Honours is available for this course

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) trains world-class designers, technicians, makers and managers.

By studying Production at the Victorian College of the Arts, you’ll gain the professional training and industry connections you need to pursue a rich and varied career in the design, technical, and management areas of live performance.

Starting in the studio and progressing to the production environment, you will cultivate your conceptual and technical skills in your chosen specialisations as you advance through the course.

Work in production is inherently collaborative and throughout your course you'll contribute to the creation of large-scale performances with Music Theatre, Theatre, Acting and Dance students from across the VCA. When you graduate you will have a portfolio of experience to enable you to embark on a career in the Performing Arts.

While studying Production you will be taught by academic staff and mentors experienced in their specialist areas and currently working in the industry at a high-level.

Areas of specialist study include stage management and the design and realisation of sets, costumes, lighting and sound.

Breadth subjects at each year level enable you to choose from our VCA elective subjects, or explore cross disciplinary studies from the wider University community, accessing multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills that will build on existing knowledge or present opportunities for you to investigate and develop new interests.

You will

• Develop extensive skills across chosen areas of specialisation including Design, Stage Management, Set & Props, Costume, Lighting, Digital Media & Projection, and Sound
• Gain experience in the design and realisation of live performance across a broad range of performance contexts for stage
• Consolidate a working methodology as an autonomous, collaborative creator in the arts sector
• Collaborate with VCA Music Theatre, Theatre, Dance and Acting students throughout the course.

Future pathways

Upon completion of the course, you may choose to apply for a fourth-year Honours degree. An honours year provides an intensive mode of study allowing you to master your specialisation and create a pathway into advanced graduate study options in production.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) is a three-year full-time degree that offers studies in the creation and production of live performance. You can specialise in the areas of Design, Stage Management, Set and Props, Costume, Lighting, Digital Media and Projection, and Sound. Theoretical knowledge and practical skills are developed through an immersive and practical curriculum in studio and production environments.

The course incorporates broad foundation training in live production processes. You can cultivate your skills in your chosen specialisations as you progress through the course, integrating conceptual and technical skills within studio-based environments.

You will have opportunities to be involved in sustained exploration and experimentation through collaborations on Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) Theatre, Dance and Music Theatre productions. You will undertake design, technical and management roles, increasing in responsibility and endeavour as you advance through the course. This environment provides you with a unique opportunity to develop interdisciplinary collaboration skills with peer and professional theatre makers.

The course is delivered and supported by academic staff and mentors with contemporary industry practice. As a way of furthering your understanding of the industry and developing your own professional network, you will have the opportunity to complete an industry internship in your final year with a professional company or individual practitioner. The course promotes sustainable independent practice to optimally position you to forge strong career pathways in national and international performing arts industries.

Your breadth studies

As part of your course at each year level, you can select breadth subjects either from our VCA elective subjects, or explore cross disciplinary studies from the wider University community, accessing multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills that will build on existing knowledge or present opportunities for you to investigate and develop new interests.

The breadth subjects available to commencing BFA students include those in fine arts (acting, animation, dance, production, film and television, music theatre, screenwriting, theatre and visual art), as well as music education, Indigenous knowledges, law, languages, psychology, social sciences, humanities, science, marketing and many more.

Find out more about the University’s breadth subjects

Workload

First year begins with workshops, studio and classroom-based teaching (18–24 hours per week). As the course progresses, you take on more responsibility for productions (24–36 hours per week). During peak production periods leading up to opening night performances, contact hours can be up to 10 hours per day.

Sample course plan

View some sample course plans to help you select subjects that will meet the requirements for this bachelor.

300-point program

3 years full-time

Options include working across a wide variety of arts and entertainment environments including: technical, design or management roles for events, major festivals, theatre, dance and music theatre productions.

Career outcomes

Our graduates have diverse careers that include:

• Stage managers
• Set and costume designers
• Costume makers
• Technicians
• Lighting designers
• Production managers
• Sound designers
• Audio engineers
• Dressers
• Event managers
• Prop makers

Graduate pathways

Once you've completed your undergraduate degree, you can go on to gain employment or begin a graduate degree and work towards a professional qualification such as law, engineering or medicine. Or you could join our graduate research community and contribute to our world-changing research.

Your graduate degree will be internationally recognised, and set you apart from those who study a traditional Australian single or double degree.

Explore the graduate pathways available once you complete your undergraduate degree here.

Completed secondary education recently (within the past two years); Completed some or all of a higher education qualification; Completed some or all of a VET qualification; Applicants with wo

TOEFL Internet-based test: total score of at least 79 and scores of 21 for writing, 18 for speaking, 13 for reading and 13 for listening; IELTS: total score of at least 6.5 in the Academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS), with no bands less than 6.0; Pearson Test of English Academic : overall score of at least 58 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50; Cambridge English, Advanced/Certificate in Advanced English (CAE): Cambridge English Score of at least 176 with no skill below 169; C2 Proficiency (previously called Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) examination): Cambridge English Score of at least 180 with no skill below 180.