Thinking about applying for the Global Shakespeare MA programme?

Come and meet us on Wednesday 31 August, 15:00 - 17:00, in the Octagon, Queen Mary University of London.

It's a great opportunity to ask questions, find out more about the programme, and meet Professor David Schalkwyk, the Academic Director.

• Register now!

Hello! I’m Kate and I graduated from the Global Shakespeare MA in 2015. This year I taught English in a primary school in the tiny town of Hirson in Picardy. I had an amazing experience, despite (though in some ways because of) the isolated location!

I had grand plans of getting my kids reciting sonnets by the end of my contract, but my expectations were probably a bit high on that front. However, my final project for the year involved showing them a (very cut-down, with French subtitles) animated version of Macbeth, getting them to make their own prophecies for their futures ("All hail ____ that shalt be ____ hereafter") and filming them acting out their own mini-version of the play (also in English!). Watching little French children shout “lay on, Macduff!” was priceless! I’ve since been accepted to start training as a primary school teacher with the Institute of Education at UCL. I’ll qualify in 2017 and I’m looking forward to having even more fun with Shakespeare for years to come!

 My advice for future Global Shakespeare students is to make the most of it: you’re going to spend a year sitting in seminars with world leaders in their subject and it’s an incredible opportunity. It also gives you connections all over the place – I was recently in the USA visiting an exhibition that I wrote about in my dissertation and realized that the girl working at the box office had given a talk about her PhD topic in one of my seminars at Warwick! Even though I’m not doing anything specifically Shakespeare-related with my life, he is still almost omnipresent in my life – just last month I gave a talk about my dissertation research and everything came rushing back!

• See what the other 2014/15 GS MA students have to say about the programme

On Wednesday 19 July at 13:32 and 19:32, you'll be able to hear Professor Jerry Brotton's BBC World Service programme on Shakespeare in Brazil.

• Use this link to tune in: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2016/29/a-tempest-in-rio