Theatre Education: Program Structure

• 40 credit hours including:
  • Five required courses, which include one course in each of the following areas:
    • Acting
    • Directing
    • Theatre history, dramatic literature, or playwriting
    • Theatre design or technology
    • Theatre education/theatre for young audiences.
  • Five elective courses
  • Required completion of a four-credit master's thesis or project, or comprehensive examinations.
• Full- or part-time enrollment (Full-time enrollment is typically 8 or 12 credits per semester)
• Classes generally meet in the day or evening
• Fall admission
• Concentration in one of three streams: Theatre Teacher Education, Theatre and Community, or Theatre Education (PhD preparation)

Choose from Three Tracks

1. Theatre Teacher Education -Through the Theatre Teacher Education stream, you will be given the tools and the know-how to teach drama to children pre-K through grade 12 in public and private school settings. You will become licensed to teach in the Massachusetts public school system.
2. Theatre and Community - As a teaching artist and community advocate, you will explore the uses of theatre in a variety of community settings such as community theatre, recreation and arts centers, museums, professional theatre for young audiences, or in educational outreach for professional theatre.
3. Theatre Education in preparation for a PhD - The Theatre Education for Ph.D preparation stream will prepare you for a terminal degree (Ph.D or MFA), with which you will be qualified to teach at the college level.

Educator Preparation and Licensure

For those interested in pursuing a career in public school teaching, students in Theatre Education can earn a Massachusetts teaching license (all levels) as a Teacher of Theatre in our Department of Education-approved program.