Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (PGDipArts) in Theatre Studies

The University of Otago

The Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (PGDipArts) requires two semesters of full-time study. It entails a structured programme of postgraduate coursework and, in some instances, a piece of supervised research that counts for one or two of the required papers. The normal admission requirement is a completed Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in the major of the proposed programme.

Graduates are employed in administration, business, education, government, industry and journalism where their advanced knowledge of an academic area, ability to solve problems, research and writing skills are valued. It is also a recognised qualification for admission as a candidate for the Master of Arts (MA) and, if a dissertation is included, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Why study Theatre Studies at Otago?

Theatre Studies is a subject that is easy to become passionate about. It provides an understanding of the nature of performance, allows you access to the tools of a theatre-maker, and looks at performance using critical and analytical skills.

You’ll study different times and cultures from a theatre perspective, ranging from Shakespeare to performance art and all points in-between. Practice and analytical investigation inform and support one another.

Your lecturers have professional as well as academic expertise in the fields of acting, producing, directing, criticism, stage design, lighting and sound design, playwriting and translation. And then there is our unique weekly Lunchtime Theatre programme at Allen Hall, which is your testing ground as a performer, director or playwright, and in all aspects of stagecraft.

Otago offers a wide selection of papers in Theatre Studies, drawn from the following areas:

Performance skills: improvisation; principles of actor training, including Shakespeare, voice and movement

Analysis and interpretation of drama on stage and screen

Bicultural theatre; drama and theatre of Aotearoa/New Zealand, the Pacific and Australia

Directing

Theatre history, contemporary drama and performance art

Performance analysis and critical theory

Theatre technology and design, especially lighting and stage design

Playwriting and the creation of new theatre works

Level of Award of the Diploma

The diploma may be awarded with distinction or with credit.

Diploma in a Second Subject

A student who has obtained the diploma in one subject may become a candidate for the diploma in any other subject.