Master of Arts in Theatre Pedagogy

Our program combines critical thinking, artistic-pedagogical practices, and exploration of the wide range of meanings in the arts.

Why study here?

Students in the Master’s Program in Theatre Pedagogy reflect on and develop the practices and pedagogy of performing arts within an open, dialogue-oriented community. You will be provided support for critical, innovative thinking, multidisciplinary interaction, multi artistic collaborations, and for adopting an experimental attitude. The foundation of the program is students’ personal experiences and perceptions, and they are brought into an open dialogue with other students, teachers, and the academic field of art pedagogy.

Students’ daily schedules take their final shape in interaction with each student, the group, the degree program, and the teachers. The program offers a safe context for exploratory learning. Graduates of the program work in diverse tasks in the field of performing arts and pedagogy.

About the studies

In the Master’s Program in Theatre Pedagogy, art pedagogy is seen as a form of artistic activity where pedagogical questions are ever-present. In the context of art pedagogy, art, performance, and teaching are viewed as encounters where aesthetic, ethical, and political phenomena are intertwined.

Art pedagogy is an academic discipline that investigates art pedagogy and develops its philosophical and theoretical foundations further. In the master’s program, the practices and theories of performing arts and art pedagogy fertilize each other, giving rise to change at many levels. This process leads to the practical, experiential, reflective, communal, or social transformation towards socially aware artistic-pedagogic practice. Aesthetical, ethical, and political phenomena are interconnected in the program.

The program consists of advanced studies in the arts, studies in the theory and practices of art pedagogy, research studies, teaching practices, international interaction, and elective studies that support the development of the student’s identity as an art pedagogue.

The students are encouraged to take risks, make bold choices, and seek new solutions within the framework of the program’s curriculum. The goal of the master’s program is to train open-minded art pedagogue professionals who have found their own voice, have cooperation skills, and are aware of their responsibility.

The degree requirements for Master’s Programs in Dance Pedagogy and Theatre Pedagogy include pedagogical studies for teachers (60 cr). Tampere University is in charge of the study module in pedagogy as a whole.

Teaching methods

Studies are based on mandatory attendance, commitment, and interaction. The program uses diverse and ever-evolving teaching methods. Courses are arranged in the form of workshops, group projects, lectures, and seminars, as well as independent learning assignments. Most of the instruction takes place on weekdays between 9:00 and 17:00.

Collaborations

The Master’s Programs in Theatre Pedagogy and Dance Pedagogy engage in close cooperation with each other. About half of the studies are arranged collaboratively, and the teachers in the programs form a joint collegium, which acts as a decision-making body in regard to the programs’ pedagogical guidelines and curricula. The main partners in the organizing of the teaching are the University’s Department of Music Education and CERADA (Center for Educational Research and Academic Development in the Arts) as well as the Department of Art at Aalto University. Our international partners include Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Sami University of Applied Sciences, University of the Arts Utrecht, University of the Arts Berlin, and Kadir Has University Istanbul.

The teaching practices can be carried out as either Finnish or international collaborations.

Teachers

Teachers in the Master’s Program in Theatre Pedagogy are experts in the artistic field that they represent as well as in art pedagogy. They have diverse professional backgrounds and a strong research-based orientation in art pedagogy. In addition to the permanent teaching staff, the program welcomes experts as guest teachers on a regular basis.