The following are expected to graduate from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama at ceremonies today.

Professorship: Phil Cunningham, Christopher Underwood. I never gave up - you get used to knockbacks By Ann Fotheringham AROUND 200 students will graduate from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow today.

Among them are two rising stars of stage and screen - Helen Mackay and Ryan Smith, who both completed the BA in Acting.

Ryan, who is from Carluke, will already be recognisable to fans of BBC Scotland drama series River City. The 24-year-old has landed the role of Charlie, one of a group of students recently arrived in Shieldinch.

"My dream is to work in TV and film, so this is really great for me," he said. "I would never have got the part if I hadn't gone to the Academy - the course has been fantastic, and there's a lot of support from tutors and staff."

Ryan added: "I'd been trying to get into the Academy ever since I left school, but I kept getting knocked back. I never gave up, though - and to be honest, I think it was good experience. Actors have to get used to knock-backs."

Helen Mackay, who also spent several years trying to get into the Academy, agreed. "If you can't handle rejection, acting probably isn't the career for you," she smiled. Helen completed an HNC in Acting and Performance at Thurso College, and worked in a call centre while she re-applied for the course.

"The job was great, from the point of view that it helped me to save some money, but it just confirmed to me that I'm not cut out for a normal' job!" she laughed.

The 23-year-old is already in demand - she has turned down a year's contract at a Glasgow theatre to tour the Highlands with The Silver Darlings, Peter Arnott's play based on the novel by Neil Gunn.

"It was a really, really tough decision," added Helen. "But I love touring theatre, and this was an opportunity for me to go home to work in the Highlands, in the year of Scotland's Homecoming celebrations - in the end, I had to follow my heart. We're going to His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen, and then touring all over - so it will be lovely for all my family to be able to come and see me."

Helen has already appeared in two major Scottish theatre productions - Peer Gynt, with Dundee Rep, and The Accidental Death of an Accordionist, with Mull Theatre Company - during her summer breaks from the Academy.

"I have been very lucky - with Peer Gynt, I had to take over a main role at short notice, which is more than you bargain for on work experience!" she grinned. "But I love theatre, so it has been great. The good thing about the BA course is that it covers such a wide range of subjects, including camerawork, radio, theatre and TV. And I would love to give TV a go at some point."

Honorary Degrees - Doctor of Music: Hester Dickson, Kenna Campbell, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

Doctor of Drama: Nikki Milican.

School of Drama Bachelor of Arts - Acting: Duncan Anderson, Victoria Armstrong, Charlene Boyd, Fraser Grant Boyle, Laurie Kenneth Alvia Brown, Roddy Cairns, Michael Cheema, Ross Currie, Harry Gooding, Melody Grove, Jana Maria Gudmundsdottir, Joshua Jenkins, Darran Lightbody, Helen MacKay, Sarah MacRae, Natalie McConnon, John Antony Okill, Olover Poole, Thomasin Rand, Jeremiah Edward Reynolds, Ryan Smith, Jamie Wardrop, Alice White, Sharon young.

Bachelor of Arts - Technical and Production Arts: Helen Allingham, Gordon William Bavaird, Francesca Branch, Kristine Helen Comaish, Hannah Fisher, Frazer Fyfe, Jenny Gamble, Jane Gordon, Emma Grindlay, Marthe Eliese Hoffman, Susan Kirkwood, Mariane Mcara, Mark McGowan, Laura McNiven, Lesley Neilson, Christine Orr, Gillian Richards, Alix Ross, Susan Pate, Georgina Sheward, Richard Smith, Ashley Thomas, Emilie Velluet-Draper, Jennifer Anne Walker, Lynn Kay Wiseman, Calum Wylie Bachelor of Arts - Contemporary Theatre Practice, Honours, First Class: Lauren Bianchi, Lucty Hutson, Peter Joseph McMaster, Thomas Scullion, Naomi Shoba, Kevin Wratten.

Contemporary Theatre Practice, Honours, Second Class, Upper Division: Sara Fridgeirsdottir, Joanne Lindsay, Fiona Manson, Richard McColm, Eve Vaughan.

Bachelor of Arts - Contemporary Theatre Practice: Joshua Armstrong, Lauren Alexandra Lakind, Mhairi McLellan, Caroline Welzl.

Bachelor of Arts - Digital Film and Television, Honours, First Class: Anna Louise chaney, Stuart Ewen, Kayleigh Little, Duncan Sanders, Calum Weir, Krysty Wilson.

Bachelor of Arts - Digital Film and Television, Honours, Second Class, Upper Division: Elizabeth Baillie, Ashley Black, Lauren Burns, Philip James Clarke, Urszula Kocol, William Leitch, Juan Lozano Martin, Louise McGinnis, Lois Paxton.

Bachelor of Arts - Digital Film and Television: Craig Jones, Sinead McEntee Postgraduate Certificate - Learning and Teaching in Higher Arts Education: Andrew Dougan, Alexander Lee, Jamie MacKay, Stephen Macluskie, James McGowan, Christine Murphy, Jessica Thorpe, Robert Whitney, Bill Wright.

School of Music Doctor of Philosophy (Award Validated By St Andrews University): Alasdair Spratt, Gareth Williams Master of Music - Conducting: Alejandro De Palma Garrido.

Master of Music - Composition: Alan James Macdermid, Marek Pasieczny Master of Music - Performance, Distinction: Alan John, Alexander Kanchavelli, Jessica Ortony, Geoffrey Tanti.

Master of Music - Performance: Vicky Blair, Jemma Louise Brown, Isla Cameron, Ji-Suk Chae, Caroline Sophia Kennedy, Edward Charles Lucas, Julia Elizabeth MacDonell, James Swan, Xuefei Zhang.

Bachelor of Education - Music, Honours, First Class: Theresa McSherry, Taylor James Ross.

Honours, Second Class, Upper Division: Christopher Bensalem, Carissa Bovill, Sarah-Jane Callow, Lucy Amanda Hodes, Rachel Millar, Claire Parker, Christopher Thomson.

Honours, Second Class, Lower Division: Clare Margaret Brown , Ruth Patricia Glen, Jennifer Ann good, Vivien Jane Hair, Kirsten Louise Hughes, OliverKingsley, Chris Shanks.

Bachelor of Arts - Music Education: Victoria Graham.

Postgraduate Diploma in Music - Advanced Accompaniment, Distinction: Ayako Kanazawa, Jessica Wai Yan Leong, Flora Tzanetaki.

Postgraduate Diploma in Music - Advanced Accompaniment: Maryam Sherhan Postgraduate Diploma in Music - Composition, Distinction: Nicholas Scott.

Postgraduate Diploma in Music - Conducting: Hamdan Al Shuelly, Duk-Kyung chang Postgraduate Diploma in Music - Opera Studies: Siew Gim Khoo, Beth Mackay, Barry Dean McAleer, Nicholas David Morris, Linda Palmqvist, Marion Janet Ramsay, Thelma Hronn Sigurdórsdóttir.

Postgraduate Diploma - Performance, Distinction: Jo Ashcroft, David Collins, Laura Catherine Husbands, Sylvia Sze-Hua Jen, Adele Neilson, Agnieszka Opiola, Sofia Pyrounaki Postgraduate Diploma in Music - Performance: Alba Acevedo-Duenas, Daisy Brown, Zoe Challenor, Andrew Connell-Smith, Sarah Rosalie, Philip Hague, Joanne Holton, Jessica Louise Leary, Xiaolu Liu, Annemarie McGahon, Callista Nurse, Daniel Paterson, Steven Brian Philips, Jennifer Summer Rust, Zhiying Wei, Katherine Williamson Postgraduate Diploma - Pianist for Dance, Distinction: Alan James Costello, Tijana Sekulic.

Postgraduate Diploma - Repetiteur: Adam Laslett.

Postgraduate Diploma - Scottish Music Performance, Distinction: Heather Sarah Downie.

Bachelor of Arts - Scottish Music, Honours, First Class: Fiona May Macaskill, Siobhan Miller.

Honours, Second Class, Upper Division: David John Henderson, Jeana Miriam Leslie, Norman Donald MacIver, Lauren Tait, Catriona Watt.

Scottish Music - Piping, Honours, First Class: Gillian Chalmers Honours, Second Class, Upper Division: Karen McCrindle.

Bachelor of Arts - Scottish Music: Mhairhi Baird, Caroline Fowlie, René Klemmensen, Shona McFadyen, Kimberley Mackay, Marissa Rhoades-Vachon.

Bachelor of Arts - Scottish Music - Piping: Amber Ives.

Bachelor of Music, Honours, First Class: Abigail Clara Hayward, Anne Macgregor, Willem Mathlener, Claire McKenzie, Hannah Philips, Patricia Juliette Philogene, Tom Poulson, Kay Stephen.

Honours, Second Class, Upper Division: Louis Pip Linklater Abbott, Jessica Broad, Grace Carter, Arlene Mairi Cochrane, Peter Cooke, Anna Cox, Lucy Driver, Marcos Fernandez Barrero, Yla Garvie, Kieran Grant, Christopher Hann, Sarah Joanne Hayes, Bartholomew Lawrence, Anna Mary Lynch, Ronan MacManus, Laura Kate McKinlay, Samantha McShane, Emily Ruth Mitchell, Catriona Frances Morison, Jamie Munn, Kevan O'Reilly, Edward Peczek, Ross Sharkey, Amy Victoria Sherry, Gillian Skingley, George Smith, Nikki Werker, Lynda-Jane Rebe Workman.

Honours, Second Class, Lower Division: Siobhan Donnelly, Lisa Duggan, Justin Fung, Ruth McDougall, Mandy Murphy, Hollie Calvert Pirie, liam Francis Redmond.