The M.A. in Theatre allows students to pursue a range of intellectual and artistic goals in design, directing, acting, dance, children's theatre, and scholarship. Students who wish to pursue the M.A. during the Summer Session may complete their degrees by registration in three consecutive summer sessions plus one regular quarter. The M.F.A. in Stage Design focuses on the development of the artistic, design, theoretical, and communication skills necessary for significant careers in the theatre.
Students study in primary and secondary design areas according to their interests and career goals.
In addition, design students participate in seminars to study text analysis, period research, and collaboration skills. The collaboration between designer and director is central to this study and results in produced and theoretical theatre work. Understanding of the collaborative process involved in directing individual artistic skills toward a shared vision of a theatrical experience is of central importance in the curriculum. The M.F.A. degrees in Stage Design and Directing are terminal degrees analogous to the Ph.D. Students wishing to consider doctoral study should examine the description of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama. The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in the Graduate Study at Northwestern University section of The Graduate School Bulletin.