Master of Arts - Puppetry
- 1 year
- Duration
- 30,890 GBP
- Price
- September
- Start
- June
- Deadline
- Master
- Degree
- Campus
- Format
- London / United Kingdom
- Location
Program description
The MA Puppetry programme at Wimbledon College of Arts explores and develops the art forms needed for the creation of puppetry, focusing on design, devising, creation, and performance for both live and recorded contexts. Through critical research and experimental projects, you will push current practices while engaging with the global traditions and industry applications of puppetry.
The course is designed for applicants with a strong understanding of puppetry's complexities and its use in entertainment, aligning with Wimbledon's expansion into screen, VFX, and augmented reality. It supports interdisciplinary applications while respecting established performance traditions, encouraging innovation within this evolving field.
Program structure
- Unit 1: Elements of puppetry
This unit explores the art of puppetry through the key relationships of audiences, aesthetics, and forms, investigated via practical projects, performances, and seminars. You will deepen your understanding of dramaturgy, design, and performance while learning to document and present your research, establishing a Learning Agreement that will guide your final project.
- Unit 2: Developing your practice
This unit introduces advanced puppet‑making techniques and materials, allowing you to interrogate specific aspects of puppetry through a critical research project on a key artist or process. You will develop your skills in fabrication, dramaturgy, and ethical design, culminating in a group cabaret‑style performance festival and documented in your research portfolio.
- Unit 3: Collaboration
In this unit, you will devise and develop a collaborative live brief for a performance event that integrates puppetry with other contemporary performance practices, potentially involving other postgraduate disciplines or industry connections. Through empathetic and inclusive collaboration, you will explore collective dramaturgy techniques, resulting in a researched puppet‑based proposal or prototype that demonstrates potential for further development in the field.
- Unit 4: Realisation
In this final unit, you will undertake an in‑depth personal project that demonstrates an advanced, boundary‑pushing level of puppetry practice, informed by a critical understanding of current and historical methodologies. Your creative research will challenge existing practices, reflect on the future of puppetry, and engage with sustainable, ethical production methods, while considering the relationship between audiences, aesthetics, and forms.
The project culminates in a presentation where you assume one or more key puppetry roles, inclusively leading peers to realise your vision, demonstrating proactivity, agility, craft, and storytelling skills. Completing your research and practice portfolio will position you as a practitioner or researcher in the field.
Price
Tuition fee:
- 30,890 GBP per education*
*Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.
You may need to cover additional costs which are not included in your tuition fees, such as materials and equipment specific to your course.
Requirements for applicants
The standard minimum entry requirements for this course are:
- BA (Hons) degree in either art and design or performance disciplines, including social and other sciences or engineering
- Alternative qualifications and experience will also be taken into consideration
- Personal statement
- Portfolio of work
Entry to this course will also be determined by the quality of your application, looking primarily at your portfolio of work and personal statement.
Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases.
The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
- Related academic or work experience
- The quality of the personal statement
- A strong academic or other professional reference
- A combination of these factors
Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.
English language requirements
- IELTS level 6.5 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking
About the university
The University of the Arts London (UAL) produces and encourages the creativity essential for a better future. Its colleges have been at the forefront of innovative education since 1842, creating work with a lasting impact on people and the planet, driven by curiosity, imagination, and purpose.
London is fundamental to UAL's identity, providing a vital context where the university connects and exchanges ideas with individuals from all walks of life. Globally, its creative network influences education, culture, business, and society.
Through innovative research and creative instruction, UAL's faculty and staff bring fresh perspectives to education. The university enables students to build the careers they desire by working with them at every level - from pre-degree to postgraduate, and from short courses to online learning.
UAL's colleges
Ranked second in the world for art and design, UAL comprises six distinct colleges:
- Camberwell College of Arts
- Central Saint Martins
- Chelsea College of Arts
- London College of Communication
- London College of Fashion
- Wimbledon College of Arts
Together, they form a community of creatives, innovators, trailblazers, and storytellers, united in their mission to reimagine the future.
Courses in the visual arts, animation, screen, communication, fashion, media, and performance are available at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
