October Applications Open for Fully Funded PhD Scholarships in Early Performance Years at NUI Galway

The PhD Scholarship is a collaboration between NUI Galway, Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, and Branar Téatar do Pháistí

NUI Galway’s College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies is pleased to offer one postgraduate scholarship in Early Years Performance to support full-time PhD research within the Structured PhD in Drama and Theatre Studies programme, commencing January 2020. The deadline for receipt of applications is 5pm, Wednesday 16 October.

This fully funded PhD Doctoral Research Scholarship in Early Years Performance is an opportunity for a doctoral student to explore the area of the impact of live performance on early years’ children (0 – 6 years) in a national and/or international context working in close partnership with NUI Galway, Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, and Branar Téatar do Pháistí.

As Ireland’s flagship international arts festival devoted to children and families, Baboró places creativity for children at its heart and is committed to ensuring that every child can access enriching cultural experiences. This latest initiative builds on Baboró’s close affiliation with NUI Galway, which includes inputs into the University’s programmes across Drama, Creative Writing, Children’s Studies, Psychology, Child, Youth and Family Studies, Social Science, Human Rights and Marine Science. 

Branar Téatar do Pháistí is one of Ireland’s leading theatre companies making innovative, high quality productions that inspire children and their families. The company tours extensively nationally and internationally every year. Branar also supports artists to make work for young audiences through tailored programmes of resource sharing and creates opportunities for children to explore their own arts practice in school settings.

This research opportunity will follow a Creative Europe funded project, MAPPING, a pan-European project with 18 partners from 17 European countries running from 2018 – 2022, investigating the relationship between performer and early years audiences. The selected candidate will also have an opportunity to follow the work of Branar Téatar do Pháistí in the development of a new work for early years as part of the MAPPING project and will be given access to the annual Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, which takes place every October, and its year-round projects and team.

Candidates may have a background in Psychology, Sociology, Children’s Studies, Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, Education or English. NUI Galway, Baboró and Branar encourage applications from researchers with a background in the performing arts, arts-in-education or research on the value of the arts, but this is not a prerequisite. The successful candidate will engage in teaching over the course of their PhD.

Dr Charlotte McIvor, Director of Postgraduate Studies in Drama, Theatre and Performance at NUI Galway, said: “Drama and Theatre Studies' collaboration with Baboró and Branar Téatar do Pháistí furthers our commitment to both theatre for children and young audiences and Irish-language theatre. NUI Galway's role in supporting this groundbreaking area of research as we try to reach and understand how to affect younger and younger audiences will yield dividends for not only our local arts ecology, but the wider national and international creative industries working in this area.”

To see scholarship requirements visit https://bit.ly/2lEYqbC or to discuss relevant topics, please contact Dr Charlotte McIvor at charlotte.mcivor@nuigalway.ie. Closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm, Wednesday, 16 October.

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