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MA Dance (Specialist Title)

MA Dance (Specialist Title)

Award

MA

Start Date

To be confirmed

Duration

24 months

Mode

Part-time

Location

Shockout Arts

Create your own dance master's degree. Our innovative and dynamic MA Dance (Specialist Title) supports you in developing your dance practice via a series of negotiated projects that are relevant to your professional practice and area of expertise and interest. On completion, your degree title will reflect the focus of your studies.

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Course Overview

If you've been struggling to find a postgraduate course that exactly matches your ambition, then this 24-month part-time MA Dance (Specialist Title) delivered by Shockout Arts could be the answer. Shockout's expert team will work with you to devise a series of projects that enable you to develop your professional practice. You may focus on a single discipline, such as Hip-Hip, Commercial Dance or Choreography or an associated subject, such as Dance Education or Dancer Well-Being. When you successfully complete the master's, your degree title will be chosen to reflect the focus of your studies.

We'll support you in developing a unique body of creative work through a series of negotiated projects that will be underpinned and informed by relevant industry practice. You'll work with a supervisor who will provide support and guidance throughout the developmental process. Alongside this, you'll undertake additional modules. The first allows you to reflect upon your practice and identify areas of opportunity to enhance this. The second investigates current contexts for your specialist area and offers you the necessary skills to undertake research at an advanced level. The third allows you to plan your project and undertake a pilot study to strengthen and refine your research and professional practice skills before moving into the final major project to develop your industry profile and ensure your work reaches your desired audience.

With a solid theoretical underpinning, this MA develops your research, critique and synthesis skills. We'll guide you as you learn to work with independence, self‐direction and originality and develop your analytical and critical competencies. This combination of academic, relevant creative and professional skills development helps prepare you for a career in the dance and performing arts industry. It also provides a sound basis for doctoral-level study.

The teaching staff at Shockout Arts are professional and world-renowned practitioners and choreographers. They are keen to make your time with them as stimulating and rewarding as possible and enjoy a well-deserved reputation for being approachable and interested in your progress. Teaching often takes place in small groups, so you'll have access to individual support and guidance at every stage.

For full details about Shockout Arts, their open days and accommodation, please visit www.weareshockout.com.

Highlights

Key Features

Entry Requirements

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

Career Opportunities

Our MA Dance (Specialist Title) offers named postgraduate routes for specialist areas of dance. It aims to provide an industry-relevant specialised education that will refine and nurture your skills, knowledge and expertise in your chosen dance genre(s) to a professional level. It will also support you in developing and refining your transferable and employability skills to ensure career longevity.

As a graduate of this MA, you'll possess extensive skills in your field of dance practice and a unique body of work that demonstrates your abilities and style. The course will enable you to take charge of your personal and professional development and reflect on your progress as you work towards your goals.

Providing our students with the best possible progression route is highly important to us. As a result of their hard work, our past and present students have performed with some of the biggest names in the dance and performing arts industry.

Credits include Janet Jackson, Dua Lipa, Zara Larsson, Alexandra Burke, Tinie Tempah, Rita Ora, Kendrick Lamar, Ludacris, Mabel, Hrvy, Steff London, Jax Jones, Mariah Carey, Cheryl Cole, Pixie Lott, French Montanna, Demi Lovato, Kylie Minogue, Paloma Faith, Zayn Malik, Will.I.Am, Jess Glyne, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Leshur, Flo Rida, Bebe Rexha, Fifth Harmony, Little Mix, Spice Girls Tour, Rai Elle, Stormzy, MTV VMA's and EMA's, BRIT Awards, The MOBO's, X Factor, The Voice, Jingle Bell Ball, V Festival, Wireless, Parklife, Lovebox.

What can I do with this qualification?

This industry‐focused, practice‐based MA allows you to develop your creative dance practice alongside clear plans for how you will use this to progress your career in the performing arts industry or as the basis for doctoral study.

As a graduate of this MA, you'll be well prepared to take advantage of opportunities in a wide range of careers relating to performance, creative producing, education, community, and curatorial and arts administration. Opportunities exist in commercial dance for TV, cruise ships, promotion and commercial events, and popular music performances.

Alternatively, you may choose to further your studies and research at the doctoral level contributing to the knowledge of dance or train to become a dance teacher in the education sector.

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping stone into a range of other careers. Some of these roles may require relevant experience and/or postgraduate study. Some possible jobs include:

  • Teaching and education
  • Arts administration
  • Broadcasting
  • Event management
  • Dance therapy and wellbeing
  • Marketing and PR
  • Advertising
  • Community arts
  • Musical theatre
  • Journalism and writing
  • Mental health and wellbeing
  • Dance critic
  • Choreography
  • Creative direction
Fees & Funding

Home/EU Fees

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £4,250 for the academic year 2024/25.

International Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2024-25 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

How to apply

Home Applicants

You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:

You should have to hand:

  • Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates

  • Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies

  • Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role

  • Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately

  • Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk

International Applicants

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

Teaching & Assessment

This programme allows you to engage and specify a specialist area of your professional practice for refinement and development. A mix of teacher-directed and student-centred approaches will develop and nurture your learning autonomy and refine your individual creative and academic identity. At the postgraduate level, independent study and guided independent learning are significant. Engaging with wider research and reading surrounding themes will be critical to your success. The course will explore issues both practically and theoretically, and independent rehearsals will support your practical development and advancement.

Various teaching and learning methods will allow for a range of learner needs. You can expect practice-based enquiry, self-directed study, lectures, seminars, critiques, tutorials, presentations, and work-based learning. We adopt a blended learning and teaching style, including online delivery and engagement where appropriate.

The assessment strategy is designed to help you achieve the overall aims of the programme, as well as the learning outcomes for individual modules. In addition to assessing your achievement, assessment helps you organise and develop your learning. Assessment feedback can help you build your skills and an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, so we'll provide feedback to help you understand what you have done well and where you can improve. The programme's key assessment forms include in-studio technical assessments, practical skills assessments, showcase performances, practical project reports, portfolios, oral presentations, written coursework and a major research project.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

  • Critical Reflective Practice
  • Contextualising Dance
  • Researching Dance
  • Masters Project
  • Masters Dissertation

Assessment methods

Level Assessment method
Level 1 Coursework 38%
Practical exams 62%

Learning Activities

Level Activity
Level 1 Guided independent study 90%
Scheduled learning and teaching activities 10%

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.

Programme Contacts

Help Centre

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Part of the University of Bolton Group

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Help Centre

We have the answers to your questions, find all the advice and support in one place.

Part of the University of Bolton Group

Bolton college
Alliance learning
Anderton centre2
QQA Scheme Participant