Drama and Theatre Studies Practice-Based

Entry requirements

Our requirements for postgraduate research are dependent on the type of programme you are applying for:

• For MRes and MA by Research programmes, entry to our programmes usually requires a good (normally a 2:1 or above) Honours degree, or an equivalent qualification if you were educated outside the UK, usually in a relevant area.
• Applicants for a PhD will also need to hold a Masters qualification at Merit level or above (or its international equivalent), usually in a relevant area.

Any academic and professional qualifications or relevant professional experience you may have are normally taken into account, and in some cases, form an integral part of the entrance requirements.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

Our Drama and Theatre Studies Practice-Based programme allows academic research to be conducted through practical experimentation.

It also provides a unique opportunity for you to specialise in a particular area of practice and prepares you for your chosen profession.

The Department’s diverse expertise and exceptional facilities open up a wide range of practical research opportunities, such as the investigation of the processes of theatre making or the practical application of particular aesthetic theories.

Your thesis must fully contextualise the practice and substantiate the claim that your work is innovative and demonstrates extension of the boundaries of the chosen field of research and practice. The practice-based PhD thesis is 40,000 words. The MA by Research is assessed by a shorter thesis of 20,000 words.

In addition to the thesis, the programme will be assessed by a practice-based component. For guidance, typical assessment methods for the practice-based component are as follows:

• Direction of a site-specific or studio-based theatre production of a maximum length of 45 minutes for the MA by Research and three hours for the PhD, or a series of shorter pieces of comparable length
• Performance in a site-specific or studio-based theatre production of a maximum length of 45 minutes for the MA by Research and three hours for the PhD, or a series of shorter pieces of comparable length
• A practice demonstrating and developing a writing-based practice
• A series of work-demonstrations of actor-training to a maximum length of 45 minutes for the MA by Research and three hours for the PhD

You may be interested in comparing this programme to the Drama and Theatre Studies PhD/MA by Research, which is delivered without the practice-based element of this course.

Information for international students

IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any band.