FAQs

Yes. In addition to the WaterBear Venue and the WaterBear Music Bar, we also work with other local venues and performance spaces in Brighton and Sheffield, where we run regular live performance workshops and events. You’ll also be part of a community of like-minded creative individuals, so there will be plenty of opportunities for collaboration.

Work experience and career development opportunities are central to the WaterBear experience.  We manage our student numbers carefully, in order that we may offer more experience opportunities to more of our students. Opportunities cover a broad range of activity, from festivals, touring, recording, session work, auditions, record labels, TV and radio, tech companies, publishing, PR and marketing, to live event management, musical instrument manufacturers, studio internships, teaching, merchandise, backline tech’ing, games audio, hospitality, and many more. Visit our Music Industries page to find out more. 

We’re named after a creature called a Tardigrade (aka Water Bear, Moss Piglet), which is a water-dwelling, eight-legged micro-animal. They have been found everywhere; from mountain tops to the deep sea and in volcanoes, tropical rain forests and even the Antarctic. They are among the most resilient animals known, with individual species able to survive extreme conditions that would be rapidly fatal to nearly all other known life forms. It is this resilience that inspires us in everything we do. 

Please find details of our building accessibility statements below for each campus.

WaterBear Brighton Accessibility Statement

WaterBear Sheffield Accessibility Statement

The MA minimum entry requirement is an honours degree, or if you don’t have an honours degree qualification, you can still meet the minimum entry requirements via the Accreditation of Prior Learning (APEL) process. For more information, or to book your 1-to-1 applicant session with one of the WaterBear team, call us on 01273 726230 or email us at [email protected]. 

Term dates for the 25/26 academic cycle are as follows: 

Study Block 1: 

• Starts Monday 22nd September 2025 

Study Block 2: 

• Starts Monday 19th January 2026 

Study Block 3: 

• Starts Monday 25th May 2026  

(Actual return date 26th May due to bank holiday) 

Please note – there are no timetabled teaching and learning activities scheduled during Study Block 3 for our 3-year and 4-year BA (Hons) courses. If you require any additional information, please contact us on [email protected]