New York University was the first in the country to develop an academic program leading to a Master of Arts degree in drama therapy. The program attracts theatre professionals and educators, therapists, and those working in the fields of medicine, nursing, and special education. Students come from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds to study and apprentice with the leading professionals in the creative arts therapies.
Classes are small and instruction individualized.
The drama therapy program has been approved by the National Association for Drama Therapy. Career Opportunities Graduates are employed in a variety of therapeutic settings throughout the world, including Veterans Affairs hospitals, public and private mental health clinics, centers for adults with developmental disabilities, nursing homes, and drug rehabilitation centers. Drama therapists work in medical facilities as well as artistic ones, in social services as well as private practice. Drama therapists also treat dysfunctional families and, more generally, healthy individuals in need of exploring significant life problems. The Master of Arts degree program requires 48 points for completion, including course work in drama therapy, educational theatre, psychology, counseling, and related creative arts therapies.