Prosthetics Suite

For students on our make-up courses, our prosthetics suite provides purpose-built spaces for a wide range of processes including lifecasting, sculpture, mould-making, artwork and fitting.

Prosthetics ace working with world’s leading make-up artists after winning BBC show

A former prosthetics master's student is working with the world's leading make-up artists after winning BBC talent show Glow Up – Britain’s Next Make-Up Star.

Prosthetics students create disaster scenarios for regional police training

A crime scene was brought to life when students from University College Birmingham were called on to assist West Midlands Police with their new approach to disaster training.

Specialist Hair and Media Make-up graduate making prosthetics and wigs for Disney film

A Specialist Hair and Make-up graduate who became a TV star for the incredible skills she honed on her degree is now working on a new Disney film.

Myth and magic created by Media Make-up

Mythical beasts and creatures of culture came to UCB as Specialist Hair and Media Make-up staged showcases to demonstrate their skills with prosthetics.

Creature creations come to life

Fantastic creations and nightmarish creatures invaded UCB as Specialist Hair and Media Make-up students held exhibitions to showcase their prosthetics techniques.

Phoebe Turner

Eager to build in-demand skills for the prosthetics industry, Phoebe was wowed by the opportunity to work with foam latex at University College Birmingham.

Laura Snape

Laura discovered a passion for special effects and prosthetics on her college course and plans to build her skills at degree level.

Specialist Hair and Media Make-up students showcase their skills!

Second year students in Specialist Hair and Media Make-up have been working towards their final exam for their Advanced Prosthetics and Casting module. The themes were Grimm's Fairytales and Planetary Evolution.

Steph Harrison

Award-winning Steph is living the dream, appearing on a hit BBC show through to creating gruesome prosthetics for horror flicks.

Ellie Baldwin

After completing her make-up degree at University College Birmingham, Ellie found our dedicated prosthetics postgraduate course provided the perfect next step for her career preparations.

Department of Creative Industries

Our Department of Creative Industries covers an array of specialist courses in areas including hair, make-up and aesthetics, supported by excellent practical facilities including our state-of-the-art prosthetics studio and on-site aesthetics clinic.

Senior lecturer

Alexandra Massie

Lecturer

Dan Frye

Postgraduate

We offer a variety of postgraduate qualifications (MA/MSc, PGDip/PGCert, pre-masters) in areas including education, hospitality, culinary arts, business and sport.

Alex Wathey

Having worked on top shows like Game of Thrones and Doctor Who, lecturer Alex discusses how our course will help you follow in her footsteps.

Shania Parris

Shania is working with the world's leading make-up artists after winning BBC talent show Glow Up – Britain’s Next Make-Up Star.

Madeleine O'Neill

Now developing a career as a special effects artist, Madeleine found University College Birmingham's master's course offered her unique opportunities she could not find anywhere else.

Double take! Make-up student turns sister into their grandma

Alveena Ghafar's family had to do a double take after the UCB Specialist Hair and Media Make-up student turned her 21-year-old sister into their grandma.

Senior Lecturer

Chloe Woodbridge

Specialist Hair and Media Make-up newsletter: Issue 3

We are excited to let you know about various activities, projects, talks and events that you can get involved with as a University College Birmingham alumni.

Special Hair and Media Makeup students can meet the experts

Specialist Hair and Media Make-up students can find out about exciting career opportunities at a special employability day on Friday, February 17.

Specialist make-up students to create pitch-side ‘injuries’ for virtual reality sports therapy lessons

Undergraduates training to be specialist hair and media make-up artists at University College Birmingham will be helping sports therapy students gain their degrees by creating life-like injuries for virtual reality lessons filmed at a Birmingham sports ground.

New studios for specialist hair and media make-up students at Summer Row

Specialist Hair and Media Make-up degree students are getting creative in their own dedicated studios in Summer Row. As part of UCB’s policy to upgrade and enhance teaching facilities, two fully-functional studios have been opened.

Monica styles for high-fashion couture brand Nancy Vuu

FdA Specialist Hair and Media Make-up student Monica Montalvo has gained valuable industry experience by working at Nancy Vuu – a luxury couture brand for children and teenagers.

Specialist Hair and Media Make-up newsletter: UCB Creative Issue 1

We are excited to let you know about various activities, projects, talks and events that you can get involved with as a University College Birmingham alumni.

There's no business like show business at SHMM's Employability Day

UCB’s Specialist Hair and Media Make-up course has drawn experts from across the country to deliver demonstrations, workshops, and trade secrets in a day-long event devoted to employability in the make-up and special FX industries.

Ellie recreates iconic British engineer as an octopus to win at National Make-up Awards

Ellie Burton is feeling shipshape after winning at the National Make-up Awards with her interpretation of iconic engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a sea creature, inspired by three ground-breaking ships he designed in the early 19th century.

Deputy Dean (Teaching Learning and Digital)

Tsai Lovett

Darcie loves "freaking people out" with eerily realistic face paint

A talented student from UCB is making the news for her love of "freaking people out" with eerily realistic face paint.

University brings computer science to life to encourage girls into tech careers

Girls from city schools are set to perform a virtual reality patient healthcheck, take part in a ‘Wall Street’ trade-off and create digital art over a day of activities to promote women in tech at University College Birmingham.

Masterclasses

These sessions give you and your students an interactive taster of our degree courses from our academic teaching staff.

Queens and zombies bag string of awards for UCB at national hair and make-up competition

Zombies, queens and mummies were among the stunning creations produced by budding hair and make-up artists from University College Birmingham as they bagged a string of awards at a national competition.

Birmingham Airport's Chief Executive pays a flying visit to University College Birmingham

Birmingham Airport’s Chief Executive paid a flying visit to University College Birmingham to check out its exciting new, multi-million pound facilities, including a new aviation and tourism suite complete with mock plane cabin, check-in areas and Galileo GDS system.

SHMM GTA lands tour with "worldwide phenomenon" Dirty Dancing stage show

Hannah Forbes first came to UCB as a Level 2 student in 2009, before eventually progressing onto a degree in Specialist Hair & Media Make-up and finally becoming a Graduate Teaching Assistant with the University.

Specialist make-up student shares experiences – and plays darts – with Prince and Princess of Wales

A University College Birmingham student aspiring to make her mark in the TV and film industry had the incredible opportunity to share her story – and play darts – with the Prince and Princess of Wales at a special event…

Specialist Hair and Media Make-up newsletter: Issue 4

Make-up in Manhattan graduate Kari jets to New York, Stuart John Conran interview, new GTA's and REP Gala Summer Placement.

Lecturer

Stacey Hall

University delivers 10,000 online sessions since lockdown

University College Birmingham has revealed it has delivered 10,000 online learning sessions since lockdown in March.

Wonder Woman body art to beautiful bridal hair - UCB wins big at National Make-up Awards

Budding hair and make-up artists from University College Birmingham have scooped a huge haul of awards at a national industry competition.

Meet the experts at Specialist Hair and Media Make-up Employability Day!

Top professionals from the world of hair and make-up will be coming to meet University College Birmingham students at an employability event next week.

Super Steph to star in BBC talent show to find nation's best make-up artist

A super-talented and multi-award winning UCB Specialist Hair and Media Make-up student is to star in a new BBC talent show fronted by Stacey Dooley MBE.

Inspire 2013

Inspire 2013 has once again left students and staff at UCB with smiles on their faces and plenty of food for thought.  The annual conference was set up to share inspirational stories, activities and events across the whole of UCB.

Blog | Top 10 news stories of 2023

In 2023, students and alumni won even more awards and even topped a Good Food Guide list, while our Restaurant at Birmingham College of Food made it big on the map of places to eat out in the region. Read…

Blog | What is the difference between a foundation year and a foundation degree?

You may have heard of foundation years and foundation degrees and wondered what the difference really is. In this blog, we look at both to help you decide whether a foundation degree is right for you.

University awarded four-star QS rating as facilities and inclusiveness bag top scores

University College Birmingham has been awarded four stars by a leading ratings provider evaluating hundreds of universities from around the world.

UCB students deemed "indispensable" to major police training programme

A group of Specialist Hair and Media Make-up, Make-up Specialist and Theatrical Hair and Media Make-up students have played a crucial role creating life-like injuries in the training of over 600 West Midlands Police Firearms Unit members. The most recent…

Sian Thornton

With a wealth of industry experience, Sian highlights that not only will you master the technical artistry needed for the industry, but you will also be equipped with the mentoring skills needed to lead teams and operate successfully

University boosts UK economy by £358m – with two thirds benefitting West Midlands

University College Birmingham contributes £358 million to the UK economy, according to new research, with around two thirds of the identifiable impact benefitting the West Midlands region.

Progress to Postgrad

Elevate your career prospects with our accredited postgraduate degrees. Enhance your CV, skills, and knowledge while standing out in a competitive job market.

Working on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - placement power at UCB

A flying car, a child catcher and a character called Truly Scrumptious – all in a day’s placement for our Specialist Hair and Media Make-up degree students.

Summer Row

Home of our award-winning restaurants and industry standard kitchens, our Summer Row campus also hosts facilities such as our aesthetics clinic and aviation suite.