of your choosing, but if you would like to take one of our suggestions for your classical speech, please click here to view the list. For those unsure or unconfident about your classical piece we would encourage you to take one of our suggestions.

1. Introduction : Film a close up of your face and tell us a bit about you using the points below (2 minutes in total).

• State your name and which pieces you will be performing
• Which course(s) you are applying for and why you wish to train at the Oxford School of Drama
• Then think about some moments when you have been inspired in recent years and tell us about one of them.

Note: The introduction section helps us get to know you a little so there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer, we just want to see you use the 2 minutes to take the opportunity to tell us a brief story about something that inspires you.

Change position by moving back from camera to a waist up shot and deliver the two pieces. Your eyeline should be to the side of the camera.

2. A classical speech from the 16th or 17th century. This can be Shakespeare or any other writer from that period; for example, John Ford, Ben Jonson, Mary Pix, Christopher Marlowe, Aphra Behn (2 minutes long).

3. A contrasting (a different subject, theme or emotion) contemporary speech from a 20th or 21st century play (2 minutes long).

4. If you are applying for the Acting with Musical Theatre Foundation Course – in addition to the above please also submit the following:

• A Song – The style of song is up to you, but it should be either musical theatre, pop or a traditional folk song (2 minutes long). If you choose a pop or musical theatre song it should be accompanied and if you chose a folk song, it is up to you whether it is accompanied or not.

5. Upload your audition video to Vimeo/YouTube making sure the link works for someone who isn’t logged in, that settings are set to either public or only set to private if people with the link can access it. Copy and paste the link into the indicated field on the application form. Please also include the names of your speeches in the indicated fields. Please make sure there is no expiry date for viewing the link because we may want to access your audition at recall and waiting list stages. The link should be in this format: https://vimeo.com/000000000

Please make sure that your self tape is no more than 6-7 minutes long for Acting Courses or 8-9 minutes long if one of your courses choices is the Foundation Course in Acting with MT. The Panel cannot watch anything that is longer than what we have asked for.

To apply, press the APPLY button at the bottom of the page to start your application. On the application form you will be asked to fill in your contact details, confirm your eligibility, your course choice(s) (you can apply for up to three courses), list any dates that you are unavailable to attend a recall audition if invited, list your education history and fill in the Something about you section. Please use this section as an opportunity to talk to the Panel; to inform them about who you are, what you have done up until now and why you want to study at the School.

Once you have submitted your application you will receive an automatic email confirmation. Please allow up to 4 weeks for us to get back to you regarding the outcome of your First Round audition to allow the Panel time to view your audition.

Please be ready to confirm your First Recall audition by making the Recall payment by the date requested in your First Recall invitation. This is usually within two working days. To prepare for your first recall audition please watch our In-person Recall Audition Tips. The recalls consist of a group Workshop and an individual audition (your two speeches) with direction.

We will contact you via e-mail with an attached pdf, so please make sure that you also check your Spam folder for any communication from the School. Please contact Admissions if you haven’t heard from us: auditions@oxforddrama.ac.uk. 

If your First Round audition is not successful, we will email you a letter to inform you. You will be able to call the School to obtain feedback on your audition from the Admissions Manager on the days/times stated.