Graduate Bulletin

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE

New admissions to the MA in Theatre program have been suspended, and it is expected that the program will be phased out. As national standards indicate a diminishing need for an MA in Theatre, it is necessary to rethink what is educationally valuable in these changing times. The Department will be considering the creation of a terminal MFA program in the future, but will now focus its attention on its undergraduate program.

Theatre is a performing art. It is also a major area of study through which one may gain a liberal arts education. The Department of Theatre offers a program which assumes these two views of the theatre to be mutually supportive. Designing, directing, acting, writing, stagecraft, history, theory, criticism, and dramatic literature are considered interdependent studies. However, a degree of specialization is expected of all students.

All students enrolled in the master's program in Theatre are expected, in addition to the completion of coursework, to perform ancillary teaching, research, or production duties contributing to their academic development whether or not they receive financial support from this institution.

Program Leading to the Master of Arts Degree

General Sequence

  1. A minimum of 30 credits is required. Theatre (24 credits minimum) including:

    1. Thr 500 Introduction to Graduate Research (2);

    2. Thr 680 Seminar in Dramatic Art (4) or Thr 699 Master's Thesis (4);

    3. Additional courses as advised in the areas of theatre and/or drama (18 credits), at least 6 credits of which will be in theatre department courses in theatre history, theory, or dramatic literature;

  2. Supporting courses, as advised (6 credits);

  3. Satisfactory completion of a departmental examination in theatre and drama no later than one year after completion of coursework.