Program Overview

PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies

The graduate program in Theatre and Performance Studies trains scholar-artists to develop projects in theatre history, performance studies, critical theory, and cultural analysis in various performance traditions and global contexts. Our faculty specialize in illuminating how social and cultural formations — particularly gender, race, indigeneity, ethnicity, sexuality, colonization, and class — inform performances both on and off stage. In turn, we support and celebrate interdisciplinary scholarship from our graduate students that centers shared concerns of performance, such as the body, repetition, liveness, and visuality, while at the same time taking up concerns in outside fields of inquiry. As a faculty, we approach performance through diverse methods, such as historiography, ethnography, and critical analysis of performance texts. We welcome students from underrepresented communities, and we believe that people of color, disabled people, queer and trans folks, and first-generation scholars produce new ways of seeing and knowing that facilitate thinking and working in a diverse classroom.

Program Details

• The program focuses on theatre history, performance studies, critical theory, and cultural analysis.
• It explores various performance traditions and global contexts.
• Faculty specialize in social and cultural formations, including gender, race, indigeneity, ethnicity, sexuality, colonization, and class.
• Interdisciplinary scholarship is supported and celebrated, with a focus on shared concerns of performance, such as the body, repetition, liveness, and visuality.
• Diverse methods are used, including historiography, ethnography, and critical analysis of performance texts.

Resources

• Graduate Student Handbooks
• Graduate Newsletters
• Admissions and Aid
• Guiding Principals for Rehearsals and Production
• Dissertations and Theses
• Professional Development

Related Programs

• BA in Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies
• Minor in Theatre and Performance Studies
• Minor in Dance
• PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies

Program Approach

The program approaches performance through diverse methods, including historiography, ethnography, and critical analysis of performance texts. It welcomes students from underrepresented communities and values the contributions of people of color, disabled people, queer and trans folks, and first-generation scholars. The program aims to facilitate thinking and working in a diverse classroom, promoting new ways of seeing and knowing. Current graduate students can consult The Graduate Handbooks for all requirements, milestones, and department procedures.