Performance Studies focuses on the broad spectrum of performance practices, including theatre, spectacle, dance and ritual. It draws on a range of disciplines including anthropology, history, sociology, semiotics, architecture,and theatre studies in order to analyse, theorise and understand performance, in all its variety, as complex cultural process.

The department of Performance Studies offers a vibrant, collegial environment for postgraduate research. Among its substantial assets are the Rex Cramphorn Studio and an audio-visual studio.

For information about current postgraduate research projects and recently completed degrees, see this page.

The department holds copies of completed theses; they are also available through the Rare Books Collection of Fisher Library.

Postgraduate students are expected to attend, and to contribute to, the weekly postgraduate Research Seminar. Each student should aim to present a paper to the seminar each semester.

Some graduates move into professional theatre and dance, while others adapt their acquired expertise to inform their careers in a range of sectors such as law, medicine, PR, film and television, arts policy and management or event management.