Economics/Theatre Studies
Economics and Theatre Studies is a combination that might seem unexpected at first, but it reflects a genuine truth: understanding how people make decisions, how markets and institutions function, and why societies take the forms they do is enriched by an engagement with the art form most directly concerned with human behaviour, conflict, and the way we tell stories about ourselves. Economics provides rigorous quantitative and theoretical tools for analysing behaviour and social outcomes. Theatre Studies offers an equally serious discipline in performance, text, and the cultural forces that shape what gets made and how audiences respond.
At the University of Glasgow, this part-time programme allows you to pursue both subjects at a pace that fits around other commitments. You will engage with economic theory, quantitative reasoning, and the analysis of markets, institutions, and policy alongside the practice and history of theatre, the study of dramatic texts, and an understanding of the production, reception, and cultural contexts of performance. The programme has close connections with the theatre industry, giving you opportunities to engage with practitioners working at national and international level, which enriches the academic study with professional perspective.
A year abroad option is available, offering the chance to encounter economics and theatre in a different cultural context.
Graduates of this unusual combination develop a distinctive profile: analytical rigour from economics alongside the creative sensitivity, communication skills, and cultural awareness that come from serious engagement with theatre. Careers in arts administration, cultural policy, theatre management, producing, audience development, and broadcasting are natural paths for those whose interests lie in the creative industries. Others apply the economic training to finance, consultancy, the civil service, or research, bringing an unusual breadth of perspective to analytical roles.
Postgraduate study in economics, theatre and performance studies, cultural management, or arts policy offers further specialisation.