Performing Arts - Teacher Education Academic Secondary Education [Gymnasium]: List of all study programs in Germany (2026/27)

Performing arts—often referred to as theater or school theater—is a relatively new but increasingly popular subject in high schools that uniquely combines artistic education with personal development. As a performing arts teacher, you enable students to explore themselves and the world through their bodies, voices, and acting. You stage plays together, develop your own performances, work with improvisation, and teach the basics of dramaturgy, directing, and stage design. The subject promotes skills that are indispensable in today's society: expressiveness, empathy, teamwork, creativity, and the courage to perform in front of others. The program combines theater-oriented components such as acting, directing, and physical work with theoretical foundations in theater studies, aesthetics, and theater education. Depending on the state, performing arts is offered as a separate subject or as an extension subject. Those who have theater experience, enjoy creative processes, and want to offer young people a space where they can experiment, fail, and surpass themselves will find this teaching profession to be an exceptionally lively and enriching career field.