Department Website
Program Description
The Master of Arts in Performance Studies offers students the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in this concentrated program and earn their degree in one year. Students whose long-range plans include doctoral-level training will receive excellent foundational preparation for not only theater, performance studies, and dance PhD programs, but also for advanced academic research in gender/queer studies, critical race studies, literary studies, visual/communication studies, American studies, etc.
The program targets not only those students aimed at advanced (doctoral) studies in performance or related fields, but those individuals engaged in, or headed towards, careers in art practice as well: choreographers, performance artists, directors, designers, etc. who seek to supplement their technical training with a deep engagement in performance theory will have an opportunity to consider their practice-based knowledge in relation to theories of performance. Graduates of the MA program may pursue careers in arts management/administration, education, grant-writing, and other arts-related media and policy work.
The MA Program in Performance Studies is administered by the Tisch School of the Arts and the degree is conferred by the Graduate School of Arts and Science at NYU.
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Admissions
Please see the Tisch Graduate Admissions page to learn more about the application process, and the Performance Studies; Graduate Admissions page for full application instructions.
Program Requirements
The Masters in Performance Studies consists of 34 credits of coursework to be completed over 3 consecutive semesters (fall, spring, summer), and students earn their degree the following September. Master’s students are required to earn a grade of B or better, primarily with the permanent faculty. The only practical workshop course that is counted toward an MA in performance studies is the department’s Performance Composition, PERF-GT 2730, or a course otherwise designated as practical. Up to 4 credits of academic course work may be taken outside the department or transferred from another institution with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies. A master’s student may appeal to the chair to register for a second Performance Composition workshop in lieu of taking 4 credits outside the department.
Course List
| Course |
Title |
Credits |
| PERF-GT 1000 | Introduction to Performance Studies | 4 |
| PERF-GT 2000 | Projects in Perf Studies | 6 |
| 24 |
| Total Credits | 34 |
Elective course offerings change depending on the semester. Please review the Graduate Course Bulletins for semester offerings linked on the Graduate Courses page on the Performance Studies website.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will:
- Understand performance as socially significant object of study.
- Understand performance as knowledge production.
- Have the ability to perform critical research, analysis, interpretation, theorization, and to communicate effectively in both oral and written forms.
- Students graduating from the program with a track emphasis on pursuing scholarly/academic/research work will be able to articulate their research interests to be successfully placed in a PhD program of their choice.
- Students graduating from the program with a track emphasis on pursuing their artistic work will be able to articulate their art practice in sophisticated, art-historically, and theoretically informed language.
- Have the ability to show proficiency in writing theoretically about live performance (whether “artistic” or “everyday life” performance).
- Have the ability to show proficiency not only in explaining, but in applying with precision and some level of originality the key concepts in performance studies such as “performativity,” “twice-behaved behavior,” “aesthetics,” “archive/repertoire,” “liveness,” “corporeality,” “theatricality,” “objecthood.”
- Understand the basic requirements for conducting primary source research (whether archival or field work).
Policies
NYU Policies
University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.
Graduate School of Arts and Science Policies
Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page.