UvA online Open House

This year, you won’t be able to attend any busy on-campus events with lots of people. But our online Open House is the perfect way to get to know UvA study programmes and university life from the comfort of your own home.

Every study programme has an Open House page with videos, FAQs and live events. On the main Open House website you can discover all our programmes,explore the city and campus, and get inspired during our theme weeks.

Researching the Performing Arts

The Theatre Studies programme engages with theatre and performance in terms of their rich histories and legacies, as well as their entanglements with contemporary social, political and cultural debates. It teaches methods of research to equip you with the capacity to critically and persuasively reflect on the performing arts.

What characterizes the master’s in Theatre Studies?

• Pursue your individual research specialisations from early on in the programme in the form of electives and tutorials.
• Choose to study part-time or full-time.
• Benefit from intensive group mentoring and an individual dissertation supervision trajectory.
• Join faculty and students in regular visits to performances.
• Participate in research seminars and talks to broaden your disciplinary horizon.

Why study Theatre Studies at the University of Amsterdam?

• The UvA has the only dedicated Theatre Studies department in the Netherlands with undergraduate and graduate programmes, and strong ties with cultural venues and practitioners in the city as well as internationally.
• The opportunity to study in Amsterdam, a vibrant and creative cultural hub and the hotspot for theatre and performing arts in the Netherlands.
• You benefit from faculty expertise in four main areas: theatre history and historiography, theatre in education and sociology, applied and community arts research, and performance theory.
• Preparation for a wide range of careers in theatre and performance: from scholarly research, arts administration or theatre in education to archival work, cultural programming and more.
• A programme committed to heightening sensitivities in the discipline with questions about colonialism, race, gender and sexuality, as well as inequalities on a planetary scale.
• Rigorous mentorship and sustained guidance in all stages of your dissertation research.

Career prospects

The programme prepares you for a wide range of careers in theatre and performance: from scholarly research, arts administration and theatre in education to archival work and cultural programming.

Student profile

As a student in the Master’s programme in Theatre Studies you will be expected to have the following knowledge, insight and skills:

• You have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university and have taken academic courses equivalent to at least one full-time semester of academic studies (30 ECTS) in theatre, drama, dance, performance studies or other performing arts fields.
• You are able to conduct research independently and know how to formulate consistent and functional research questions, collect material, apply theory, and write a dissertation.
• You are familiar with a wide range of theatre texts, performance genres and performing art forms.
• You are ready to immerse yourself in the vibrant cultural landscape in Amsterdam with its many different theatre and performance offerings.
• In class you contribute to an engaged (international) classroom by participating actively.

Theatre Studies in part-time mode

The programme is also offered in part-time study mode at the UvA, in which case it takes two years. You can obtain a maximum of 30 ECTS per year (15-20 ECTS per semester). As a part-time student you will follow the programme together with full-time students. You will prepare your study plan for the part-time programme in consultation with this Master’s programme coordinator.

Degree certificate

Theatre Studies is an accredited degree programme of Arts and Culture. After successful completion of this programme, you will receive a legally accredited Master’s degree in Arts and Culture and the title Master of Arts (MA).