Wimbledon College of Arts, part of University of the Arts London (UAL), offers a one-of-a-kind postgraduate course—MA Puppetry. If you want to turn your creative ideas into live, moving art, this course gives you that space and support.
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What Is the MA Puppetry Course?
This MA focuses on making puppets, performing with them, and designing stories around them. It blends fine art, theatre, design, and performance. You don’t need a background in puppetry to apply. Students come from many paths—visual arts, theatre, design, or performance.
The course runs for 15 months full-time. You’ll spend time in studios, workshops, and rehearsals. You’ll also work on your own projects, guided by expert tutors.
Why Study Puppetry at Wimbledon?
Wimbledon is known for its strong theatre and performance design courses. It has top-class facilities for model-making, costume, and stage work.
Puppetry is more than just kids’ shows. It’s used in film, TV, theatre, therapy, education, and even activism. This course helps you explore all that. You’ll look at puppetry in culture, politics, and society. You’ll also get to test ideas with real audiences.
What You’ll Learn
The course breaks into key areas:
- Design and making – You learn how to make puppets using wood, fabric, foam, paper, and more. You explore shapes, joints, and controls.
- Performance – You train your body to move puppets with purpose. You’ll act with them, not just use them as tools.
- Storytelling – You learn how to write short scripts, scenes, and shows where puppets drive the story.
- Research and theory – You read, watch, and think. You study how puppets are used across the world and in history.
Every student also develops a final project. It might be a short puppet show, an installation, or a film using puppets. You decide the format, and tutors help you build it up.
Studio and Workshop Life
You’ll work in shared studios with access to tools, rigs, and materials. The school gives you space to test ideas without pressure. There are also shared sessions where you present work-in-progress to tutors and peers.
You’ll get feedback, but not grades on every step. It’s more about learning from each other.
You’ll also get one-to-one support and group sessions with guest artists. Some of them are puppeteers who work in film and theatre. This gives you links to the working world of puppetry.
Who Should Apply?
You don’t need to be a trained actor or sculptor. But you must be curious and ready to make things with your hands. If you like storytelling, movement, or objects with character, this course may suit you.
You’ll need a BA degree or equal work experience. Your portfolio should show creative thinking. It doesn’t need to include puppets. Work from art, stage, fashion, animation, or design can be part of it.
Career Options After the Course
Graduates go on to work in:
- Theatre companies
- Animation studios
- TV or film as puppet designers or makers
- Art therapy
- Teaching
- Freelance puppet performance
Some start their own companies or collectives. Others work with schools or museums.
This MA opens more than one door. It’s not just about puppet shows—it’s about movement, story, and design.
How to Apply
Applications open in autumn and close when places are filled. It’s best to apply early. You’ll submit a personal statement and a portfolio. Shortlisted applicants are invited to an interview.
If you’re not from the UK, you may need a student visa. UAL offers support with this.
Fees and Funding
The full-time fee for UK students is around £12,000. International fees are higher, about £25,000. Payment plans and scholarships are available. Some students also apply for postgraduate loans.
UAL offers advice on budgeting, funding, and housing.
Final Thoughts
MA Puppetry at Wimbledon College of Arts is for artists who want to bring stories to life—literally. It’s not a side path. It’s a serious art form, with space for play, protest, and power.
If you want to build, move, and perform with things that talk without voices, this course gives you the skills and space to do that.
It’s not a common degree. That’s what makes it worth exploring.
Quick Facts Recap:
- Course length: 15 months (full-time)
- Location: Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL
- Focus: Puppet-making, performance, design, and theory
- Entry: BA degree or strong creative portfolio
- Start month: Usually September
- Funding: Loans, scholarships, bursaries
Useful Links:
- UAL Wimbledon MA Puppetry Course Page (Search “MA Puppetry” on UAL site)
