Programme description

Our PhD Drama programme enables you to carry out an in-depth piece of research before either writing a full 80,000-word thesis or completing a practice-based dissertation.

Drama at Manchester offers three main strands of research: Theatre Studies, Applied Theatre and Screen Studies, including film, television, new media, and aspects of applied film practice.

All staff are research active within our three main research strands. These areas interlink, and both staff and students are keen to cross the boundaries from one area of research to another.

The notion of 'dialogue' - with ideas, practices, communities - is at the heart of all our practical and intellectual explorations.

We regularly initiate research-council-funded projects, present seminar series and host conferences.

Teaching and learning

You will have a supervisor with a specialism related to your field of research.

Coursework and assessment

You will have the option to write a full 80,000-word thesis or complete a practice-based dissertation.

The practice-based dissertation gives you the opportunity to submit practice as part of your final thesis submission.

Career opportunities

As we are an inter-disciplinary department in Drama, our PhD students work across theatre, film and screen studies, digital humanities, and so on.

The skills gained through the PhD process are wide-ranging and varied. These include critical engagement, investigative thinking, effective communication, project management and reflexive practice.

Several of our graduates have moved on to academic positions in the UK and abroad, including Canada, Iran, and Singapore. Others are working in the arts, education and not-for-profit sectors, as artists, filmmakers, practitioners, teachers, librarians, curators, writers, and editors, and among others!