Through the Graduate College the theatre department offers both the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. The Master's program is designed to relate basic ideas in theatre history, theory and criticism to creative production in an effort to prepare students for futures in education, professional study, or further graduate study. The M.A. is an academically oriented degree.
Most students complete the program in two semesters and a summer session.
The Doctor of Philosophy is a terminal degree for those students planning careers as faculty members in higher education. It is clearly an academically oriented degree that is focused on the student's ability to do teaching, research and writing in an area of specialization. The Ph.D. program normally requires four semesters of study and the completion of a dissertation. Admission usually requires 36 quarter hours or 24 semester hours of undergraduate work in theatre, including courses in acting, directing, technical theatre, and dramatic literature. Applicants with undergraduate majors in fields other than theatre will be considered for admission on an individual basis and may be required to take specified remedial undergraduate course work.