Applied Theater: Theater as Social Work

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New from WS 2024

At a glance

Faculty

Social work

Academic degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Form of study

Consecutive Master

Standard period of study

4 semesters (incl. Master’s thesis), 120 ECTS

Study locations

Coburg and Bayreuth

Language of instruction

predominantly German

Start of studies

Winter semester (October 1)

Admission requirements

A university degree in an artistically or scientifically oriented course of study (social work, social pedagogy, educational science, educational science, early childhood education, sociology, psychology, drama, dramaturgy, theater studies, directing, theater pedagogy, theater didactics, etc.) or an equivalent degree.
Determination of course-specific aptitude by means of an assessment procedure.
For detailed information, see study and examination regulations.

Accreditation

QA system of the University of Bayreuth, in process

Registration

from 15.03.
– 15.05.

Registration information

Profile of the degree program

In the Applied Theatre: Theater as Social Work degree program, art and social work merge. Art forms such as theater, literature, dance and music are used to connect with people in different life situations and to become artistically active together. Applied theater is not just about depicting reality, but actively shaping it. It is about promoting social and political change. The focus is on participatory approaches, in particular on strengthening communities and maginalized groups. The intensive combination of social work and the performing arts makes it possible to use theater in a wide variety of social contexts.

Our degree program is unique in this form in Germany.
Prof. Björn Bicker

The Master’s degree program offers you the unique opportunity to actively design artistic projects and acquire specific skills for project work. This prepares you for a successful entry into the professional world. It is about community arts, participatory art, artivism, cultural education projects and much more. “Applied Theatre: Theatre as Social Work” is a cooperative degree course offered by HAW Coburg (social work) and the University of Bayreuth (theater studies, theater didactics).

What we value

Interdisciplinarity and openness

The Master’s program is interdisciplinary and open to everyone. Graduates of social work meet employees in theater studies, graduates of state theater colleges are just as welcome as theater-affine alumni from education, fine arts or other courses of study.

Support

With the support of artistically and academically experienced lecturers and fellow students, you will design your own artistic journey in the field of “Applied Theater: Theater as Social Work”.

Course content

The Applied Theatre: Theater as Social Work course focuses on combining artistic projects with theatrical reflection and social work. From the second semester onwards, you will work in small groups together with external partners from the region on your own artistic project. This work is intensively supervised by the lecturers and supported by practical courses. You will deal with current topics such as superdiversity and postcolonial discourses and learn how to incorporate these into your projects. At the end of the third semester, you will present your project, which will then form the basis for your Master’s thesis. In this way, you combine theory and practice in a unique way and develop both artistically and academically.

Study structure

Applied Theatre: Theater as Social Work is a joint degree program in Social Work at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Theater Studies and Theater Didactics at the University of Bayreuth. It combines the best of two worlds. That’s why you study at two locations. In the first three semesters, one day of teaching takes place in Bayreuth and two to three days in Coburg. As soon as the project-based work begins, however, the courses can also take place decentrally at the locations where your project, which you develop and realize in the group with partners from the social space, takes place.

1st semester

In the first semester, you will get to know your respective specialist knowledge as a resource and pass on your specialist skills to each other in peer-to-peer formats. You will receive impulses from theater studies and take your first practical and theoretical steps in the field of applied theater, accompanied by intensive exploration of social and cultural groups and their contexts.

2nd semester

In the second semester, you start developing your project in the field: research, finding project partners and artistic and conceptual development. This is flanked by artistic exercises (directing, acting, dramaturgy, writing, etc.). Theater didactics will accompany you as well as the examination of current socio-political discourses. This is complemented by targeted experience and skills training in cultural management.

3rd semester

The third semester is all about implementing your artistic project in the field of applied theater. The focus is on rehearsal and development work. You will be supported by in-depth courses in cultural management and cultural policy. Ultimately, the aim is for you to promote and finance your project and place it in the right context.

4th semester

In the fourth semester, you will dedicate yourself to writing your Master’s thesis, which is usually closely related to your artistic project from the previous semesters. Through a colloquium and close and trusting supervision, you will be accompanied on this path by our lecturers.

Application and admission

You can apply to start your studies in the winter semester on the University of Bayreuth’s online portal by May 15 of each year.
There is a separate procedure for admission to the course. To apply, you will need, among other things, the required degree, a detailed cover letter describing your motivation for our degree program. You will also need to write a three-page synopsis in which you outline an “Applied Theater” project. We will then invite you to an interview to decide whether you are suitable for the course and can be admitted.

Contact persons

If you have any organizational questions about the course, the application or other matters, please contact the course coordinator Christin Eichhorn in Coburg.

The heads of the degree program will also be happy to answer any questions you may have about our courses.