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Dramaturgy at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2024 - 2025
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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

Our MA Dramaturgy combines artistic development with academic study to offer you a unique opportunity to explore the theory and practice of dramaturgy. It will help build your career prospects in theatre, performance and the creative industries, develop your creative and critical skills, deepen your contextual and cultural understanding, sharpen your professional goals and make valuable connections within the industry. Why choose this course?

  • This course benefits from both the wide-ranging expertise of our academic staff and our broader network of professional performers, writers, directors, producers and dramaturgs, including via a partnership with the UK’s Dramaturgs’ Network.
  • It includes a full programme of workshops from guest artists, dramaturgs and writers, such as Tim Crouch, Lou Cope, Zoe Svensden, and the team at Battersea Arts Centre and the Dramaturgs’ Network.
  • It is ideal if you are a theatre or performance maker or producer seeking to develop your creative skills and deepen your understanding of contemporary theatre, performance and participatory art practice.
What you will learn On this MA Dramaturgy you will explore the important role of dramaturgs across all areas of performance, including staging, scriptwriting, programming and audience engagement. Combining practice and theory you will develop your potential as a practitioner and thinker by working in theatre, performance and the arts, including text, live, digital and screen-based arts. You will also strengthen your knowledge of critical theories of performance and spectatorship. How you will learn You will learn through workshops, seminars and lectures. In workshops you will have the opportunity to work creatively, producing dramaturgical concepts, scripts and other materials to support artistic development and learning from leading industry figures. Seminars will combine independent research and reading with discussion and dialogue, while lectures will address key historical debates and ideas. Your degree will culminate in a major independent dissertation project, including the opportunity to perform at our partner company, Camden People’s Theatre. Highlights
  • You will have the chance to engage with the Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre, including through a year-round programme of events, opportunities to meet our Artist Fellows, and invitations to our Graduate Research in Theatre seminar series.
  • We collaborate with Dramaturgs’ Network (D'N) which provides each of our students with networking and professional development opportunities and exchange events, plus a year’s free D’N membership, as well as other exclusive opportunities.
  • You can benefit from our ongoing relationships with Camden People’s Theatre and Battersea Arts Centre.
  • You will be able to experience the wider research culture of the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, including the annual Arts Week.
  • Birkbeck was ranked 2nd in the UK for its English Language and Literature research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
  • We offer a number of bursaries for postgraduate students.
Careers and employability 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, from long-form text to short presentations.
Our graduates can be found pursuing a broad range of career paths, including in:
  • dramaturgy in theatre, performance and other cultural forms and settings
  • play, theatre, performance and cultural programming, commissioning and development
  • arts policy and research
  • doctoral study.

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, visual demonstrations, reflections, creative projects and a dissertation.

How to apply

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement 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. If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

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 £5400 Year 1
Northern Ireland £5400 Year 1
Scotland £5400 Year 1
Wales £5400 Year 1
International £9915 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.
Dramaturgy at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS