Performance and Screen Studies
This programme presents two
internationally recognised
academic disciplines—Performance
Studies and Screen Studies—and
draws them together to create a
unique subject that involves the
lecture-based study of drama, film,
television, social media, sporting
events and sports media, gaming,
streaming platforms, political
activism, and more.
• It has a strong focus on
employability through an emphasis
on skills development for the
Creative Industries, both in Ireland
and internationally.
• The programme also provides the
opportunity for students to apply
to transfer into the denominated
degree programme in Drama
after First Year (subject to exam
performance and availability of
places), should they wish to do so.
Performing Arts Studies
This is a world-class, four-year
course that allows students to study
drama, theatre and performance
together with one other arts subject.
• Students explore a variety of topics,
including acting, playwriting,
directing, design, theatre history,
and musical theatre.
• Our students benefit from our
partnerships with Irish theatre
companies, including the
internationally acclaimed Druid
Theatre, which provides workshops
as part of the Druid Academy
Programme. Students also have full
access to the Abbey Theatre Digital
Archive, a unique resource that
provides access to thousands of
plays and videos.
Playwriting & Dramaturgy
The MA in Playwriting and Dramaturgy cultivates the growth of the
individual writer through an intensive one-year immersion in an
ensemble-based learning environment.
All students take modules on playwriting and other forms of
theatre practice in which they also have the opportunity to
specialise further, based on their own skills and interests. They
will cultivate their skills as writers of dramatic texts (playwriting),
and also increase their knowledge of a wide range of theatrical
structures and forms (dramaturgy) to expand their range as artists.
Writers on this programme will hone their craft through intensive
mentorship and a rigorous programme of modules, workshops
and theatre trips that places their individual work in the context of
the contemporary theatre industry and the history of theatre craft.
The programme concludes with a playwriting dissertation and
features a public reading of the student’s new work at the Centre
for Drama, Theatre and Performance.
Theatre Practice &Production
The MA in Theatre Practice and Production prepares students
for professional-level work in the theatre and other creative
industries. Students take modules in many different aspects of
theatre practice, including ensemble performance, direction,
and performance. An optional internship with an Irish theatre
company forms part of the course. During the summer months,
students complete a practice-based research project in acting,
playwriting, direction, devising or design—which is used for their
final dissertation. Students benefit from our continuing links and
partnerships with many Irish theatre companies, including Druid,
the Abbey (Ireland’s national theatre), the street theatre company
Macnas and the world-renowned Galway International Arts
Festival. Our intensive programme of talks by leading artists and
scholars puts you directly into conversations about the state of
theatre now.
Music
This course combines the study of
music with one other arts subject.
• It allows students to develop an
understanding of the history, theory
and practice of music.
• This course is ideal for those who
wish to teach music at second level
after graduation and for anyone
interested in gaining first-hand
experience of music-centred
employment.
• Our students benefit from our
partnerships with Galway Music
Residency and the ConTempo
Quartet, Music for Galway and the
renowned Irish Traditional Musician
Sharon Shannon. Students will have
regular workshops with performers,
developing such skills as critical
listening, analysis and concert
reviewing.
Irish Theatre History &Archives
This course offers a hands-on approach to the study of Irish
theatre history as a living process. We move from the nineteenth-
century plays of Oscar Wilde to the early Abbey plays of W.B. Yeats
and Sean O’Casey, to the towering genius of Samuel Beckett in
mid-century, to major contemporary dramatists such as Brian
Friel, Marina Carr and Enda Walsh and, finally, to the growing role
of interdisciplinary arts practice, dance and collaborative theatre-
making approaches in the contemporary Irish theatre today.
Students on this course have unprecedented access to one of the
world’s greatest Irish theatre archives—working with the treasures
of the Abbey Theatre Digital Archive, as well as the papers of
Thomas Kilroy, Druid Theatre, the Lyric Players’ Theatre and many
more. These archives include hundreds of videos of performances
and original promptbooks, as well as correspondence between
major authors, drafts of plays, and set and costume designs.
With classes taught by world-leading scholars, this course offers
students the opportunity to work in the major international centre
for research on Irish theatre and performance and to gain access
to hands-on work experience in either archive maintenance and
acquisition and/or literary management for the theatre.
Fine Art
This post-baccalaureate programme assists you in finding your
voice as an artist and prepares you for application to and potential
enrolment in an MFA programme.
Studio practice and critique is at the core of the programme,
taking the form of negotiated projects for independent study that
also involve portfolio preparation and career planning. Studio
courses provide teaching in a choice of disciplines where you
work alongside undergraduate students. Historical and Critical
Studies examines key concepts in modern and contemporary
art to assist you in contextualising your emerging art practice.
The Burren: Culture and Environment introduces you to a wide
range of environmental and cultural studies in the west of Ireland,
ranging from natural history and geology to archaeology and
modern history. You will also visit galleries and museums in Dublin,
with optional trips to London and Berlin.
Film Production & Direction
Graduates have gone on to further research at PhD level and
have acquired positions as lecturers and researchers in thirdlevel institutions. Graduates have also found employment in a
range of film festival, film and media production, and journalism
roles, including university lecturer, television producer,
publisher’s production assistant, film producer and director,
newspaper editor, journalist, teacher, theatre administrator, and
film festival programmer.
Film Studies: Theory and Practice
The MA in Film Studies: Theory and Practice is a pioneering
programme that prepares students for a range of careers in film,
screenwriting and media-related areas. Film today offers a broad
mix of employment opportunities, including in academia, film
and media practice, and arts administration. This programme
combines a strong academic focus on the critical and historical
study of film, with modules addressing digital film practice,
screenwriting, film administration, education and festival curation.
The programme allows students to pursue either an academic-
focused pathway or a practice-based approach to film, including
the possibility of completing a feature-length screenplay during
the academic year. The full-time programme comprises three
seminar courses during the academic year and a choice from up
to six options over two 12-week semesters, from which students
must choose three. Part-time students will take half of these
modules each year.
Film and Digital Media
The BA in Film and Digital Media
offers students a unique combination
of theory and practice across the
areas of film and digital media.
• This course provides students with
a comprehensive grounding in
the theory and history of film and
digital media as well as training
in the fundamentals of film
practice, screenwriting, and digital
development and design.
• With a core focus on the
development of critical and creative
skills, the BA (Film and Digital Media)
prepares graduates for a career
in the broad field of the creative
industries, including film and
television production, digital content
creation, cultural administration,
screenwriting and digital marketing.
• As a UNESCO City of Film and
the home of the Irish Film Board,
Galway is situated at the heart of
Ireland’s creative and cultural sector.
