Postgraduate Courses

Postgraduate Programmes

Drama and Theatre Studies at University of Galway is ranked in the top 100 Performing Arts subject rankings in the QS World University Rankings for 2024.

See University of Galway's performance in the 2024 Subject Rankings here.

Image above: 2023-2024 MA student Nouf Rafea leads the audience in a performance experiment as part of the module “Performance Lab.”

Image above: Drama and Theatre Studies staff celebrating the launch of Galway International Arts Festival’s SELECTED programme in summer 2022.

The O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance is a leading international centre for the study of drama, theatre and performance, committed to developing the next generation of theatre-makers, educators and researchers who are critically engaged, socially aware and collaboratively minded through postgraduate education at MA and PhD level. 

Our community is constituted by award-winning and critically acclaimed scholars, artists, partners and alumni, in dialogue and sharing ideas throughout the world.

• We value finding the balance between theory and practice, historical and contemporary genres, individual work and collective co-creation.
• We believe theatre, performance, storytelling and creativity are essential to a vibrant and energised society.
• We specialise in contemporary performance practices (including but not limited to devised theatre and collective co-creation), producing, playwriting, applied theatre, archival research, and Irish theatre underpinned by diverse staff research specialisms across the spectrum of theatre history and performance studies.

We are in the process of ensuring our postgraduate programmes have added value for students interested in teaching the forthcoming Leaving Certificate subject ‘Drama, Film and Theatre Studies’, in collaboration with the Huston School of Film and Digital Media.

MA Programmes

We offer:

• MA/ Postgraduate Diploma in Drama and Theatre Studies (full-time/part-time)

Students have the option to study a self-directed programme OR select a designated emphasis in either:

• Theatre Practice and Production
• Playwriting and Dramaturgy

Our MA makes direct central use of University of Galway’s unique resources, including our dynamic partnerships with key Irish theatre and arts organisations and our extensive collection of Irish theatre archives.

Read more about the MA’s programme outline and special features including the Druid Academy here.

There are competitive and/or achievement-based scholarships available for the MA in Drama and Theatre Studies.  

These include the Siobhán McKenna Scholarship, the Taught Postgraduate Master’s Scholarship (EU), the Merit Scholarship (International Students only), and University of Galway University of Sanctuary (UoS) Scholarships. 

You can download our scholarships informational sheet Scholarship FAQ's to learn more about how to be considered for these awards.

You can watch a video about the Siobhán McKenna Scholarship Award and inaugural 2023-2024 winner Nouf Rafea here.

https://youtu.be/0NiWrwyJyUg?si=jy2W40BQCYeUyTBy

You can learn more about inaugural McKenna Scholarship award winner Nouf Rafea’s theatre practice and story here.

• PG Cert in Creative Arts Management

This PG Cert aims to meet a proven need for graduates with skills in creative arts management. Recent research has shown that creative arts enterprises need graduates with skills in producing, arts management, curation, marketing, and similar entrepreneurial skills. Delivered in collaboration with Galway International Arts Festival, Druid Theatre, and other University of Galway creative arts partners, this Cert will provide skills in design thinking, producing and curation, and business/management, while also offering professionalisation and work placement opportunities with a creative arts business.

Students gain hands-on skills in practice-based modules that are delivered on-campus (with blended options available for those who are unable to attend campus). It includes a strong focus on targeted career development; students carry out a work-related project or placement with an arts organisation and there is a strong focus on overall career development skills.

Research has shown that many new jobs can and will be created in the Creative Industries, both in the West of Ireland and nationally, up to 2030. This course aims to equip students with the skills needed to meet, lead and develop this demand, forming partnerships not only locally but nationally and internationally in order to do so. The course builds on University of Galway's successful track record of producing graduates who work on the business side of creative arts, in key areas including theatre, film, creative writing, and curation.

https://springboardcourses.ie/details/14236

PhD Programmes

University of Galway is the world’s leading centre for the study of Irish theatre history.  The Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance is the ideal location for you to pursue your PhD in this area, as well as other specialisations within contemporary and international theatre and performance practice, using either research or practice-as-research methodologies.

Image: PhD student Stefanie Weenink performs in Il-Jesus, a practice-as-research exploration of Maltese and Irish identities, language, religion and national belonging through an autobiographical lens

We offer:

• Structured PhD AHSS in Drama and Theatre Studies [full-time] (GYG43)
• PhD in Drama and Theatre Studies [full-time] (GYG44)
• PhD in Drama and Theatre Studies [part-time] (GYG45)

Read more about our PhD programme and staff areas of specialism, including how to make an expression of interest for consideration to be matched with a supervisor, please click here.

In order to make an application to any of our Postgraduate programmes please click here.

You may also find the FAQ section on the Postgraduate Admissions website helpful.