Degree Requirements

Required introductory courses include Intro to Theatre Studies (ITS) for 4 credits and Intro to Theatre Production (ITP) for 4 credits. Transfer students are not required to take ITP but must make up the credits with another theatre studies class. 

In addition to the required courses, students must also take 20 credits (five courses) in advanced theatre studies. At least 4 credits must be completed in each of the following categories:

• Histories courses compare different time periods in order to question historical methodologies, or they examine primarily pre-twentieth century periods. Students gain a foundational knowledge of theatre/performance history, and practice different methods of doing historical research, which might include archival work, close reading of primary documents, and comparative historiography.
• Geographies courses focus on the theatre/performance practices of specific ecological, national, continental, or global regions, including diasporic and transnational cultures. Students learn to contextualize the complex relationships between theatre/performance and their wider linguistic, sociological, and ideological dimensions.
• Topics courses engage specific themes, topics, and/or theatre-makers. Courses might introduce conceptual frameworks such as postcolonial theory, feminism, ecotheory, Marxism, etc., in order to examine a particular genre, a director or playwright’s oeuvre, or an aesthetic movement. Students develop an understanding of specific theatre traditions, performance practices, and critical debates in the field today.
• Praxis courses explore the application of theatre and performance knowledges in varied practical contexts; fields represented might include applied and community-based performance, dramaturgy and devising, and arts leadership and producing. Students are introduced to performance as a mode of research that moves between embodied and scholarly practice.

The remaining credits may be completed in any category. The classes will be labeled by categories in the Department of Drama course listings. For classes with more than one category listed, students may elect which category for those credits to satisfy, but cannot use it for two categories. Students who complete the requirements for a declared double major will have four credits of theatre studies waived in the category of their choice and may graduate with only 24 credits of theatre studies total. 

Note: Tisch Drama accepts up to 12 credits of theatre studies transfer credit toward the theatre studies requirement, provided that the courses are comparable to courses offered in the Department of Drama.

Expository Writing (through TSOA's Department of Art and Public Policy):

8 credits required for Freshmen; 4 credits for Transfer students. *See “Expository Writing” for full policy.

Humanities

Two courses for a total of 8 credits from one or more of these areas:

Art History, Classics, Comparative Literature, East Asian Studies, English (except Dramatic Literature), European Studies, French*, German*, Hellenic Studies, Irish Studies, Italian*, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Music (history not theory), Philosophy, Portuguese*,Russian and Slavic Studies*, Spanish*, or other areas as defined in the General Education Guide for NYU Tisch Drama Students *See “Foreign Language Policy” on how to receive Humanities credit.

Sciences

Two courses for a total of 8 credits from one or more of these areas:

Animal Studies, Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Studies, Computer Science, Economics, Environmental Studies, Journalism (history or theory, not skills), Law and Society, Linguistics, Mathematics, Neural Science, Physics, Politics, Psychology, Sociology, or other areas as defined in the General Education Guide for NYU Tisch Drama Students.

Balance of Liberal Arts

Additional credits of Humanities and/or Science to reach the minimum General Education requirement of 32 credits.