Course Award: | Duration: | Application Deadline: | Places: |
MA | 2 years Part-time | Closed for 2026 Entry | 8 - 10 |
Master The Art of Teaching
The MA Teaching & Facilitating (Creative Subjects) is designed for creative professionals, whether recent graduates or early-career artists, who want to develop their teaching and facilitating skills across their subject specialism of dance, drama, music, visual arts, or interdisciplinary practice. This cutting-edge, practice-led MA is an invitation to revolutionise how you teach and inspire through the arts. Designed for passionate graduates and practitioners, this dynamic programme blends theory, innovation, and real-world application to help you transform educational landscapes. The course is ideal for those looking to build inclusive, student-centred approaches, gain real-world experience in educational and community settings, and expand their career into arts education. This programme equips students with the tools to lead, inspire and make meaningful impact through creative learning.
The course is delivered through two routes of study:
We will have a conversation around which route of study to enrol on at application.
Eligible home-fee paying postgraduate students can apply for a postgraduate loan from the Student Loans Company to help with course fees and living costs
For detailed information on tuition fees, financial support, and associated costs for all courses, visit our Fees and Finance page here: www.nscd.ac.uk/study/fees-finance/postgraduate
Find out more
This module introduces students to the key theories and models of practice in relation to arts pedagogy. This enables students to critically evaluate core skills and techniques relevant to teaching, set within a broader context of how participants learn and are supported in their learning. Students will consider the teaching and support process from the teacher’s and the learners’ perspectives, so they can engage with the most appropriate techniques and approaches to use. This will enable students to develop the knowledge and skills to enhance the effectiveness of their current teaching practice and to support the practice of others.
These modules are designed to enhance professional teaching skills focusing on both the theory and practice of workshop delivery in educational and professional settings. Students will engage in workshop planning and learning to design sessions that foster an inclusive, student-centred environment.
In Professional Practice 1, students will receive structured, mentored observations of teaching practice, allowing participants to reflect critically on pedagogical approaches, classroom management, and learning outcomes. Through these observations and hands-on practice, students develop and refine their teaching techniques, building confidence and expertise to excel in class-based contexts.
In Professional Practice 2, students will develop frameworks and methodologies for reflexive practice as a means towards enhancing their professional development as a teacher.
This module provides an in-depth exploration of curriculum and course design within the context of higher education. Students will explore and connect to foundational frameworks, theories, and practical processes that inform the development of effective, relevant, and impactful arts curricular. The module begins with an introduction to academic frameworks and level descriptors in higher education, examining how these shape the structuring of curriculum content, learning outcomes, and the overall student learning experience. As part of the module, students will explore appropriate assessment and feedback strategies that inform and are responsive to course design and validation processes.
This module connects students to, and builds the foundations for, action research methods, specifically tailored to the context of arts teaching. Designed for practitioners in fields such as dance, drama, visual arts, and music, the module focuses on developing students’ skills in reflective inquiry and iterative research, encouraging them to investigate and improve their own teaching practice through evidence based methods. Emphasising participatory and practice-based approaches, students will learn to design a project and how to implement and evaluate research projects that are directly relevant to their teaching environments.
This module is focused on developing students’ practice through engaging with the action research within their teaching. This will allow students to focus on one area within their practice and follow a systematic approach to research, develop and analyse this element of their teaching. This will not only equip them with expertise in a chosen area of study, but also prepare students to have active ongoing professional development as a core part of their practice, engaging with the latest research and applying it in practical settings.
The school is well equipped to facilitate students’ work in state-of-the-art facilities not shared by any subject area other than dance.
Graduates of the MA Teaching & Facilitating programme at NSCD are already making a significant impact across the UK’s leading conservatoires, theatre companies, schools, and arts education institutions. Equipped with advanced pedagogical insight and facilitation skills, they are designing and delivering meaningful learning experiences for a wide range of students, from aspiring professionals in higher education to community-based participants of all ages and backgrounds. Many go on to lead educational programmes, develop innovative outreach work, and play vital roles in shaping the next generation of creative talent.
The course’s strong emphasis on reflective practice, inclusive pedagogies, and real-world application ensures graduates are prepared to teach with clarity, creativity, and care. They leave with the confidence to navigate diverse teaching contexts, from specialist arts training environments to cross-sector collaborations in health, youth, and social care. This versatility positions them as in-demand educators, facilitators, and leaders, able to contribute to curriculum design, learning policy, and sector-wide initiatives for greater access and participation in the arts.
Graduates also bring a bold, forward-thinking perspective to the cultural sector, championing inclusive, student-centred approaches that reflect today’s social and artistic realities. Whether working as freelance educators, in schools, conservatoires, or cultural institutions, they embody a dynamic balance of artistry and pedagogy. Their work frequently intersects with social justice, community empowerment, and creative innovation – making them not just educators, but agents of change within arts education.
Lecturer at NSCD
Lecturer at NSCD
Programme Lead at Trinity Laban
Freelance choreographer and dancer
Lecturer at NSCD and co-founder of Anatomical Dance
Head of Undergraduate Studies, NSCD
Institute for Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy
Head of Postgraduate Studies, NSCD
Entry is through a successful application, evidence of teaching practice and interview.
Additionally, candidates should normally have gained an Undergraduate degree level qualification in an arts related subject.
Equivalent qualifications may also be accepted depending on the strength of the grades achieved. Equivalent level overseas qualifications are also accepted.
Please see the Overseas Student pages for detailed English Language entry requirements.
Any questions about any of the above can be directed to admissions@nscd.ac.uk
Firstly, you will need to submit an application via our online application portal.
The application will include:
Applicants should submit a short video of their teaching practice (max 30 minutes) which is delivered to a specific cohort. In the video we should be able to clearly identify you, see you demonstrate or articulate your arts practice and hear to facilitate, give direction and guide participants. We appreciate that classes are usually more than 30minutes – it would be useful to have a continuous section of your class which demonstrates the best of you teaching and leading.
When shortlisting you for the practical NSCD will consider:
Shortlisted applicants from Step 1 will be invited to an interview online.
The panel will ask you to reflect on the teaching session you submitted on video and ask the following:
Desire to build and grow your teaching skills to make a different through creative learning and contribute to the arts ecology.
Ability to inspire and engage diverse learners and guide them through creative practice in an engaging and imaginative way.
Open to building meaningful relationships across artistic, educational, and community settings with students, peers, and artists.
Eager to gain exposure to different creative encounters and open to working with diverse communities and learners.
At NSCD, we understand that the dance industry is demanding, that’s why 100% of students requesting wellbeing support are seen within a week, demonstrating our commitment to student resilience. Student support is important because it directly affects academic success, wellbeing, and long-term development.
Learn more about how NSCD’s Student Services can assist you with academic, wellbeing, disability, and injury support: www.nscd.ac.uk/study/student-life/student-services
Student SupportAs part of your decision-making process, we appreciate you will want to research potential programmes of study ahead of application deadlines. To enable you to do this, we work hard to ensure that our website is as up to date as possible.
Although we try to ensure that this is as current as possible, there are always changes we make to ensure that the course is as vibrant and up to date with sector requirement as possible. Dance is a dynamic, fast-moving sector and our courses evolve to ensure they reflect and respond to the industry’s needs.
Sometimes it may be necessary to change course content, delivery and entry requirements, if we believe it will enable us to improve the high-quality experience we offer. Changes sometimes comes because of student feedback/consultations, external examiner feedback and consultation with industry partners.
All reasonable care has been taken to ensure course information is accurate, however NSCD cannot guarantee all courses will be available in exactly the form and detail described here. We encourage you to regularly check the pages of the course(s) you are interested in. At Open Days, Auditions, and Interview Days we will take the opportunity to inform you about any proposed changes and will also notify you if any changes are made after you have accepted an offer.
Our courses are made up of a series of modules. Some are compulsory and some optional, however, we may not be able to offer the full list of modules every year. Option availability will depend on how many students choose a particular option. For an option to run we usually stipulate that 13 students have chosen to take the option. When you accept your offer, please bear in mind that on rare occasions, we may not be able to offer all of the optional modules. Before each year’s teaching starts you will discuss your preferred options with the Head of Faculty and Curriculum Leads who will try to ensure you are able to take them but cannot guarantee it.
