Apply Now: PhD Program in Critical Studies in Improvisation
Fall 2026 applications are now open for the PhD Program in Critical Studies in Improvisation (IMPR) at the University of Guelph. A transformative, four-year program, IMPR blends rigorous academic research with arts-based community engagement. This interdisciplinary program emphasizes improvisation as a powerful tool for social change, fostering innovative research and creative methodologies.
The IMPR program incorporates foundations in critical inquiry, multidisciplinary improvisatory practices, performative agency, and community engagement, built on years of award-winning, arts-based research and training by the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI).
Through study and experiential learning opportunities, students in the IMPR program will develop expertise in the primary research area of Critical Studies in Improvisation and a complementary secondary field, working toward a dissertation or a practice-based research creation output and gaining—in the process—broadly applicable practical skills in project development, management and implementation, leadership, collaboration, and pedagogy.
Students will:
– experience a program that is exciting, rewarding, and completely unique;
– explore the role of improvisation as a driver of social change, creativity, and cross-cultural dialogue;
– work in close association with IICSI and its network of partners, researchers, and collaborators;
– make scholarly and creative contributions with implications for policy, arts programming, and cultural initiatives; and
– play a role in community-engaged scholarship at the global level.
The high standard of scholarship fostered by the IMPR program is exemplified through student awards and academic contributions, from PhD Candidate and SSHRC Storytellers finalist Lucy Bilson’s “Improvising Design” video to student-authored chapters in the highly-praised collection The Improviser’s Classroom, by Daniel Fischlin and Mark Lomanno (2025), for example. IICSI’s peer-reviewed journal, Critical Studies in Improvisation / Études critiques en improvisation, also provides opportunities for students to share cutting-edge work alongside leading researchers in this field of study.
In a nutshell, this unique program opens up pathways to academic and professional publishing, teaching opportunities, community arts facilitation, and more.
Applications are being accepted until January 31st, 2026.
Learn more about program details and what you need to apply by visiting the program’s website: https://www.uoguelph.ca/arts/improv/phd.
If you would like more personalized information about the application process, please send an email to IICSI Director Eric Fillion at [email protected].
