Masters of Arts in Theatre with Innovation

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

This course combines social policy and its focus on wellbeing with politics and its consideration of power – who exercises it and for whom. Politics drives us to think about how society should be organised and how communities and states interact. This prompts consideration of how wellbeing is unevenly distributed in contemporary societies and the forms of social organisation necessary to enhance our lives.

Both departments encourage strong synergy between research and teaching, resulting in a vibrant learning environment as staff respond in their teaching to new research.

In the politics part of your course, you will study the politics of countries and governments and the relationships between countries, communities and individuals. Politics at Bristol is organised around three themes: political theory, comparative and national politics, and international relations.

In your social policy studies, the first year introduces key skills and concepts within social policy so that you can familiarise yourself with theoretical, comparative and historical analyses. Years two and three allow you to explore your interests in greater depth through a range of optional units.

You will also have the opportunity to spend half a year studying abroad at a partner university. Visit Global Opportunities to find out more about where you can study abroad.

Through the combined study of theatre and English, this course provides you with the key skills to understand and make performance through exploring critical and historical frameworks alongside practical workshops.

There are opportunities to engage with professional theatre makers and our museum-accredited archive, the Theatre Collection.

In your first year of theatre studies you will learn how to analyse performance and develop practical skills in theatre. In your second and third years you will choose options that deepen your critical and practical expertise, culminating in independent study, a group or individual theatre performance, a dissertation, an extended essay and/or an industrial placement in your final year.

For English you will study a broad range of literature from the medieval period to the present day. This will include the close, analytical study of poetry, fiction and drama, and critical and theoretical approaches to studying literature.

In years one and two the study of successive periods of English literature is complemented by work on individual authors, topics and genres.

In your second and third years you will be able to choose from a range of stimulating options and research-led special subjects, including creative writing. Year three is fully optional and includes the opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic of your own choosing.

In the Department of Film and Television, guided by leading scholars and practitioners, you will explore the history of film and television, considering theoretical perspectives and appreciating how films are made. You will also engage in practical filmmaking.

The curriculum progresses from introductory units, which use specific topics to teach you how to analyse film and television, to more advanced units. These cover significant historical movements, contemporary practices and the theoretical concepts that underpin, inform and shape film and television.

You will be trained in scholarly investigation and critical thinking through essay writing, presentations, and through working collaboratively in groups to make short films. Throughout your studies you will learn from a variety of film and television professionals and in your final year you will have the chance to undertake a placement in the creative industries.

This course is ideal for students interested in learning more about how to use numbers and data within social policy. It provides training in practical and analytical skills, which will enhance your career prospects and provide you with a strong platform for postgraduate study. No prior knowledge of statistical techniques is required.

About two thirds of your studies will follow the single honours social policy course. You will focus on key issues such as inequality, risk, need, and the social processes and institutions that enhance or impair wellbeing. You will draw on social, political and economic theory to analyse and explore these in a global context.

The remaining third of your course will provide interdisciplinary training in quantitative methods. In year one of the quantitative pathway we discuss how numbers and data are used to tell convincing stories in the media and social research. We consider what is meant by segregation and how it can be mapped and measured.

Year two offers practical classes in social statistics and applied data analysis, which will develop your skills in numeracy and analysis and enable you to undertake your own individual research project in an area of quantitative social science in year three.

In your fourth year we offer training in more advanced quantitative methods suitable for postgraduate research, while continuing to develop expertise and specialist knowledge in social policy.

An English degree from the University of Bristol gives you the opportunity to study the full breadth and range of literature written in English.

Year one lays strong foundations, providing training in close reading, critical and theoretical approaches and in the skills and conventions of academic writing, alongside the study of poetry, narrative writing and drama from the medieval period to the mid-18th century. You may also choose an optional unit or a unit from another department in the University.

In year two you will continue to study successive periods of English literature, from the mid-18th century to the present day, complemented by work on individual authors and topics chosen from a list of research-led special subject units. These include creative writing, as well as options related to earlier literature. You may choose to study abroad for one teaching block of your second year.

In the third year you will choose options in later literature, in trans-historical topics and in special subjects, and have the opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic of your own choosing.