Skip to main content Skip to main navigation

Performing Arts

See yourself on the stage? Why not build on your creative skills at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, one of the world's leading performing arts academies? WAAPA is recognised nationally and internationally for the quality of its acting, dance music theatre and music graduates. Your audition awaits.

View courses

Why study at ECU?

  • QILT - Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching

    Top uni in WA for Creative Arts

    Includes best ranking for undergraduate teaching quality, skills development, learning resources and student support.
    QILT is an independent Australian government survey.

  • The Good Universities Guide - teaching quality

    The highest quality teaching

    ECU is one of the best unis in Australia for teaching. We've had 18 straight years of 5-star ratings in the Good Universities Guide to prove it!

  • THE World University Rankings Top 100 Young

    One of the world's young guns

    We're ranked one of the world's best universities under 50 years old, and we've already established a global reputation for such a young institution.

Courses

WAAPA provides world-class teaching, concert facilities and performance opportunities for aspiring professionals in acting, dance, classical, jazz or contemporary music, and musical theatre.

Need some help deciding what to study?

Our future student events include a mix of on-campus and online sessions designed to help you decide what to study at ECU.

Download a guide

If you prefer paper over pixels, please download one of our guides.

Creative thinkers start here

Experience Performing Arts at ECU.

Explore your options through the following media

Scholarship opportunities to reduce your expenses

Scholarships recognise those whose life journey may have been challenging, as well as students who've shown outstanding academic excellence and endeavour.

A scholarship can help you realise your ambitions by paying for fees, text books and living expenses.

Realise your dream with our scholarships

WAAPA stars are born

Our graduates excel in their chosen professions around the world, confirming WAAPA's well-earned reputation.

Many well-known actors, dancers, musicians and music theatre stars, including Hugh Jackman, Meg Mac, Frances O'Connor, Jai Courtney, William McInnes, Lisa McCune, Lucy Durack, Dacre Montgomery, Emma Matthews, Jamie Oehlers, Eddie Perfect and Tim Minchin have called WAAPA home.

Do you have any questions about the Performing Arts study discipline?

Student stories

  • WAAPA taught me all about music and what it takes to be a professional singer

    My undergraduate course at WAAPA gave me fundamental music skills and knowledge. History lectures and invaluable theory classes set me up to recognise musical context and structural understanding. These three years were the years I fell in love with music. The Graduate Diploma taught me that there were more elements to being a singer than I had ever imagined. This was the year I began to discover what opera and art song really could be. WAAPA helped set me up for my time overseas and prepared me with specific tools for my craft. In particular, role preparation and research, and stage confidence and exploration. It also allowed me to gain efficient learning skills when presented with new music, especially in other languages.

    Daniella Sicari
  • Being at WAAPA gave me the opportunity to hone my skills and get them industry ready

    It gave me an understanding of how the industry worked and the work ethic you need to be successful in it.

    Mat Verevis
  • The highlight of my WAAPA experience was working on shows; they're all student run, so students can 'take it and make it yours'

    I really enjoy the mix of creative and technical work that's involved in sound engineering. Some days I'm behind the console mixing a show, and other days I'm rigging the speakers, making cables and loading trucks. Sound is very subjective and we all respond to it differently; if an audience walks away applauding and happy, then that makes it all worth it.

    Luckily, I'm now working with Cirque du Soleil, surrounded by a great team, with people from all around the world!

    Christian Peterson

The Important Things

Things you should know about if you're thinking about studying here.

Course Entry

There's more than one admission pathway into an ECU course. It depends on what you've studied already, or your work or life experience.

Fees & Scholarships

Course tuition fees can change, but we can give you an estimate of your costs. If you're eligible, a scholarship or student loan can help too.

Applying

Applying for a course is a fairly simple process, especially if you have scanned copies of qualifications, your resume or other paperwork, ready to upload.

ECU Experience

Starting a course is an exciting and sometimes daunting time, so we make a massive effort to ensure you get all the support you need to have a positive experience.