BA (Hons)Make-Up and Hair Design

Course overview

This challenging, creative course delivers all the skills you need to start your career as a professional make-up artist and more. You will develop your knowledge and understanding of the professional roles in the key areas of the industry from editorial and catwalk, to film, television and theatre.

With a focus on real-world learning, you'll gain key skills needed to stand-out in industry and make your  unique mark, through character design and studio practice, underpinned with a thorough understanding of culture and consumer behaviour. You'll explore make-up and hair styling for fashion editorial, wig work for theatre, TV, as well as alternative design contexts (eg, publications, galleries and the catwalk). And to enable you to operate across contemporary design platforms, you will also be trained in photography, film and digital publishing.

On this course you will explore the many contexts of make-up and hair design within the creative industries and be encouraged to take an experimental approach to application, materials and creative development processes to make your mark in industry. 

We emphasise diversity and inclusion within design, while debating beauty ideals, gender politics and the changing face of identity. Throughout the course you will also be encouraged to embrace and develop new ways of working, alongside the study of historic and contemporary techniques.

With specialist studios and workshops, ranging from make-up, hair and special effects studios, to photography studios, IT suites, and a comprehensive Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), you gain the experience needed to be prepared as a professional in industry. 

You will be taught by a team with strong reputations as practicing professional designers or researchers, as well as visiting lecturers, a dynamic programme of industry speakers, and international visits.

Thanks to the course team's close links with industry you will have the opportunity to work on a range of live project briefs with organisations, which have recently included Mac Pro, Nars, Rimmel Ingolot and Huda Beauty.

You'll also benefit from a range of industry speakers and workshops. Recent speakers have included Carly Utting for Mac Pro And Lan Nguyen Grealis.

Practical experience is at the core of our real-world learning. Each year, our students work as part of a make-up team at Graduate Fashion Week, and we regularly host industry demonstrations. Students also benefit from kit support provided by leading brands, which have included Mac Pro, NARS, and Rimmel. Additionally, you are encouraged to attend events such as British Beauty Council gatherings and Mac Pro demonstrations in London."

We also provide in-house competitions, with prizes from our kit suppliers, and we encourage our students get regular experience at local theatres such as MAST, Mayflower and The Grange Theatres.

And there is also many collaborative opportunities with other students within Solent, on projects such as GUNK Collective, an online multi-media platform, showcasing the cutting edge vision of Solent University undergraduates in Makeup, Hair, Prosthetics and Special Effects, as well as a mutlitude of experiences on shoots and catwalk events. You will also have the opportunity to apply to work with our professional make-up team at London Fashion Week,

This practical experience, provides you with the opportunity for cross-programme collaborations to help you contextualise your place within the industry, offering you a rich and stimulating education and preparing you for future employment.