MA Performance & Culture: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

at Goldsmiths University of London

You will complete three compulsory modules on the programme, which will familiarise you with a range of issues concerning performance as a socio-cultural phenomenon and the methodologies needed to interrogate them. These include:

• questions about group formation, identity and the performance of culture
• appropriate conceptual and theoretical material, the intersections between them and their relationship to performance
• historiographical methodologies, including archival research
• relations of power, control, domination and exclusion in both local and global contexts
• questions regarding the role of the body, space and performance in the formation of identity

You will also complete either one optional module or an independent study, and a dissertation on your individual research topic.

Compulsory modules
Module title    

• Cultural Theory, Performance, Interdisciplinary Perspectives  
• Historicizing Theatre   
• Corporeality, Embodiment, Alternative Spaces  

You should have (or expect to be awarded) an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in a relevant/related subject. 

You might also be considered for some programmes if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgraduate level.

International qualifications
We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2022/2023 academic year.

• Home - full-time: £8620
• International - full-time: £18290

If your fees are not listed here, please check our postgraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time if you require a Student Visa, however this is currently being reviewed and will be confirmed in the new year. Please read our visa guidance in the interim for more information. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

Skills
This programme will develop your writing and oral skills at a high academic level, demonstrating the ability to think and work in an interdisciplinary manner using a range of methodologies. Your ability to work collaboratively and to facilitate and participate in group discussions will be enhanced.

You will also develop skills in identifying the socio-cultural, historical and political issues and pressures specific to varied types of performance.

Careers
The MA Performance and Culture will provide you with a strong grounding in the principles of research and of learning through independent research. It is particularly suitable if you wish to pursue further academic work in creative, performative fields, with many previous graduates going on to undertake PhD study. 

Other graduates have embarked on professional careers as artists and/or working with performance companies, theatre festivals, arts organisations, NGOs, as well as in the fields of education, cultural policy and journalism. Our alumni base is truly global, with previous students currently working in Singapore, the United States, Sri Lanka, Chile, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Hong Kong, Canada, Romania, among other countries.