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Theatre and Performance at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

Birkbeck’s MA Theatre and Performance allows you to specialise and gain an award in Dramaturgy, Theatre Making, or Writing for Performance. These routes make it a highly distinctive degree designed for emerging and continuing theatre professionals looking to develop their creative practice, build analytical capacity and gain hands-on industry experience. Why choose this course?

  • The course is taught by world-leading artists and academic researchers while working closely with Birkbeck’s pioneering industry partners such as Camden People’s Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, and the Dramaturgs’ Network.
  • It is ideal if you are interested in learning about or working in theatre and the performing arts, including writing for performance, digital and screen-based arts, dramaturgy and literary management.
  • It allows you to build your career prospects, develop your creative and critical skills, deepen your contextual and cultural understanding and make valuable connections within the industry.
What you will learn You will explore the dynamic relationships between text, performance, writing and dramaturgy through a combination of:
  • writing for and about theatre and performance
  • performance-making
  • dramaturgical practice
  • academic study
  • playwriting.
You will also examine historical, philosophical and theoretical materials and ideas to understand contemporary theatre and performance. Depending on your interests and career aspirations, you will specialise to gain one of the following awards:
  • MA Theatre and Performance: Theatre Making
  • MA Theatre and Performance: Dramaturgy
  • MA Theatre and Performance: Writing for Performance
How you will learn This course is available to study full- or part-time. It has an evening timetable with classes in the evening. You will learn through lectures, seminars and practice-based studio sessions. You will also benefit from the experience of guest lectures and workshops with leading industry professionals, and attendance at theatre and performance events, and you will have access to performances, readings, exhibitions and symposia across Birkbeck. Highlights
  • You will have the chance to engage with the Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre, including through a programme of events, opportunities to meet our Artist Fellows and invitations to our Graduate Research in Theatre seminars.
  • We collaborate with Dramaturgs’ Network which provides our students with networking and professional development opportunities and exchange events, plus a year’s free D’N membership.
  • You can benefit from our ongoing relationships with Camden People’s Theatre and Battersea Arts Centre, including workshops on career development, producing and programming.
  • Birkbeck was ranked 2nd in the UK for its English Language and Literature research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
Careers and employability This degree combines practical and academic exploration to equip you with a wide range of highly employable skills, ideal for working in or undertaking further academic study. On successfully graduating from this course you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:
  • familiarity with professional practices and modes of employment within the sector
  • a critical grounding in key contemporary social, cultural and political questions
  • skills in the design, production and presentation of high-quality research
  • effective communication across different formats.
You will find MA Theatre and Performance graduates in the following kinds of roles:
  • theatre and performance practice
  • script development
  • dramaturg
  • film, media and the creative arts
  • writing for TV, film and gaming
  • arts leadership
  • administration and outreach
  • journalism
  • advertising and marketing
  • public relations
  • policy and strategy for political organisations, charities and NGOs
  • academia and education

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

Assessment methods include: research essays; creative projects, practice and portfolios; critical reflections on practical work; in-class performance exercises if you are studying for the MA Theatre and Performance; scriptwriting if you are studying for the MA Writing for Performance; an academic or practice-led dissertation.

How to apply

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

Entry requirements

A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above, and/or relevant practical experience in the creative industries. All suitable applicants will be interviewed either personally or by telephone. Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £11070 Year 1
Northern Ireland £11070 Year 1
Scotland £11070 Year 1
Wales £11070 Year 1
International £20340 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases.
Theatre and Performance at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS