Postgraduate offering with Honours Degrees in Motion Picture and Live Performance.
Afda Hatfield is entering its next phase of growth, with the Tshwane campus set to expand its offering in 2027 to include two of Afda’s flagship postgraduate qualifications: the Bachelor of Arts Honours in Motion Picture Medium and the Bachelor of Arts Honours in Live Performance.
The expansion comes as Afda Hatfield builds strong momentum following its launch in 2026. As a new campus, Hatfield exceeded its 2026 enrolment target, achieving 107% of its enrolment target in its first year. Growing interest from prospective students for 2027, both locally and internationally, further reflects the increasing demand for Afda’s presence in Tshwane.
Opened in 2026 as Afda’s fifth national campus, Hatfield brought the institution’s distinctive model of creative education to the heart of Tshwane. Located in Hatfield, one of Pretoria’s vibrant student and educational precincts, the campus was established to extend access to Afda’s project-led, industry-focused approach to students across Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and surrounding regions.
From 2027, graduates and suitably qualified creative practitioners in the region will have the opportunity to continue their studies at postgraduate level without having to relocate to another city. The addition of the BA Honours in Motion Picture Medium and BA Honours in Live Performance will create a more comprehensive academic pathway at Hatfield, from Higher Certificate and undergraduate study through to advanced postgraduate specialisation.
Afda’s Honours programmes are designed for creatives who want to deepen their practice, develop their critical and research capabilities, and produce ambitious original work. Both Honours qualifications are one-year, full-time postgraduate programmes.
The BA Honours in Motion Picture Medium combines research-led practice with the development, production and professional exhibition of original screen work. Students can develop projects including a dramatic narrative film, television pilot or documentary.
The BA Honours in Live Performance similarly combines research and creative practice, challenging students to apply critical thinking, collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurial skills to substantial performance projects. Depending on their area of specialisation, students develop and professionally exhibit stage, screen or music performance work.
Together, the two qualifications reflect Afda’s belief that postgraduate creative education should go beyond academic theory. It should enable students to research, create, produce, exhibit and engage professionally with the creative economy.
The introduction of postgraduate study is the next logical step in the development of Afda Hatfield.
When the campus opened in 2026, it introduced Afda’s production-based model to a new generation of students in Tshwane, offering Higher Certificates in Film, Television & Entertainment Production and Performing Arts, alongside the Bachelor of Arts degrees in Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance.
The 2027 expansion strengthens that ecosystem by allowing students to progress further within the same creative environment, from foundational training and undergraduate study through to advanced postgraduate practice.
For Afda, this is about more than simply adding qualifications. It is about building a creative education hub capable of supporting the full journey of a creative practitioner, from developing foundational skills, through undergraduate experimentation and production, to advanced research, professional practice and the creation of original intellectual property.
The creative industries are changing rapidly. New technologies, artificial intelligence, digital platforms, evolving audience behaviour and new forms of storytelling are reshaping how creative work is conceived, produced, distributed and experienced.
Afda’s postgraduate model is designed to respond to this changing environment by developing graduates who can combine creative excellence with critical thinking, collaboration, leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The expansion of postgraduate education at Hatfield therefore represents an investment not only in individual students, but in the broader creative economy of Tshwane and the surrounding provinces.
Afda Hatfield Dean Pauli van Dyk and the campus leadership team have been tasked with developing a distinctive creative education environment that combines Afda’s established academic and industry standards with the energy and opportunities of Tshwane. The campus has been designed to connect students with a growing regional creative and business ecosystem while giving them access to Afda’s national and international networks.
The strong first-year enrolment performance, combined with growing interest in 2027, provides further momentum as Hatfield develops into a destination for creative education in the region – and increasingly, for students from beyond South Africa.
The expansion of Afda Hatfield comes at a time of significant national growth for the institution. In 2026, Afda opened its fifth campus and announced the launch of its new Bachelor of Fine Arts & Design (BFAD) for 2027, further expanding its academic offering into areas including design, artificial intelligence, immersive media, extended reality and digital fabrication.
Importantly, BFAD will be offered at Afda’s Johannesburg and Cape Town campuses, rather than Hatfield. The addition of postgraduate Motion Picture and Live Performance qualifications at Hatfield reinforces that wider strategy: to build an institution that continually evolves alongside the creative economy and gives students the opportunity to Create. Build. Own. Lead.
For students considering postgraduate study, Afda’s relationship with its holding company, Stadio Holdings, also creates an additional opportunity through the Stadio Khulisa Student Share Scheme.
Under the scheme, eligible Afda graduates may receive shares in Stadio Holdings on graduation, subject to the applicable criteria and terms of the scheme. The initiative is designed to give qualifying graduates an opportunity to participate in ownership of the group that owns Afda.
Students who would like to learn more about Afda’s postgraduate qualifications, entry requirements, funding opportunities and what postgraduate study looks like are also invited to attend Afda’s final Postgraduate Information Session on 3 November 2026. The session will provide an opportunity to engage with the Postgraduate School, ask questions and raise any concerns before making a decision about further study.
Afda’s postgraduate offering currently includes the BA Honours in Motion Picture Medium, BA Honours in Live Performance, Postgraduate Diploma in Innovation and Master of Fine Arts in Motion Picture Medium.
For aspiring filmmakers, performers, producers and creative entrepreneurs in Tshwane and the surrounding provinces, Afda Hatfield is becoming more than a new campus. It is becoming a new creative hub. And from 2027, that journey will extend all the way to postgraduate study.
Interested in studying at Afda or want to find out more about our qualifications, campuses, entry requirements and funding opportunities? Enquire here.
Create. Build. Own. Lead.
