The Department of Theatre & Performance Studies offers a liberal arts program to help prepare students for a variety of careers, including careers in acting, directing, theatrical design, dance, storytelling and more.
B.A. Program in Theatre and Performance Studies
The Department of Theatre and Performance Studies offers a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Performance Studies, with tracks in performance (including acting, storytelling and performance art), musical theatre, design/technology, and directing. The major provides student artists with a foundation in theatre as an historic, global, and aesthetic form, through the study of a variety of performance texts and styles, from classical and modern drama to musical theatre, folk and literary narratives, performance art, and classical and contemporary poetry. Emphasizing the interrelationship between theory and praxis, the major prepares students for entry into the profession or for graduate study in theatre or other related fields.
Theatre and performance studies majors take 18 hours of lower-division foundational courses, which introduces them to our program of study. At the 3000- and 4000-level, students take a core of classes including acting, visual imagination, play analysis, and theatre and performance history. Additionally, students select a three-course track choosing from emphases in performance (including acting, storytelling, and performance art), directing, design/technology, or musical theatre. The theatre and performance studies major culminates in a senior seminar and nine (9) hours of an applied/professional sequence. The applied/professional sequence, which is individually designed in cooperation with the student’s advisor, may include combinations of internships, co-ops, directed studies, international study, and/or service learning components. All theatre and performance studies majors must demonstrate competence in foreign languages up through the level of FL 2002.
Minor Program in Dance
The Department offers a minor program in dance. The flexible nature of this academic and performance program is geared towards providing students the opportunity to receive a well-rounded dance education at the undergraduate level. Through a variety of academic and practical experiences, this minor aims at preparing students physically and intellectually for the professional world of dance. Students will also have the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills they need to pursue dance at a graduate level. Classes are offered in ballet, modern, musical theatre dance forms, jazz, choreography, dance history, kinesiology, performance, tap and ethnic dance.
“Related Studies” in Theatre and Performance Studies
Students in other degree programs with interests in theatre and performance studies can complete the “Related Studies” component of their degree by completing four upper-division classes in the department.
Download the Course Requirements and Advisement Worksheet:
2007 version for students entering Fall 2007 and later
2005 version for students matriculating prior to Fall 2007
Course requirements are also available online in the KSU Undergraduate Catalog.