Frequently asked Questions about Studying at the ITW

The main areas of study at the Institute for Theatre Studies are: Theatre history, contemporary theatre and dance history.

In addition to the introductory module in the bachelor's program, courses are taken in the modules Theater/Dance Historiography, Aesthetics, and Theory. In the master's program, courses are taken in the modules Science, Criticism, and Practices.

In the bachelor's program:

• H=History/Historiography
• T=Theory
• Ä=Aesthetics

In the master's program:

• W=Science
• K=Criticism
• P=Practices

These categories must be occupied in a roughly balanced way:

BA major (120 ECTS):

• H: 4 lectures, 2 seminars, and 2 ksA
• T: 2 lectures, 3 seminars, and 1 ksA
• Ä: 1 lecture, 3 seminars, and 1 ksA

BA minor (60 ECTS):

• H: 3 lectures, 1 seminar, and 1 ksA
• T: 1 lecture, 1 or 2 seminars, 1 ksA (if 2 seminars are attended)
• Ä: 1 lecture, 1 or 2 seminars, 1 ksA (if 2 seminars are attended)

BA minor (30 ECTS):

• H/T/Ä: 2 seminars and 1 ksA

MA major (90 ECTS):

• W: 1 exercise; 1 lecture; 2 research seminars or 1 research seminar + 2 lectures; 1 ksA
• K: 1 writing seminar; 2 seminars or 1 seminar + 1 field trip; 1 ksA
• P: 1 internship; 1 project; 1 seminar; 1 ksA

MA minor (30 ECTS):

• W or K: 1 research seminar or 1 writing seminar; 1 seminar, 1 ksA
• W or K or P: 1 seminar or research seminar or 2 lectures; internship or project or field trip; 1 ksA

MA Major from fall semester 26 (90 ECTS):

• W: 1 exercise; 1 lecture; 2 seminars or 1 seminar + 2 lectures; 1 gsA
• K: 3 seminars or 2 seminars + 1 field trip; 1 gsA
• P: 1 internship; 1 project; 1 seminar

MA minor from fall semester 26 (30 ECTS):

• W, K or P: 2 lectures; 3 seminars or 2 seminars + 1 internship or 1 project or 1 field trip; 2 gsA

Legend: VL=lecture, S=seminar, Ü=exercise; EX: field trip, PK: internship, PJ: project, FS: research seminar, SchS: writing seminar, ksA=short paper; gsA=long paper

Career prospects after studying theater and dance studies are diverse. Thanks to a well-rounded degree program, an independent project and internship, and an excellent network of collaboration partners and alumni, our students are able to quickly launch their careers. Possible career prospects include:

• Artistic director
• Cultural journalist
• Cultural manager
• Cultural politician
• Cultural promoter
• Cultural representative
• Curator
• Director
• Dramaturg
• Theater and dance critic
• Theater and dance scholar
• Production manager
• Publishing editor

The guidelines for scientific papers can be found under Courses.

Appointments with the Student Advisory Service can be arranged by e-mail (studienberatung.itw@unibe.ch).

The secretary is located at the University Mittelstrasse (Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern) on the 1st floor in office 102.

Registration for courses and performance assessments is done via the so-called Core System Teaching (KSL). Further information on registration via KSL can be found on the general University of Bern homepage here. 

The KSL (Core System Teaching) shows all courses at the University of Bern and the relevant information: Who organises and supervises the event, the place and time it is held and much more. Students and staff of the University of Bern manage study profiles and academic achievements (grades and degrees) on KSL. If you have any questions, please contact KSL Support: support.vsl@unibe.ch 

ILIAS is an acronym for Integrated Learning, Information and Work Cooperation System. The aim of ILIAS is to create a flexible learning and working environment with integrated tools. 

ILIAS is the central teaching and learning platform of the University of Bern. It can be used for the efficient and simple accompaniment and support of face-to-face courses as well as for the implementation of extensive online courses.

www.ilias.unibe.ch 

Ilias-Support: ilias@unibe.ch 

All courses of each semester are published on the Leçon, the annotated course catalogue of the ITW, on the ITW homepage about two months before the beginning of the semester. The Leçon can be downloaded here.

Time specifications for courses at the University of Bern include the so-called "academic quarter". This means that seminars and lectures start a quarter past an hour after the hour and end a quarter before the hour. 

At the University of Bern, this practice is taken for granted and is not specifically mentioned. Sometimes, however, the academic quarter is also indicated as c.t. (cum tempore - with time). However, if a course does not include the academic quarter, this is indicated as s.t. (sine tempore - without time). It then starts at the full time indicated.

D/AA: Dramaturgy und performance analysis, TG: Theatre- or. Dance history, TT: Theatre- or Dance theory, H: History/Historegraphy, T: Theory, Ä: Asthetic

• Lecture: open for BA and MA students 
• BA seminar: open to BA students only 
• MA/BA seminar: open to all students who have completed both basic course modules. MA students have priority, the number of participants is limited. 
• Seminar integral: open to BA and MA students of all semesters. 
• Block seminar: open to BA and/or MA students, depending on the designation, the seminar takes place on a few dates as a full-day block. 
• MA exercise: open to MA students only

The lectures provide an overview of the history of theater and dance in Europe, an in-depth examination of historical and theoretical topics, and an overview of the aesthetics of contemporary theater and dance. The work completed in the lectures is usually assessed and graded by means of written examinations. Lectures (apart from the introductory lecture, which is aimed at BA students in their first semesters) are open to BA and MA students in all semesters and are worth 3 ECTS credits.

The event is aimed at students who are preparing their master's thesis in the Theater Studies/Dance Studies program, as well as PhD students at ITW. They can present their concepts and initial excerpts and discuss them with the participants. It takes place every Monday from 2:15 to 3:45 p.m. and awards 3 ECTS credits for MA students and 6 ECTS credits for doctoral students.

All digital teaching material, be it texts, podcasts or video links, can be found in the relevant folder with the title of the course on ILIAS, the digital learning platform of the University of Bern, link: www.ilias.unibe.ch.

The University of Bern offers its students a free zoom account. Students receive access to the zoom account via their campus account.

A consultation hour is a meeting arranged personally with the lecturer. This arrangement is usually made by email. Students have the opportunity to discuss aspects of their studies such as the conception of written work, feedback on written work, but also general questions about their studies in private with their lecturer. 

These discussions are confidential and can be very useful. They give students the opportunity to receive feedback and advice specifically tailored to their needs. For the lecturers, it is a good opportunity to get to know their students better and to get a clearer picture of how they can best support them in their studies.

Academic papers are sent as a pdf file to the lecturer and CC to the Student Advisory Service by email.

Small written papers (ksA) are academic papers, each dealing with a topic and a separate focus, which students must complete in the course of their studies. The ksA serve as exercises for writing larger papers, as well as Bachelor's and Master's theses, and dissertations.

You can find more information on writing academic papers here.

Registration for the small written paper takes place after consultation with the supervising lecturer on KSL. Up to 3 papers per semester can be credited under the rubric small written papers. 

Internships should take place within a professional production framework. This includes internships (Volontariate und Hospitanzen) in professional cultural institutions such as municipal and state theatres, a production assistance or internship in an established production house or festival, publishing houses, archives, museums, newspaper editorial offices and media institutions. In addition, you can also have your own professionally conducted projects credited as internships. To do so, you must enclose a venue confirmation and proof of funding. For the crediting of the internship, contact a professor or an assistant of the institute at an early stage.

(German) Richtlinien für Praktika

To successfully complete a seminar, you may miss a maximum of three double hours.

You can apply for the BA diploma online on the dean's office website (German). However, it is important that all requirements are fulfilled beforehand. The diploma can only be applied for when both the major subject and the minor subject are marked "Subject requirements fulfilled" on KSL. This is entered automatically for Theatre Studies after acceptance of the Bachelor's thesis and successful completion of the examination. The minor subject must be requested separately. Finally, the entire top bar should appear green on KSL. In order to apply for the diploma, you also need proof of payment of CHF 300 to the Dean's Office. You can find more information about these fees here. The diploma will be sent by post.

You can register for the MA exam on the dean's office website. You have to register for the exam and the thesis half a year before submission. You can find more detailed information on the Master's degree here (German).

You can easily register for the transfer to the Master's programme via Selfservice. The procedure is analogous to enrolment for a new semester, whereby you do not select "Continue studying with the same study programme", but rather "Transfer to Master's study programme". This is noted and as soon as the Bachelor's diploma has been applied for and accepted, you are transferred to the Master's programme on KSL.

The MA diploma can be applied for online (German), just like the BA diploma. However, it is important that all requirements are fulfilled beforehand. The diploma can only be applied for when both the major subject and the minor subject are marked "Subject requirements fulfilled" on KSL. This is entered automatically for Theatre Studies after acceptance of the Master's thesis and successful completion of the examination. The minor subject must be requested separately. Finally, the entire top bar should appear green on KSL. In order to apply for the diploma, you also need proof of payment of CHF 300 to the Dean's Office. You can find more information about these fees here (German). The diploma will be handed over at the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

The SUB offers the purchase of free tickets to events and theatre for the student body.

https://sub.unibe.ch/de/account-1.html?auth_service=login&origin=%2Fde%2Fkultur%2Ffreier-eintritt-53.html  

Language and images not only trace social realities, but also significantly shape them by influencing our perception, our thinking and our actions. Language is not fixed once and for all, but keeps pace with social changes and also helps to bring them about. How we speak, write and depict is important for shaping equitable gender relations. Gender-equitable language use is easy to learn. It is a question of awareness and habit.

The University of Bern has developed a detailed leaflet on this topic, which can be downloaded here.

It explains the 4 basic principles:

1. Visibility of all genders
2. Abstraction and neutralisation of gender
3. Gender symmetry in spoken language, written language and figurative language
4. Visibility of gender diversity