About the Program

Our doctoral program in Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS) blends rigorous scholarly inquiry with creative practice, treating performance as a laboratory for understanding culture, history, and identity. The PhD program combines the study of critical theory, theater history, and performance theory with hands-on training in directing, acting, design, and writing. In our inclusive, highly collaborative community, students conduct independent, embodied research to make original contributions to both scholarship and artistic production. Graduates emerge from the program as highly trained professionals able to work in the field.

What You’ll Study

What you will study at the graduate level depends on your particular degree, academic interests, and professional goals. Key features of our program offerings include:

• Coursework in critical theory, dramatic literature, performance theory, theater history, and performance making.

• Training in critical theory, textual history, elements of production (directing, acting, choreography, writing, and design), and embodied research.

• Learning course development and effective instructional strategies (communication, planning, and leadership) that will support careers through teaching assistantships.

• Developing professional skills by working on research projects under the supervision of a faculty member through research assistantships.

• Producing a substantial and original contribution to scholarship in the form of a doctoral dissertation.