Courses and Requirements for Theatre Arts Majors and Minors

Major Courses and Requirements

The course requirements for students pursuing a Theatre Arts option within the Department of Speech Communication are held to a minimum, with the intention of allowing the student (and their faculty advisor) to devise a program most suited to the student's specific needs and objectives.

Areas of concentration within theatre Arts are possible, but not necessary. Working within a liberal arts framework and perspective, all undergraduate theatre students are expected to complete coursework and demonstrate basic knowledge in two general areas of study:

1. Theatre History, Dramatic Literature, Theory & Criticism
2. Design/Technical, Performance

In addition, theatre arts students must demonstrate production skills through participation in University Theatre shows on the Withycombe Hall Main stage and/or in the Withycombe Hall Lab Theatre. Academic credit may be earned for selected University Theatre production experiences via TA 250 of TA 350 (Theatre Workshop), or in certain cases TA 406 (projects).

Faculty approval for any production-related credit MUST be secured prior to registration. In most cases production related credits do not apply toward student's work toward a Theatre Arts option or minor but may, within certain limits, count toward their university-required electives.

(A minimum of 24 hours of elective courses are required by the University for graduation. At least half of the elective courses must be in courses from outside the Department of Speech Communication.)

Note: Grades for all TA courses used for a major or minor must be at least C-. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required for all courses applied to the major/minor. A maximum of 60 term credits hours may be included in either departmental or interdepartmental majors.