The Master of Arts in Literary, Cultural, and Performance Studies program is an innovative inter-disciplinary program that aims to equip scholars with the critical tools, perspectives, and methodologies necessary to the study of literature, cultural phenomena, and performance in their proper historical, aesthetic, and geopolitical contexts. As graduate students advance in the program, they will receive increasingly focused supervision from mentors who are active researchers.

The literary studies track prepares students to embark on a relevant program of research focused on the literary production of the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific by equipping them with a strong foundation in literary theory, historiographical inquiry, comparative methods, and interdisciplinary approaches. Recent faculty research initiatives that students may work on include contemporary Philippine literature, performance and protest, LGBTQI literature, translation studies, decoloniality and postcolonial theory, travel writing, and Philippine regional writing.

The cultural studies track draws from contemporary critical and cultural theories to examine the local and global in various cultural texts and practices and to demonstrate how their production, dissemination, reception, and consumption are informed by power and are inviolably linked with critical notions of aesthetics, representation, ideology, politics, ethics, and other key concepts. Students will critically engage with current problems and issues of cultural phenomena such as migration and diaspora, nationalism and transnationalism, and globalization.


The performance studies track examines various types of performances from the stage to the streets, from private to public spectacles, and examines not only what they mean but also how they signify, towards what ends, and for whose interests. Students may choose from a range of topics like forms of performance, sites of performance, performance as critical lens/methodology, and performance studies and its intersections with other disciplines.

The program aims to nurture scholars who will demonstrate critical and creative thinking skills and possess adequate knowledge of literary forms and traditions as well as critical or theoretical concepts and perspectives crucial to the study and appreciation of literature, culture, and performance. Overall, the program aims to upgrade the skills of scholars so that they may be able to contribute to the growth of scholarship in the humanities in the country and foster a critical understanding and appreciation of various literary texts, cultural practices, and performance traditions, especially those from the Philippines.

Given its focus on the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific, the program is the university’s commitment to the promotion and study of Philippine culture and its diverse ephemeral/enduring forms and spectacular incarnations.