The Master of Studies (MSt) in Writing for Performance is designed for postgraduate students who wish to develop high-level theoretical skills and a vibrant and innovative creative practice within writing for a wide range of performance mediums. Writing for Performance is defined as making scripts for theatre, film/TV, radio drama, or text for performance art podcasts, digital platforms, or stand-up comedy. Students will develop skills initially in all mediums and then be guided to choose a specific genre of script-making for their final project. They will develop the capacity to critically reflect on their own work, the work of their peer-group, and that of other professional writers.
The MSt aims to facilitate a high standard of creative practice, in order that students may develop their professional practice in several areas. For example, they may wish to develop as dramatists in order to have a professional career in the entertainment industry as writers or directors, or to enhance their skills as dramaturgs/script editors to allow them to follow a career in literary management, publishing, or agenting. The programme would also be of interest to applicants wishing to enrich their creative writing/drama teaching practice at GCSE or on A-level English Language and Literature courses. The MSt is taught over two years in short, intensive study blocks. It has been designed to be accessible to those in full or part-time employment and to international students.
Progression for students who complete this course is provided in a number of ways: some students may progress onto a PhD in a relevant subject, or they could go on to study the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching Creative Writing at University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education (PACE).
Course Dates
Course details
Tutors
Key Features
Watch the recording of our MSt in Writing for Performance Information Session from our Master's Open Week 2024.
You can also watch our course video.
Applicants who are applying for the MSt in Writing for Performance having successfully completed the edX MicroMasters in Writing for Performance and the Entertainment Industries must complete a different application form. Please use the 'Ask a Question' button on this page to request further information.
Who is the course designed for?
Students on the MSt in Writing for Performance could include those currently working, or wishing to work, in the creative industries. This might include teachers, publishers, dramaturgs, literary managers, journalists and broadcasters.
Aims of the programme
The overall aims of the MSt in Writing for Performance are to:
- enable students to develop high levels of expertise as writers of performance through engagement with forms of ‘embodied knowledge’, and ‘learning through doing’, within both group and individual contexts
- facilitate students’ creative practice, and to encourage originality and experimentation with narrative structures and story-telling
- use theory and philosophy to develop and enhance students’ creative practice through engagement with performance theory and the critical history of performance
- identify, encourage, and consolidate the distinct and individual strengths within students’ work
- explore, both critically and creatively, the world of dramatic writing across a range of performance genres and mediums
- develop skills relevant to professional development for those working in creative, pedagogic, or industry contexts
- create a safe and empathetic teaching environment that students can trust, in order that they may produce their most innovative creative work
Student Support
Depending upon your needs, a variety of support opportunities are available to you including wellbeing support sessions, short-term counselling, and study skills support sessions. Find out more in our student support webpages.
Expected academic standard
Applicants for this course will normally have achieved a UK 2.1 honours degree or overseas equivalent.
If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country.
We are able to consider 'non-standard' applicants who do not meet the standard academic criterion. In such cases, you will need to produce evidence of relevant and equivalent experience, and your suitability for the course.
Language requirement
If English isn’t your first language, you will be required to submit evidence that you meet the University’s English language requirement before you are admitted.
Please see full details on the University Language Requirement webpage.
Language requirements for this course are below:
- IELTS Academic: Overall band score of 7.5 (with a minimum of 7.0 in each individual component)
- TOEFL Internet: Overall score of 110 (a minimum of 25 in each individual component)
- C1 Advanced: Grade A or B (with at least 193 in each individual element), plus a Language Centre assessment.
- C2 Proficiency: Grade A, B, or C (with at least 200, with no element lower than 185)
There are no exceptions to this requirement and, if you are offered a place on the course, it will be subject to you meeting this requirement.
Visa information
Students registered on a part-time Master of Studies (MSt) will be able to attend the short teaching sessions with a visitor status in the UK. Entry to the UK as a visitor has a number of expectations and restrictions which you should consider carefully.
Further information is provided on the International Students website and prospective students are advised to read this in full.
Students attending sessions taking place at intervals across the year with a visitor status are expected not to remain in the UK for extended periods. The majority of study must be undertaken outside the UK and generally students will be required to leave the UK at the end of each session and return for the next. As a visitor on a course of more than 6 months, it is not possible to make the UK your main study location or residence, or make frequent or successive visits to stay in the UK for extended periods.
The MSt in Writing for Performance is structured around four modules taught during year 1 of the course and a presentation module during year 2, each of which students must attend. Each of the four modules is preceded by guided preparatory reading and other activities, and followed by two writing assignments: one formative and one summative.
A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) offers learning support to students while they are on the programme, including learning resources, peer-to-peer and student-to-tutor discussion between modules to build a virtual community of practice.
Teaching
Year 1
In the first year students will be encouraged to build on their existing strengths but also to explore unfamiliar territories.
Module 1: Beginnings: The Fundamentals of Dramatic Writing (27 - 30 October 2025)
This module introduces students to the fundamental conceptual, creative, and practical elements of writing for performance. They will be encouraged to begin developing a sense of which medium they may wish to work in later, while workshops and encounters with visiting speakers will allow them to experience a wide range of writing tasks. They will begin to engage with processes of critical reflection about their own work, and about the creative practices of their peer-group, as well as being encouraged to respond analytically to a wide variety of philosophical positions within performance theory and history.
Module 2: Dramaturgy: Writing for Audio and Other Digital Media (12 - 15 January 2026)
This module will look in-depth at the function of narrative structures and story-telling forms. Writing character will be explored, as well as different techniques of writing dialogue - applicable to a range of writing for performance platforms. In Module Two scripts are read and analysed in workshop by peers, this time under the supervision of professional directors drawn from theatre, TV or film.
Module 3: Collaboration: Writing for Theatre, Comedy or Performance (16 - 19 March 2026)
In this module, the writing workshops have a theatre focus. They are led by resident directors and have access to professional actors, offering an experience of collaboration vital to the understanding of a script, and the development of character, dialogue and other core components of dramatic writing. Allowing collaborative relationships to develop early, across modules, will hopefully encourage the post-MSt production of the students’ work in visible professional platforms. Students will continue to refine their critical, analytical, and experiential practice during this module.
Module 4: Professional Engagement: Writing for Film and TV (1 - 4 June 2026)
This module will focus on the processes and skills involved in bringing a script successfully to market. This module completes the cycle of learning from the ‘first idea’ to a finished, commissioned, and performed script. Invited speaker panels will focus on industry engagement, with agents, literary managers, show-runners, and producers. Students will develop advanced self-presentation skills, as well as an understanding of new-writing networks and opportunities. Script workshops in Module 4 have a screenwriting emphasis and are led by professional TV or film directors/writers. Students will learn how to turn a concept into a film pitch – and will then have an opportunity to make that pitch to a panel of film producers. Students will prepare and submit their dissertation proposals.
Year 2
The second year is characterised by focus on a specialist genre. Students will work independently to explore further and develop their own literary and critical skills, resulting in a full-length (90 minute) script in a chosen performance medium and a reflective and critical commentary on their work. They will work under the supervision of an expert in their chosen field with whom they will have regular contact.
Students will have five supervisions in the second year. Supervision dates will be arranged between students and supervisors (these can be face-to-face or via remote software). The fifth and final supervision will usually take place at the time of the only module in the second year, when students will present an extract from their creative work to the cohort, to be held over two days in April 2027 (dates to be confirmed).
It is essential that students attend all modules as their ability to complete the course will be severely compromised by missing any of these.
Assessment
Year 1
Students will be required to submit 20 minutes of script/screenplay/performance text; two critical essays of 3,000 words each; and a piece of reflective writing of 2,000 words.
Year 2
Students will be required to submit a dissertation which consists of:
- a major creative project comprising 90 minutes of writing for performance. This may comprise a whole 90 minute script in a chosen performance medium, or the first 90 minutes of a longer piece. It may also comprise two 45 minute episodes, or 90 minutes of performance text/in a number of units, or the equivalent intext for a different digital form eg a video game
- where the submitted script is an extract of a longer piece, a one page synopsis of the remaining script must be submitted which clearly indicates where in the story the extract comes from, and/or synopses of 150 words maximum for each of the remaining episodes
- a one page industry strategy document of a maximum of 400 words (formatively assessed)
- a written reflective and critical commentary, totalling 5,000 words
Feedback
Students are given formal written feedback on their assignments and informal feedback throughout the course, including during tutorials and supervisions. Tutors produce a report for each student at the end of Year 1 and supervisors produce termly reports for each student during Year 2.
Fees
The fees for 2025-27, which include College membership, are:
- £12,126 per annum for Home students (total £24,252)
- £24,252 per annum for Overseas students (total £48,504)
The fee can be paid across the two years of the course, normally in eight equal instalments. All fees for Year 1 must be paid in full in order to progress to Year 2.
You will be expected to cover the application fee (£50 online) and any costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence during the course and residential sessions in Cambridge.
Funding
Please see our bursaries page for information about the Joy Brandon bursary which is available for this course.
We recommend that you explore any potential funding well in advance of the application deadline. See our External funding page for more information.
The application deadline for this course is Friday 28th February 2025. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held in early April either in person or by remote software if candidates are unable to attend in person. Candidates will be contacted to arrange convenient times during the previous weeks.
You are required to provide supporting documents as part of your application.
You should have your CV, writing sample, synopsis, audio/video content (spoken word applicants only), research proposal and personal statement ready before you start your application, as they will be submitted as part of the application form and cannot be submitted later.
Apply online when you are ready to start the application process.
Applicants who are applying for the MSt in Writing for Performance having successfully completed the edX MicroMasters in Writing for Performance and the Entertainment Industries must complete a different application form. Please contact us directly via the "Ask a Question" button on this page so we can provide you with further course details and a link to the application form.
The application deadline is 28th February 2025 and you will be required to submit the same documents and samples as listed above. You will also need to submit your verified certificate from the edX Micromasters course once the course is completed.
College membership
Students taking this course can apply to the following partner Colleges:
Please note there are only a limited number of college places available for this course for Selwyn College so please indicate a second choice of college on your application form if you are selecting Selwyn College as your first choice.
To find out more about College membership, see the most recent ‘Meet the Colleges’ recording.
If you have a pre-existing membership at a Cambridge College which is not listed above, you can approach them to ask if they would consider you as a member for this course. However, we are unable to arrange this for you. It is only possible to select membership of one of the above partner Colleges if this is not your case.
Note that there may be small additional fees payable to a College for specific services provided; for further information please contact the College directly.
Some Colleges might be able to offer accommodation for a fee during residentials (subject to availability), but this is not guaranteed. You are also free to make your own accommodation arrangements.
