Introduction
The Department of Performance, Play & Design offers a 12-month Master of Arts (M.A.) in Theater Arts degree, which serves as a bridge from undergraduate work to professional work in a range of performance-related fields. It can also place students in an excellent position to pursue further graduate academic work, such as an M.F.A. or Ph.D. The Master of Arts degree combines intellectually rigorous coursework with challenging artistic practice. Like our undergraduate curriculum, our graduate program integrates the study of ancient and modern theater texts and practices, and it examines diverse approaches to performance. It encourages collaboration, initiative, and cross-disciplinary thinking.
Requirements
Course Requirements
Students are required to complete 40 credits for the M.A. in Theater Arts.
This includes three graduate seminars for a total of 15 credits:
These courses are required of all M.A. candidates, regardless of their area of emphasis.
Students must also complete a 10-credit performance research project that includes a professional internship project:
Students may take this course in any quarter in the academic year, though it is advised that the internship portion be completed during the summer before the regular M.A. program begins. This work will be supervised and assessed by a theater arts faculty member.
Students must also complete the following three 5-credit courses:
The Theater Arts M.A. is offered under the Plan II (capstone) option. A capstone paper is written in conjunction with the THEA 299 Capstone Thesis course.
M.A. students will also have the opportunity to complete an additional 5 credits or more of independent study work in their area of interest; for example, participation in a department production or an upper-division undergraduate or graduate course in Theater Arts or in another department. These courses must be approved in advance by the graduate committee and graduate director.
There are no teaching requirements for graduate students in the Theater Arts M.A program; however, students are encouraged to act as teaching assistants, as positions are available, at UC Santa Cruz.
For additional information, please visit the department website or contact the Theater Arts Department and the UCSC Graduate Division.