The program of study makes it possible for students to take a significant number of elective courses and independent studies with both faculty members in drama and theater and in other departments. These required seminars must be completed before the end of the student's third year. In addition to the ten required seminars, students must pass a written comprehensive examination in the first year. In the second year, the students must prepare for an oral comprehensive examination.
Students also submit a dissertation prospectus at the time of the oral examination.
Students must advance to candidacy no later than the end of the fall quarter of the fourth year. Upon advancement to candidacy, students write the dissertation that, upon completion, is defended in a final oral examination. TheatreForum, now in its seventh year, is an international theater journal published by the UCSD Department of Theatre and Dance and edited by a faculty collective. The focus of TheatreForum is on performances that reflect contemporary sensibilities and develop new concepts and forms. Such works include the texts of new plays, transcultural adaptations of classic texts, and the performance scores of works that are principally nonverbal.