College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: theatre [at] indiana [dot] edu

Departmental URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~thtr/index.shtml/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy. Not currently accepting applications for Master of Arts for Teachers.

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Admission Requirements

Undergraduate major in the field or other evidence of ad­equate background. Deficiencies may be removed by course work or special examination. For M.A. and Ph.D. candidates, the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test is required; non-native speakers of English are also required to have minimum TOEFL scores of 600 for the paper test, 250 for the computer-based test, and 100 for the Internet-based test. The GRE General Test is not required for M.F.A. applicants, but non-native speakers who are working on this degree must meet the University Graduate school minimum TOEFL scores of 550 (paper), or 213 (computer-based), or 80 (Internet-based). M.F.A. applicants are required to audition, interview, or submit examples of appropriate work for evaluation. For more detailed information on the application and admission process, please see the Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance Web site.

Master’s Degrees

Master of Arts Degree

Course Requirements

A total of 30 credit hours, of which 15 credit hours must be in departmental courses numbered 500 and above, includ­ing T500; maximum of 5 credit hours in T895. Up to 10 credit hours may be taken in an allied field or area of specialization in another department.

Language Requirement

Ability to translate scholarly material on theatre from one foreign language.

Master’s Essay

A student may satisfy the master’s essay requirement in one of three ways:

1. By submitting a suitable term or seminar paper, revised to the satisfaction of a two-member faculty committee,
2. By writing an original master’s essay not based on any previous paper, or
3. By writing a formal master’s thesis (maximum of 5 credit hours in T895).

Examination

A written examination on the M.A. reading list in dramatic literature, theory, and theatre history. The examination may be repeated once.

Master of Fine Arts Degree

Special Requirements

Applicants must provide evidence of a high degree of technical skill and creative ability in the area of special interest. At the end of each semester in residence, the student’s skill and creative ability will be evaluated as evidenced by work done in the Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance. Only students who have clearly demonstrated growth and excellence will be permitted to remain in the program.

Course Requirements

A minimum total of 60 credit hours of graduate work, with an emphasis in one of the following areas: acting, directing, playwriting, scenic design, lighting design, costume design, costume technology, or theatre technology (certain emphases within the MFA degree require more than 60 hours). The 60 credit hours will include 3 credit hours in the study of resources and materials in the student’s area of special interest and not fewer than 6 credit hours in the area of theatre history, dramatic theory, and dramatic literature. When appropriate, up to 12 credit hours (15 credit hours in costume design) may be taken in an allied field in another department. A maximum of 10 credits may be taken in M.F.A. thesis. For each Master's in these academic programs, a faculty advisor individually prescribes a minimum of 24 credits of courses which the student must complete in the specific major. The distribution of course work will be determined by the student and advisor. A minimum of four semesters or equivalent summer sessions must be spent in residence on the Bloomington campus.

Production Thesis

Required.

Examination

Oral defense of the thesis.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Course Requirements

A total of 90 credit hours, of which 50-60 must be in the major field, including 30 credit hours of courses numbered 500 or above, at least 6 credit hours in advanced seminars, and 15 credit hours of dissertation.

Minor

Approximately 15 credit hours within another department in an area related to drama and theatre.

Other Provisions

To demonstrate an acquaintance with the tools, techniques, and reporting of theatre research, all Ph.D. students are expect­ed (a) to have written a research thesis at the master’s level (if not, a term paper or other evidence of research writing skill should be submitted); (b) to have taken a graduate-level course in research methods (if not, T500 must be taken in the first year of residence); and (c) to show an ability to translate scholarly material on theatre from two languages, usually selected from French, German, Russian, Italian, and Spanish. Consult the director of graduate studies for specific details and approval of language selections.

Examinations

Four comprehensive oral examinations (theatre before 1500, 1500-1800, 1800-1915, and 1915-present), and a qualifying examination (written and oral) in one specific area projected for dissertation investigation. Comprehensives may be taken individually, in any order, and at any time acceptable to both student and faculty. The qualifying examination may be taken only when all course work and language requirements have been completed. A representative from the student’s minor field will be invited to participate in the qualifying examination. The student will be denied further participation in the doctoral program upon failing the qualifying examination twice.