Drama and Theatre Education MA

Find out more about our Drama and Theatre Education taught Master's degree.

Page updates

We may have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

P-X30C

MA

1 year full-time; 2-5 years part-time

29 September 2025

Education Studies

University of Warwick

Do you want to deepen your theoretical understanding and practical skills in drama, theatre and performance for a range of different educational and community settings? Do you want to consider what it means to be a practitioner of drama, theatre education or applied performance whilst connecting with a vibrant international community. This course connects you to an international network of teachers, practitioners and actor-teachers in the field of drama and theatre education and applied performance.

This MA programme offers students an in-depth insight into the ways drama and theatre education can enhance teaching and learning in primary, secondary and tertiary education as well as in applied and community settings. We introduce you to a range of hybrid pedagogic strategies that are underpinned by rigour and that aspire to make learning accessible, playful, creative and engaging.

We celebrate drama and theatre as subjects in their own right whilst also recognising the substantive body of evidence-based research into the ways drama and theatre can be used as pedagogical tools across the curriculum and for community purposes. This MA is aimed at practitioners, or aspiring practitioners, working in schools and colleges, and community and educational theatre settings.

The course of study provides a planned and structured programme, which is sufficiently flexible to respond to the needs of a wide range of pedagogic and cultural contexts. Practical activities are at the heart of our course structure, so there will be a number of opportunities to work with your peers, collaborating, debating, and researching practical solutions. Your interdisciplinary skill set will be developed throughout the MA, enabling you to pursue a diverse array of career pathways.

Skills from this degree

• Pedagogic, management and artistic skills you need to be an effective teacher and practitioner in drama  
• Opportunity to complete a small scale research project into an aspect of professional work  

• Developing understanding about the place of drama in education within a variety of formal and informal settings including the ability to devise policies and strategies for the implementation of drama  
• Ability to draw on contemporary theory, practice and criticism in the field of theatre and evaluate its relevance to drama education  
• Understanding the theoretical and practical relationships between drama in education and other genres of theatre; particularly community theatre and Theatre in Education  

For full-time students, all of our modules are delivered in-person at our well-equipped university campus. Please note that if you wish to study on a part time basis you should be aware that most modules are taught during the normal working day and there is no out of hours provision. If this is a consideration for you please contact us prior to applying so that we can advise you further. Part-time students are able to complete some of their modules as asynchronous distance-learning modules.

Most modules include weekly teaching sessions, giving you the opportunity to join with your colleagues to discuss and debate the topics being explored. These sessions are delivered in a range of formats that suit the module (these may include lectures, seminars, group work and practical workshops, for example). In particular, this provides practical experience of a wide range of drama and theatre practices. These workshops give you hands-on experience of drama as well as methods and ideas for using drama and theatre in your workplace. In addition, you will be given various pre- and post- session tasks and readings to support your learning. 

Class Size

You will have core teaching contact time in each term, plus rehearsal time and regular trips to local schools and theatres and guest lectures and performances throughout the year.  

Assessment types vary depending on modules selected but may be a mixture of assignments and presentations. You will also complete a dissertation based on an individual research project, with support from a research supervisor. 

Reading lists

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform.  

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue.   

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.  

Additional course costs

You may wish to undertake some research with children or young people that may require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check or a Certificate of Good Conduct for students from outside of the UK. A Certificate of Good Conduct can vary in price.

Please contact your academic department for information about department specific costs, which should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below, such as:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Find out more about our additional course costs.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us. 

2:2 undergraduate degree (or equivalent).

• Band B
• IELTS score to 7 overall, no more than two components at 6.0/6.5 & rest 7.0+

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Optional modules

This programme has a number of optional modules to choose from. Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date. 

Find the most up-to-date optional module list on the Education Studies website. 

Theatre-making with/for/by young people is strongly recommended. 

This programme has a number of optional modules to choose from. Our optional module lists are subject to change each year to keep the student learning experience current and up-to-date.  

Find the most up-to-date optional module list on the Education Studies website.

We have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history.

This is a holding content block which does not currently display on the page. To make it live, update the copy above, change the Title to remove the brackets, and delete this sentence.