Study information

Programme Specification for the 2021/2 academic year

MA Theatre Practice (Applied Theatre)

1. Programme Details

Programme nameMA Theatre Practice (Applied Theatre) Programme codePTA1DRADRA01
Study mode(s)Full Time
Part Time
 Academic year2021/2
Campus(es)Streatham (Exeter)
 NQF Level of the Final Award7 (Masters)

2. Description of the Programme

Our MA Theatre Practice (Applied Theatre) Masters degree will prepare you for the growing area of professional practice that applies theatre as a tool in educational, community and social settings to bring about transformation and change. This distinctive, structured programme will provide you with a firm foundation in the theories and practices of applied theatre, building on real-life case studies drawn from both global contexts and local models of practice. Taught by scholars and practitioners at the forefront of the academic and professional discipline, the programme will cover work in the field of theatre and education; theatre and healthcare; theatre with the elderly; theatre in prisons and probation settings; theatre with and for community context; politics, popular theatre and advocacy; and theatre in areas of conflict.

You will complete the programme with a project-based dissertation that examines the use of theatre in a setting of your choice, either through a written dissertation, or through performance practice, workshops or placement study.

The MA is aimed at newly emerging practitioners with a background in theatre, education, or activism, as well as at more established practitioners who want to reflect on, refresh and develop their professional skills.

The MA Theatre Practice (Applied Theatre) is a pathway in our established MA Theatre Practice programme, with which it shares core modules and a distinctive international perspective on performance practices. Drama at Exeter values the specialisms and personal experiences individual students bring to their study, and you will be part of a thriving postgraduate community of emerging theatre practitioners and scholars based in the department.

3. Educational Aims of the Programme

Our MA Theatre Practice (Applied Theatre) programme focuses on practice-based work in applied theatre, community-based theatre and theatre in education work, and can be taken either full-time over 1 year or part-time over 2 years.

The programme is structured so that practice and theory constantly inform one another within a variety of learning environments, including seminars, practicals and learning in real-life professional contexts.
Three compulsory core modules provide you with key skills and knowledges in performance analysis, cultural interpretation, theatre research and academic writing. Two specialist modules in applied theatre will introduce you to key concepts, frameworks, methodologies and ethical considerations in the field.

The programme aims to:

  • enable students to engage in an advance enquiry into applied theatre practices
  • enable students to gain knowledge at the forefront of the academic and professional field of applied theatre work and to apply that knowledge in written and practical work
  • enable students to situate and contextualize their own emergent or developing practice within a wider understanding of the applied theatre field
  • explore and enhance their own practice as a facilitator of theatre that seeks to bring about transformation and change for a particular group
  • enable students to undertake advanced self-directed practice-based research in the field, according to their own interests
  • develop advanced practice and scholarship pertinent to the wider applied theatre field
  • share learning with other students engaged in contemporary theatre practice

4. Programme Structure

5. Programme Modules

The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.

http://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/humanities/studying/postgraduatetaught/modules/ 

Stage 1

120 credits of compulsory modules and 60 credits of optional modules

a  Principles and Practices of Applied Theatre is pre-requisite for Applying Performance: A Reflective Practice

Compulsory Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
DRAM080 Dissertation 60Yes
DRAM150 Researching Theatre and Performance 30No
DRAM103 Cultural Adaptation 30No

Optional Modules

CodeModule Credits Non-condonable?
DRAM148 Principles and Practices of Applied Theatre [See note a above]30No
DRAM147 Applying Performance: A Reflective Practice 30No

6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods

Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

1. demonstrate knowledge of a range of applied theatre practices; and the ability to describe, theorise, interpret and evaluate such practices from different critical and technical perspectives, using appropriate subject specific vocabularies
2. demonstrate the ability to learn new forms and techniques of applied theatre informed by or derived from particular cultural forms/ histories/ contexts and/or practitioners and apply these to the creation and facilitation of applied theatre work
3. engage in the facilitation of applied theatre work within different contexts, based on the acquisition and understanding of appropriate vocabularies, skills, structures, working methods and research paradigms in the context of applied theatre practice
4. plan, facilitate, deliver and/or evaluate projects that apply theatre, participatory and performance subject expertise in social, educational, community or other socially engaged settings
5. display an advanced understanding of the relationship between applied theatre scholarship and practice, and the ability to apply relevant theories and methodologies

  • Practical studio sessions
  • Performance skills workshops
  • Seminars
  • Lectures
  • Tutorials
  • Critical analysis
  • Reflective writing
  • Reading
  • Individual research
  • Peer-group discussion
  • ‘Field’ visits to applied theatre settings
  • Professional Placements

Academic staff assess the following outputs:

Assessment is via seminar presentations, essays, process contributions, presentations or demonstrations of workshop practice, reflective portfolios, and a dissertation, which can be conducted as a written research project or as a performance, workshop or placement project with written component

Practical work is marked by first and second markers. The external examiner moderates across the range of all assignments.

Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

1. operate and think reflexively, creatively, critically and technically to develop ideas and construct arguments on an advanced level
2. research and examine information, materials and experiences, formulate independent judgements, and articulate reasoned arguments through reflection, review and evaluation
3. engage in selected interdisciplinary approaches and understand different theories or paradigms of knowledge in your area of research interest
4. define a research topic (academic and/or practical), and devise and sustain a process of independent research into the field of applied theatre;
5. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of methodologies applicable to your research;
6. articulate ideas and communicate information comprehensibly in visual, physical, oral or textual forms
7. produce written work with appropriate scholarly and professional registers/conventions
8. critically use information retrieval skills, involving the ability to gather, sift, synthesise, evaluate and organise material

  • Practical studio sessions
  • Performance skills workshops
  • Seminars
  • Lectures
  • Tutorials
  • Critical analysis
  • Reflective writing
  • Reading
  • Individual research
  • Peer-group discussion
  • ‘Field’ visits to applied theatre settings
  • Professional Placements

Academic staff assess the following outputs:

Assessment is via seminar presentations, essays, process contributions, presentations or demonstrations of workshop practice, reflective portfolios, and a dissertation, which can be conducted as a written research project or as a performance, workshop or placement project with written component

Practical work is marked by first and second markers. The external examiner moderates across the range of all assignments

Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
On successfully completing this programme you will be able to:		Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be...
...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class):...and evidenced by the following assessment methods:

1. work independently, set goals and manage your own workloads
2. work effectively under pressure and to deadlines
3. understand how to manage risk, health, safety and employ ethical working practices to ensure safe working contexts
4. work in planned and improvisatory ways, to anticipate and accommodate change, ambiguity, creative risk taking, uncertainty and unfamiliarity
5. identify personal strengths and needs, and reflect on personal development and opportunities for life-long learning
6. effectively lead, facilitate, participate and problem solve within team working contexts
7. consider, acknowledge and respect diverse opinions and the social, cultural and ideological positions from which they arise
8. use project management skills, involving the ability to investigate, organise, curate and realise activities at a professional level

  • Practical studio sessions
  • Performance skills workshops
  • Seminars
  • Lectures
  • Tutorials
  • Critical analysis
  • Reflective writing
  • Reading
  • Individual research
  • Peer-group discussion
  • ‘Field’ visits to applied theatre settings
  • Professional Placements

Academic staff assess the following outputs: 

Assessment is via seminar presentations, essays, process contributions, presentations or demonstrations of workshop practice, reflective portfolios, and a dissertation, which can be conducted as a written research project or as a performance, workshop or placement project with written component

Practical work is marked by first and second markers. The external examiner moderates across the range of all assignments

7. Programme Regulations

Classification

Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.

8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning

All students within Drama have a personal tutor for their entire programme of study and who is available at advertised ‘office hours’. There are induction sessions to orientate students at the start of their programme. A personal tutoring system will operate with regular communication throughout the programme. Academic support will also be provided by module leaders. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff.

Specialist research resources: We have a number of specialist research resources available to postgraduates: the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is the largest film-related archive in the UK outside the British Film Institute with extensive holdings of relevance to theatre and performance studies; and the Global Circulation Project on cultures in contact is based in Exeter. The University Library maintains its principal collections in the main library buildings on the Streatham and St Luke's campuses, together with a number of specialist collections in certain Colleges. The total Library collection comprises over a million volumes and 3000 current periodical subscriptions. The University library holds a number of resources important for research in theatre and performance, including leading journals in theatre and performance studies, and enables access to many online resources, including Drama Online and Digital Theatre Plus. Students also benefit from Exeter Digital Archives, a unique gateway to a number of digital resources in Performance, including the Exeter-based ‘Arts Archives’ with extensive holdings of theatre training and performance documentation.

For further information about research in our Drama Department, please see the Drama Research webpages

9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning

Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.

10. Admissions Criteria

Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.

Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.

Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.

In addition to the  standard supporting documents  required, for applications to the Masters programmes in Drama applicants must also submit the following:

  • a statement of intent: describing your motivation for studying a Masters in Theatre Practice (Applied Theatre) at Exeter. In the statement you should discuss the pathway you have chosen to follow, and what understandings and expectations you have about this area. 

11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards

Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.

The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.

(http://as.exeter.ac.uk/support/admin/staff/qualityassuranceandmonitoring/tqamanual/fullcontents/)

12. Indicators of Quality and Standards

The programme is not subject to accreditation and/ or review by professional and statutory regulatory bodies (PSRBs).

13. Methods for Evaluating and Improving Quality and Standards

The University and its constituent Colleges review the quality and standard of teaching and learning in all taught programmes against a range of criteria through the procedures outlined in the Teaching Quality Assurance (TQA) Manual Quality Review Framework.

14. Awarding Institution

University of Exeter

15. Lead College / Teaching Institution

Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)

16. Partner College / Institution

Partner College(s)

Not applicable to this programme

Partner Institution

Not applicable to this programme.

17. Programme Accredited / Validated by

0

18. Final Award

MA Theatre Practice (Applied Theatre)

19. UCAS Code

Not applicable to this programme.

20. NQF Level of Final Award

7 (Masters)

21. Credit

CATS credits

180

 ECTS credits

90

22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group

23. Dates

Origin Date

05/01/2021

 Date of last revision

13/12/2021