MA Playwriting at University of Manchester

Our course will help you develop the skills you need for a career in writing for the stage. Refine your craft, develop new work and explore what it means to be a contemporary playwright. Prepare for careers in playwriting and the wider theatre and performance industries through a vocationally oriented course with dedicated career guidance and industry engagement.

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities  |  Department: School of Arts, Languages and Cultures  |  Duration: 1 year  |  Study mode: full-time  |  Intake: September 2027  |  Location: Manchester, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

A master’s degree is formed of 180 credits. 120 of these credits are made up by a mix of mandatory and optional course units, with 60 credits taken in each semester. The availability of individual course units may be subject to change. Compulsory units include Dissertation (Playwriting), Playwriting: Forms, Playwriting: Structures, The Festival Play, Plays, Politics and Power: The Working Playwright.

Career pathways

We aim to prepare students for a successful career in playwriting and writing for performance. You will graduate with a strong sense of your emerging signature as a writer, and also with an ability to write across a range of genres and contexts and in response to specific commissions.

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