BFA (Design for Performance)

• Apply critical, creative, and sensory skills to spatial, scenic and costume principles to create meaningful designs for performance contexts.
• Synthesise knowledge of current technologies, materials, methods, and techniques in the development, communication, and realisation of design concepts.
• Embrace collaboration and use effective verbal, written and/or visual strategies to communicate and exchange design thinking and technical information.
• Recognise the importance of curiosity and inform practice through knowledge of local, international, and historical perspectives, as well as personal experience.
• Apply innovative and entrepreneurial skills to develop leadership qualities and autonomous and collaborative practice.
• Recognise and articulate an empathetic and inclusive social, ethical, and cultural literacy, including sustainability, within design practice.

Year One

• Design Studio
• Representation
• Dramaturgy and Analysis
• Production Techniques
• Performance and Ideas
• Performance Makers
• Story and Place

Year Two

• Design Studio
• Dramaturgy and Analysis
• Production Techniques
• Film Studio
• Story and Place
• Contexts of Performance
• Student Led Projects

Year Three

• Design Practice
• Film Practice
• Professional Practice

In your final year, you will be placed with a design professional or professional arts company.

Download 2024 Course Overview

Our graduates have won numerous awards, including Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, AACTA Awards, APDG Awards, Green Room and Sydney Theatre Awards. They have designed for Cirque du Soleil, Bangarra Dance Theatre, as well as feature films from international studios such as The Amazing Spider Man, The Matrix, Romeo + Juliet, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Parts 1 and 2, Watchmen, 300, Garden State, The Favourite, Game of Thrones, The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!, True History of the Kelly Gang, 21 Grams, not to mention several Olympic Games and more.

Potential careers:

• Stage and screen set/production designer
• Stage and screen costume designer
• Art director
• Lighting designer
• Properties designer
• Event designer

Entry is by merit selection.

General entry requirements for accredited courses are as follows:

• Have completed a Higher School Certificate or equivalent qualification at the end of high school for undergraduate courses.
• Be 18 years of age by 31 March in the first year of enrolment for domestic students in undergraduate programs.
• Be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Have skills and knowledge appropriate to the level and discipline into which the applicant is seeking to gain admission.
• Have an evidenced interest in the performing arts.

Applications are encouraged from domestic applicants who:

• Have previous higher education study.
• Have vocational education and training.
• Have work and life experience (having left school more than two years ago).
• Are recent secondary education applicants.
• Identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Applications are encouraged from international applicants who:

• have successfully completed a Genuine Temporary Entry (GTE) interview.
• have completed the equivalent of a Year 12 or final year of high school qualification
• have an English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 7.0 with no band score less than 6.0 (IELTS 8.0 for BFA Acting).
• Are 18 years of age at date of enrolment for international students.
• Have skills and knowledge appropriate to the level and discipline into which the applicant is seeking to gain admission.
• Have an evidenced interest in the performing arts.

We select students who:

• demonstrate commitment and motivation in relation to the arts, entertainment and related industries, to their chosen discipline, and to the course of study
• provide evidence of their capacity to work creatively and imaginatively
• demonstrate an aptitude to collaborate with peers as part of a creative process
• demonstrate a range of knowledge, skills, technical abilities and/or problem-solving techniques relevant to their discipline
• demonstrate cultural and contextual awareness
• articulate and communicate ideas clearly

Due to the volume of auditions carried out, we are unable to provide you with individual feedback. The decision of the audition panel is final.

It is not possible to defer an offer of a place at NIDA.

The application process for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Design for Performance) consists of two rounds:

• Round One – online application, with artist statement and portfolio
• Round Two – interview

Only applicants who are successful in Round One will be invited to an interview.

Download 2024 Application Guide

1. ARTIST STATEMENT (must be submitted as a PDF)

This is a statement that describes the kind of artist you are, your career goals, and what attracts you to the Design for Performance course. This should include your understanding of the role of design in the performance industry (this could include stage, screen or other emerging platforms). Please provide us with any previous relevant experience.

Your statement should include one example of live performance you have seen recently whether in-person or recorded, and describe the design elements (set, costume, lighting, video, etc.), explaining the role they played in creating meaning to the performance.

The statement should not exceed 800 words. Please include the production name, venue and location, and the design team’s names if possible. Please include up to five images, where possible.

2.  PORTFOLIO (submitted as a PowerPoint or PDF)

Your digital portfolio should show us who you are as a creative thinker and demonstrate your ability to develop and express ideas and concepts with visual, spatial and material language.

A good portfolio will demonstrate your creativity and passion, and your level of design skill. This can include work produced in the workplace, at school, at university, at home, or for leisure and can include examples of:

• Production photographs from plays, performances or film projects you have worked on.
• Design projects, including development journals.
• Drawing, digital drawing, drafting, painting, printing.
• Photography, collage, illustration, graphic design.
• Storyboarding, concept art, animations, film editing.
• Model-making, digital modelling.
• Making projects, including models, sculptures, costumes, properties, and scenic art.
• Anything else that demonstrates your visual thinking and skills.

Your portfolio should be curated and simply presented to show your best work. It is better to have fewer examples of higher quality, between 12 and 24 pages should be enough.

The choice and presentation of your portfolio images is an example of your design thinking and visual communication that we will consider. You will be asked to talk through your portfolio at the interview.

The statement and portfolio must be submitted as PDF files and clearly titled with your name as follows:

• fullname_statement_BFADFP_2024
• fullname_portfolio_BFADFP_2024

You will upload both your Artist Statement and Portfolio in the ‘Course Specific Application Requirements’ attachment section of your online application.

You will be advised by email if you are successful in Round One. If you are successful, you will receive an invitation for an interview in Round Two. This will include confirmation of an interview date.

Please note all efforts will be made to give successful Round One applicants their preferred interview date, but NIDA cannot guarantee the date and time as it is subject to staff availability.

How to prepare for your interview

Each applicant will be interviewed for approximately 45 minutes. All interviews will take place via Microsoft Teams. A link to be provided prior to interview.

During the interview, we will discuss your Artist Statement and Portfolio (please make sure you have it on hand); your ideas about theatre, film and the broader creative and entertainment industry; and why you want to study Design for Performance at NIDA.

There will be an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have about NIDA or about the interview itself.

You will be advised of the outcome of your interview by email.

Some tips:

NIDA recognises that interviews can be stressful, but we will do our best to make your experience as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.

The interview process is friendly, informal and open, and is designed to give you the best opportunity to show us your potential and readiness to study at NIDA.

Remember, the more time and effort you put into your application and portfolio, the better prepared you will be, and the more you will enjoy the interview.

Domestic and international students are required to pay tuition fees by the due date each semester.

Domestic Students

Domestic tuition fees overview

Domestic students are Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens.

2024 Domestic Undergraduate Student Fee Schedule

2023 Domestic Undergraduate Student Fee Schedule

International Students

International tuition fees overview

Fees and financial assistance vary for international students, please read full details here.

2024 International Undergraduate Student Fee Schedule

*The tuition fees are reviewed each year and if you enrol you are liable for the additional tuition costs if the tuition fees rise during the course of your enrolments.

** EFTSL – Effective Full-Time Study Load: indicates the relative study load of a subject against a full-time study load of 1.0 for an academic year. For consistency, the EFTSL have been rounded to 3 decimal places. This is not indicative of the full value of the EFTSL but represents an accurate load for fee calculations.