MU Department of Theatre > Undergraduate Program

PHOTO: Scene from The Madwoman of Chaillot

Theatre - University of Missouri-Columbia

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Quick question about undergraduate academics? E-mail our academic advisor, Helen Atkinson:

atkinsonh@missouri.edu

Where performance and scholarship share the bill!

PHOTO: Undergraduate theatre students in PURLIE VICTORIOUS. The Department of Theatre offers the bachelor of arts degree, which allows students to make theatre the foundation of their liberal arts education. The undergraduate curriculum meets the needs of those who want a strong liberal arts education while specializing in the history and literature of theatre and the crafts of theatre production. Students enrolled in our program may choose to concentrate in performance (acting and directing), design and technical theatre or playwriting. While the department remains committed to a broad-based, stimulating liberal arts education promoting skills in critical thinking and communication, its programs also prepare students who want a career in the professional theatre to enter that field or to pursue graduate studies leading to a professional theatre career.

The Major

Students seeking a theatre degree may declare their major immediately upon arriving at MU and enrolling in classes in the College of Arts and Science. Some choose to wait two or three semesters until they are familiar with the wide range of programs offered at MU. In either case, students are encouraged to take basic courses in theatre to become familiar with the discipline and the faculty. Students planning to major in theatre but choosing to defer the decision for a few semesters are encouraged to confer with Department of Theatre faculty about freshman and sophomore classes in theatre and about their goals and aspirations.

The theatre major consists of 20 credits in core courses required of all majors and 20 additional credits in one of three selected areas of interest. The core includes courses in playwriting, technical theatre production, acting, directing, stagecraft and costume design.