POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAMME THE FIRST EXAMS
UNIVERSITY OF PELOPONESSE
FACULTY OF FINE ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE STUDIES
POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAMME
" MA in Drama and Performing Arts in Education and Lifelong Learning "
Who took part in the exams?
Oh, those Happy Days in Nafplio...
On Saturday, September 27th, the Department of Theatre Studies of the University of Peloponesse took off for one more time , defying the opposing winds blowing against! In an atmosphere of enthusiasm, 106 candidates met in Nafplio in order to sit the exams for the Post-Graduate Studies Programme (PGSP) and claim one of the 32 offered posts. Quite many of them came from Athens (34%), even more came from Argolida and other parts of Peloponesse (Patras) (42%), from Thessaloniki and the wider area (11%), while the rest came from Cyprus and other islands , such as Crete, Corfu, Syros... The title of the PGSP ? : " MA in Drama and Performing Arts in Education and Lifelong Learning ".
This PGSP is of great originality and uniqueness for Greece. Up until now, whoever desired such kind of educational combination, fled to England. This specific PGSP holds various applications, both on Education ( General and Specific, Primary, Secondary and Higher-Tertiary ) and on the actual premises of Lifelong Learning, such as the Second Chance Schools, the Multi-Cultural Schools, the Museums, the Hospitals, the Prisons, the Camp Sites, the Institutions of Open Protection of the Elderly ( KAΠH ), the Theatres and many others. Furthermore, since the learning outcome pursued is the acquisition of specialized knowledge and the development of multiple skills , this PGSP applies to the highest demands of numerous professional sectors, such as Tourism, Enterprises, Politics, Advertisement, Market Research, Product Promotion, Mass Media etc.
The candidates first sat a written exam on Drama in Education and then on the Research Methodology. The papers were graded by two Professors - firstly sealed for anonymity, the same way as in the Greek University Entrance Exams. They were opened in front of a Professors' Committee.The results were announced in our web-page (www.ts.uop.gr, Post- graduate Studies Entrance Exams) within a week. The issues examined were within the candidates' means, bearing a certain degree of difficulty in the Research Methodology exam paper. The final grade was the outcome of both the portfolio each candidate submitted (40%) and the written papers(60%).
Let's take a closer look at the Professiional and Educational background of the Candidates:
As far as the number of participants coming from Departments of Theatre Studies all around Greece is concerned, we can observe the following:
12 of them, were graduates from the Department of Theatre Studies in Nafplio, 8 came from the Department of Patras, 3 came from the Department of Athens and 2 came from the Department of Thessaloniki, despite the long distance.
Let's ,also, generally see which University Faculties this PGSP candidates came from:
The greatest part belonged to the graduates of Paedagogical Studies of Pre-School and Primary School Education (44). There followed the graduates from Drama Faculties (25). The rest of the candidates held Degrees of Humanistic Studies and Exact Sciences, most of them working in Education. A most interesting fact is that there were candidates coming from the Exact Sciences who were greatly interested in studying the Art of Drama. Also, there were 9 more candidates coming from various fields concerned quite irrelevant to the one this PGSP longs its participants to be introduced to.
What is also extremely interesting is the fact that , from the total of 109 candidates, only 12 had no Certificate of Foreign Language Knowledge, while, as it turned out from the Written Foreign Language Exams taken, 10 of them had sufficient knowledge of English but no Certificate. Furthermore, 1 candidate could speak 4 Foreign Languages and presented the corresponding Certificates while 28 candidates presented Certificates of 2 Foreign Languages.
Finally, 18 candidates presented a 2nd University Degree and 4 of them already held a Post-Graduate Title.
This PGSP has been designed to be polyphonic and multi-dimensional, both theoretical and practical. Its thematic axes are the Art of Drama in Education, the Performing Arts, Lifelong Learning and Research. For the time being, the person responsible for the Programme, Professor Alkistis Kontogianni, the Chairwoman of the Department and Dean of the Faculty, has contacted with 73 prominent scientists and artists. They, along with their fellow Foreign Colleagues, are to staff the Programme, which is under the management of Mrs Kontogianni, Mr Tsiaras and Mrs Zoniou and is supported by the Professors of the Department.
As far as the Timetable of the PGSP is concerned, it takes place every Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 - 19:40 . ( www.ts.uop.gr μεταπτυχιακό, ΗΜΕΡΟΛΟΓΙΟ) . There are Sundays when open to the Public seminars are held. In this perspective, the PGSP from its side, promotes the co-existence and collaboration among the Post-Graduate Students, the University and the Local Society, along with the Lifelong Learning Programme continuously operating during the Pre-Graduate Studies Schedule, accepting audience ,free of charge, in a number of courses lasting a whole semester. It is our pleasure to remind you all that the members of the audience who attend classes throughout the semester obtain a Certificate of Attendance , concerning the course(s) they attended. Here lies the very essence of Education: A University open to Society and in interaction with it, a University which belongs to its People and becomes a Mental and Cultural Centre for Everybody. From now on, the PGSP becomes the Go-Between among all the above.
AFTER THE RESULTS - HERE WE GO!
Letter from the Chairwoman, Alkistis Kontogianni
Our dear, exquisite, Post-Graduate Studies Programme Students,
We, all the Professors of our Department, deeply desire to congratulate you on your great success. We will all be waiting for you tomorrow, at 10:45.
At 11:00, a truly Historical Time for the University of Peloponesse and for the Department of Theatre Studies, the new PGSP "MA in Drama and Performin Arts in Education and Lifelong Learning" , a Performance of Knowledge and Life,starts in full power! You, and almost 75 carefully selected Professors are called to play the Leading Roles. We wish you all an Excellent Start, Strength, Joy, Pleasure, Creativity!
After your great success I hope your spirits are so high that they are transformed into the Power which will unite you all with one another.
Come! Let's create a unique, lifelong experience for all of us!
I look forward to seeing you all at our meeting place!
Alkistis Kontogianni
