Studies & Degrees in Acting
Acting Study Programs
Acting is the craft of portraying characters in front of an audience or a camera. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes actors as people who express ideas and portray characters in theatre, film, television and other performing arts media, interpreting a writer's script to entertain or inform an audience. Training turns that description into daily practice: students work on voice, movement, text and character, rehearse scenes and perform in productions.
The class areas the BLS names are acting, movement, characterisation, voice and audition techniques. Schools differ in emphasis. Some are built around text-based theatre, others around the body. Moveo in Barcelona, for example, teaches physical theatre with dramatic corporeal mime as its central axis, and organises its syllabus in technique, improvisation, composition, repertoire and creation practice. Training rarely ends with a diploma: according to the BLS, a role may require learning how to sing or dance, and many actors keep taking workshops throughout their careers.
Qualifications and levels
A degree is not a formal requirement for working as an actor. The BLS notes that most actors acquire some formal preparation, such as through an acting conservatory or a college drama or theatre arts programme, but that a degree is not usually required. The main routes are these:
- Official higher arts education in Spain. Acting is the Interpretación speciality of the higher studies in dramatic art (enseñanzas artísticas superiores de Arte Dramático), regulated by Real Decreto 630/2010. There are three specialities: stage direction and dramaturgy, set design, and acting. Each one takes four academic years of 60 credits, 240 credits in total, and the qualification is official and valid throughout Spain. The Escola Superior d'Art Dramàtic de les Illes Balears (ESADIB) in Palma, founded in 2006, teaches the Título Superior de Arte Dramático in the acting speciality; the school states that the four-year course is equivalent for all purposes to a university bachelor's degree.
- University degrees in the United States. The usual format is a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). The BFA in Acting at the University of Connecticut is described by the university as an intensive, conservatory-style programme that combines a four-year sequence of acting classes with voice and movement training; the same department offers a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Acting. Other universities teach acting inside a broader theatre degree: the Theatre major at Avila University is aimed at students interested in acting, directing, design and technology or management.
- Private schools and studios. These award their own diplomas rather than official degrees. Moveo offers a two-year Diplomatura en Teatro Físico with an optional third year of specialisation. The school of Sala Teatro Cuarta Pared in Madrid runs separate courses for people who want to work professionally in theatre and for people who want personal development, as well as courses and workshops for professionals and students.
Where to study it
SpainExchange lists 13 active schools that teach acting: 5 in the United States, 4 in Spain, 2 in the United Kingdom, 1 in Australia and 1 in Mexico. Teaching is in English in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and in Spanish in Spain and Mexico. In Barcelona and Palma, Catalan is used alongside Spanish; Moveo reminds international students that both are official languages in Barcelona.
Admission usually depends on what an applicant can do on stage, not only on school grades. In Spain, entry to the official studies requires passing a specific entrance test that is held for each speciality. The University of Connecticut has an application and audition process for its acting programmes. When comparing schools, it helps to check whether the qualification is an official degree or the school's own diploma, how many hours of practical work and public performances the course includes, and in which language the classes are taught.
Careers
Actors work in theatre, film, television and other performing arts media. Getting work means auditioning in front of directors, producers and casting directors, and contracts are short: the BLS says work assignments usually range from one day to a few months and that part-time work is common.
The BLS counted about 67,500 actor jobs in the United States in 2025. Self-employed workers held 23% of them and theatre companies and dinner theatres 10%. Employment is projected to show little or no change from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,300 openings a year, most of them to replace people who leave the occupation. These figures describe the United States only. Students who prefer to work behind the performance can look at the neighbouring specialities of stage direction, dramaturgy and set design.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a degree to become an actor?
No. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a degree is not usually required, although most actors have some formal preparation from a conservatory or a college drama programme.
How long does it take to study acting in Spain?
The official higher studies in dramatic art last four academic years of 60 credits each, 240 credits in total. Private schools set their own lengths; Moveo's diploma in physical theatre, for example, takes two years.
Is there an entrance exam for drama school?
For the official Spanish studies, yes: applicants must pass a specific entrance test for the speciality they choose. Universities in the United States commonly ask for an audition as part of the application.
What are the job prospects for actors?
In the United States the BLS projects little or no change in employment from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,300 openings a year. Work is usually short-term and part-time work is common.