2024-2025 Graduate & Professional Studies Catalog
Department of Theatre Arts
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Return to: Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
The Department of Theatre Arts fosters a collaborative, inclusive learning community and excellence in theoretical and practical research and pedagogy through its MFA Performance Pedagogy and PhD Theatre and Performance Studies programs. The structure of the programs and their intersections encourage ways of thinking and communicating within and beyond students’ fields and the academy in support of students’ diverse personal and career goals.
The MFA program is designed to equip working, professional actors with the tools to expand their employment opportunities in teaching acting and other performance styles at the college and university level. It offers a dynamic synthesis of teaching, practice, and scholarship. This program is based on the premise that the professional actor has already gained a level of craft and broad experience that can become the foundation for solid teaching skills. Therefore, emphasis is placed on exploration and strengthening of pedagogical techniques as related to areas of acting and performance training.
The PhD program prioritizes the integration of scholarship with teaching and artistic practice in order to prepare students to be competitive candidates for academic positions at a variety of institutions, post-doctoral research opportunities, and employment sectors beyond academia. In line with the department’s intellectual vision, the program integrates theory and practice and focuses on underrepresented groups and areas of research, including migration, disability studies, race, gender, sexuality, religion, and transnationalism, across historical, historiographical, literary, performance studies, and practice-based research methodologies.
For additional information on these aspects of study in the theatre arts at Pitt, visit the department website: www.play.pitt.edu.
Contact Information
Website: www.play.pitt.edu
Theatre Box Office: 412-624-PLAY (7529)
Department Chair: Annmarie Duggan
E-mail: duggan@pitt.edu
Office: 1601C Cathedral of Learning
Phone: 412-624-7285
Fax: 412-624-6338
Director of Graduate Studies: Michelle Granshaw
E-mail: MKG31@pitt.edu
Office: 1601B Cathedral of Learning
Phone: 412-624-6467
Fax: 412-624-6338
Graduate Student Services Administrator: LJ Woolcock-Srolovic
E-mail: liw151@pitt.edu
Fax: 412-648-3303
Admissions
Applicants to the PhD program in Theatre and Performance Studies should demonstrate a desire for rigorous research at the PhD level; potential for teaching excellence; interest in the exploration of artistic practice; and capacity for creative and critical risk-taking (in terms of research, artistic practice, and teaching). An MA in theatre arts is not a prerequisite for admission to the program. The department admits some highly qualified students with BAs directly into the PhD program.
Applicants to the MFA Program in Performance Pedagogy must demonstrate a desire to develop a pedagogical approach to teaching performance; exhibit potential for teaching excellence; show interest in practice-based research; demonstrate ability to collaborate across degree programs; and display a willingness to continue professional experience outside of the classroom. Successful applicants will be seasoned professional actors willing to make a full commitment of time and energy to the program.
An undergraduate major in theatre arts is normally a prerequisite for admission to the program, though exceptions can be made if circumstances warrant. Because candidates will be teaching extensively during their residency, some teaching experience is preferred.
Rubrics with admissions criteria are available for both programs on our department website.
Financial Assistance
MFA students receive two years of funding comprised of teaching assistantships (TA) and teaching fellowships (TF). PhD students receive five years of fellowship, TA, and TF funding. The requirements established by the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid must be met in order for students to be eligible. All students receiving fellowships, TAs, and TFs receive a full aid package that includes tuition, health benefits, and a stipend. Doctoral students also are eligible to apply for university fellowships, including Provost’s Humanities Fellowship, Guiterrez Fellowship, K. Leroy Irvis Fellowship, and Mellon Pre-Doctoral Fellowship.
Theatre Arts Faculty (https://www.play.pitt.edu/people/theatre-arts-faculty)
ProgramsDoctoralMaster’s
CoursesTheatre Arts
Return to: Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
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