Program Overview

Theater and Performance Studies, MA

The Master of Arts in Theater and Performance Studies is a 2-year program that requires 36 units to complete.

Master's Candidacy

To earn a master’s degree at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; fulfill all academic and residence requirements; and apply to graduate via Workday Student.

Program Requirements

• Total Units Required: 36 units
• Degree Length: 2 years
  • Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status.
• Grade Requirement: Students must earn a final grade of B or higher in all courses.

I. Required courses: 18 units (6 courses)

1. DRAMA 5101 Introduction to Graduate Studies. This course is designed to familiarize first-year graduate students with expectations for advanced research and professional writing.
2. DRAMA 5303 Performance Theory. This course introduces students to contemporary theories of performance, with "performance" understood as both metaphor and event.
3. DRAMA 5305 Dramatic Theory. An in-depth exploration of core works of dramatic theory from the ancient world to the present, this course focuses on texts that enunciate what theater is, has been, and should be.
4. Theater/Performance History. One 5000-level historically-based seminar from a list of approved courses taught by the Performing Arts Department.
5. Theater Practice. At least one (but no more than three) 5000-level course(s) in theater practice: dramaturgy, directing, playwriting, or design.
6. Master of Arts students in Theater and Performance Studies should develop knowledge of and appreciation for aesthetic forms, intellectual paradigms, and cultural conditions beyond the largely white, Eurocentric approaches that have prevailed in the modern university curriculum.

II. Electives: 15 units (5 courses)

Students are invited to develop a broad-based or specialized curriculum in theater and performance studies, choosing courses from within the Performing Arts Department (including Dance) or as many as four courses (12 units) from departments outside the Performing Arts Department.

III. Master's Research (3 units)

The capstone to the master's degree is the completion of an essay of publishable length (typically 25 double-spaced pages) and quality. This essay is based on a seminar paper written during the student's first three semesters in the program, which must be extensively revised and expanded under the guidance of an advisor. After the revised seminar paper has been submitted to and approved by the director of graduate studies, the student will meet with a committee of three faculty members for an oral exam.