Theatre & Performance Practices

This Masters provides an opportunity to develop your own theatre and performance practice in a critically informed context. You will be encouraged and supported to develop a reflective, rigorous and critically informed approach to creating your own work for performance. The programme encompasses practices such as contemporary devising and production dramaturgy, autobiographical performance, and socially/politically engaged practice. These critical perspectives will enhance and enrich your creative practice as we work to further your career as a theatre/performance practitioner/researcher.

What our students say

For me, studying on the Theatre and Performance Practices course has been nothing short of transformative. I came to the programme as a fledgling artist hungry for some agency, and the course offered unparalleled opportunities to create, experiment, and develop a unique and professional artistic practice on my own terms. It gave me the essential space, time, and tutorship I needed to recognise my potential as a theatre-maker, allowing me to develop a brand new solo production for the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe that I’m hoping to tour in 2025. I simply wouldn’t have been able to make this piece without the guidance, resources, and time the course provided, and it has undoubtedly set me on an exciting new path. For artists, makers, and creators of any kind who are curious to explore what they can do in a safe, supportive, and challenging environment, I can’t recommend this programme more. Harri: Theatre and Performance Practices Student

Meet more of our students

Postgraduate students from Theatre & Performance Practices MLitt take us through their Contemporary Devising Practices class performances.

Meet our students: Theatre & Performance Practices MLitt (YouTube)

2.1 Hons (or non-UK equivalent) in Theatre, Performance, Drama, Dance, Music, English Literature, Contemporary Art, or History and Cultural Theory.

We may also accept degrees in other subjects.

Extensive work experience may be considered in lieu of qualifications.

A question-based personal statement is required. Please download and complete the personal statement template, and submit it with your application.

• Theatre & Performance Practices Admissions Statement Template

For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

• 6.5 overall with no subtest less than 6.5
• IELTS One Skill Retake Accepted
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test

Common equivalent English language qualifications accepted for entry to this programme

TOEFL (ibt, my best or athome)

• 93 overall with Reading 23; Listening 23; Speaking 23; Writing 24
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements, this includes TOEFL mybest.

Pearsons PTE Academic

• 59 overall with no subtest less than Reading 60; Listening 59; Speaking 59; Writing 74
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

• 176 overall, no subtest less than 169
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Oxford English Test

• 7 overall with no subtest less than 7
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

LanguageCert Academic SELT

• 70 overall with no subtest less than 70
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Password Skills Plus

• 6.5 overall with no subtest less than 6.5
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Trinity College Tests

• Integrated Skills in English II & III & IV: ISEII Distinction with Distinction in all sub-tests
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses

Tests are accepted for 2 years following date of successful completion.

Alternatives to English Language qualification

• Degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
  • students must have studied for a minimum of 2 years at Undergraduate level, or 9 months at Master's level, and must have completed their degree in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.
• Undergraduate 2+2 degrees from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
  • students must have completed their final two years study in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.

For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.

Pre-sessional courses

The University of Glasgow accepts evidence of the required language level from the English for Academic Study Unit Pre-sessional courses. We would strongly encourage you to consider the pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow's English for Academic Study (EAS) Unit. Our Pre-sessional courses are the best way to bring your English up to entry level for University study. Our courses give you:

• direct entry to your University programme for successful students (no need to take IELTS)
• essential academic skills to help you study effectively at University
• flexible entry dates so you can join the right course for your level.

For more detail on our pre-sessional courses please see:

• Pre-sessional courses

We can also consider the pre-sessional courses accredited by the below BALEAP approved institutions to meet the language requirements for admission to our postgraduate taught degrees:

• Heriot Watt
• Kingston Upon Thames
• Middlesex University
• Manchester University
• Reading University
• Edinburgh University
• ST Andrews University
• UCL
• Durham

For further information about English language requirements, please contact the Recruitment and International Office using our enquiry form

This programme is ideal for practitioners who want to develop their practice; graduates who are planning a career in theatre making; and those who want to look more in depth into aspects of theatre practice they have enjoyed and benefitted from through undergraduate studies. The programme also provides an excellent foundation for PhD study and an academic career.