Texas A&M’s new M.A. program emphasizes the ethnographic study of vernacular culture. The department has strengths in Africana studies, dance and ritual studies, ethnomusicology,  folklore, performance ethnography, popular music studies, religious studies, theatre and media studies, and women’s studies. Assistantships are available.

A wide range of career options are open to those trained in performance studies.  These include:

• Positions in museums, folk arts agencies, and public history programs
• Work as cultural advisors for media outlets (including commercial and noncommercial television, film, music production, and culturally oriented magazines and Web sites) and for organizations specializing in international tourism
• Employment in NGOs that specialize in cultural preservation

Further, those with M.A. degrees in performance studies may pursue a doctoral degree in the field of performance studies, as well as folklore, theatre, music, dance, communication, and cultural studies.