University degrees: Postgraduate
Course length: 1 year full-time
Course city: New York
What does it mean ‘to perform’, and what does performance do? Located in the heart of New York City’s vibrant art scene, Performance Studies at NYU is dedicated to the analysis and study of cultural enactments of all kinds, and to understanding how they can produce meaningful change. Combining an interdisciplinary range of approaches including feminist and queer theory, critical race theory, and other modes of analysis, with an equally diverse range of research methods, Performance Studies offers graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to explore and think critically about the world-making power of performance in theater, performance art, dance, sound/music, visual and installation art, activism, and online, as well as in the performance of ‘everyday life’.
The Department of Performance Studies at NYU Tisch School of the Arts was established in 1980 as the first of its kind, and is ranked #1 for doctoral programs in Theater and Performance Studies by the National Research Council. Our B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. programs are taught by internationally-recognized faculty in fields ranging from experimental and protest theater, feminist and queer theory, dance studies, sound studies, performance curation, and critical race theory.
Our programs are designed to prepare graduates for careers in academia, arts-related fields, and beyond. Classes are small, rigorous, and taught by leading thinkers in the field, and students are guided to develop their skills in research, analysis, and professionalization.
The Masters 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 Ph.D. 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 M.A. program may pursue careers in arts management/administration, education, grant-writing, and other arts-related media and policy work.
The M.A. and Ph.D. Programs in Performance Studies are administered by the Tisch School of the Arts and degrees are conferred by the Graduate School of Arts and Science at NYU.
“What I particularly like is the way in which Performance Studies is interested in how…the body is so crucial to the making of meaning – not just the conferral of meaning, but producing new meanings.”
—Ann Pellegrini, Professor
The Masters in Performance Studies consists of 34 points of coursework to be completed over 3 consecutive semesters beginning with Fall Semester. There are two required courses (see below) and the remaining points are taken as graduate electives. Subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, M.A. students may take one course outside the department.
Students may transfer up to 4 points of graduate credit earned at another institution upon approval by the Chair and the TSOA Director of Graduate Admissions. Requests for transfer credit must be made during the student’s first semester in the Department. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in 66 percent of points attempted. A minimum of 24 points must be completed with resident faculty.
M.A. students are required to take the following courses:
• Introduction to Performance Studies (PERF-GT 1000) (4 points) in their first semester; and
• Projects in Performance Studies (PERF-GT 2000) (6 points) in their final semester.
Students who began the MA program in Performance Studies prior to Fall 2016 must complete 36 points of approved coursework with a grade of “B” or better. Please note: the maximum time to degree for Masters students in TSOA is 5 years; for students who have exceeded that time limit you may not be permitted to complete your remaining requirements. Please contact the department as soon as possible for more information.
