Frequently Asked Questions

Hopefully this page will answer any questions you may have. If your question has not been answered, please feel free to email us at gradacting@nyu.edu and tisch.gradadmissions@nyu.edu 

Before Applying

Do I need a bachelor's degree to apply?

This is a Master’s Degree program. You must have a Bachelor’s Degree or be in the process of completing your Bachelor’s Degree in order to be considered for the program. Exceptions have been made but they are very rare. If you have a question about this please contact Graduate Admissions.

Does my Bachelor’s Degree have to be in Theatre?

No. Anyone with a Bachelor’s Degree is welcome to audition. If you don’t have any theatre/acting experience, you are still a viable candidate. The most important element is what you bring in the audition. 

Is there an age limit?

No. Individuals of all ages are welcome to apply as long as they hold a bachelor’s degree.

What are the application deadlines?

Deadline to apply and register for auditions: The next application cycle, which will be for entry in Fall 2026, will begin in early September 2025.

Questions about the Program

Do you offer on campus housing?

NYU does offer Grad Housing. However, our students opt to live off-campus. We do have a large network of current students and alumni who are often subletting their apartments or looking for roommates. 

Applying for the Program

What is the application fee and is there a waiver available?

Yes, there is a total fee of $115 for the application / audition process.

If you would like to request an application fee waiver, please contact Joseph Miserendino at joe.miserendino@nyu.edu and he can let you know what the procedure is. In your email, be prepared to explain the nature of the hardship and provide evidence supporting your request for a waiver. 

Transcripts

If you are unable to submit your official transcripts as a PDF, you can submit unofficial transcripts. However, if invited to attend Callbacks, you must submit official transcripts.

Auditioning for the Program

What should I prepare/bring?

What You Have to Prepare

1. Your audition. 

Four monologues and approximately 16 bars of a song. Monologues should be classical and contemporary, both comedic and dramatic, two being in verse (rhymed or unrhymed).

Specific Requirements:

  • Two contemporary pieces (1919 to Present).

  • Two classical pieces (2500 BCE to c.1918).

  • No piece should be longer than 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Advice on Selection & Preparation:

  • Examples of classical authors include: Anonymous, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Aphra Behn, Bhasa, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Pierre Corneille, Euripides, Kalidasa, Jesús Lara, Federico García Lorca, Ben Jonson, Lope de Vega, John Webster, and William Shakespeare. Examples of verse translators/ adaptors might include: Christopher Hampton, Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan, José Rivera, Richard Wilbur, David Ives, Nilo Cruz, Ezra Pound, Tony Harrison, Ranjit Bolt, Caryl Churchill, Adrian Mitchell, Anne Carson, Derek Walcott, and Jo Carson among others. 
  • Please avoid selecting multiple pieces by the same author (Shakespeare excepted).
  • Regarding pieces in verse (whether contemporary or classical) — we’re looking for you to “lift the verse off the page.” By that we mean, how do you take these words and make them feel like they spring from your own thoughts? We are not concerned about you speaking Shakespeare or Lorca or Tupac or Eminem ‘correctly’. Rather than only a poetic recitation of the verse, we hope to feel a sense of your imagined scene partner or circumstances.

2. A full-face photograph (headshot).

3. A detailed résumé listing your prior acting experience.

4. A personal statement in essay form. Please check back here after the application opens for this year’s essay prompt.

Callbacks

Approximately 60 applicants from the first round of global auditions will be asked to come to New York for two of three available days in March 2026 for the final callback round. The entering class of 16 students will be selected from the March callback.

If you are called back, you will be given specific instructions as to how to prepare for your callback “weekend.”

What do you consider “Classical”?

This question has gone under much debate, and often is considered “Classical” for one audition may be “Modern” for another. 

Specific Requirements:

  • Two contemporary pieces (1919 to Present).

  • Two classical pieces (2500 BCE to c.1918).

  • No piece should be longer than 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Advice on Selection & Preparation:

  • Examples of classical authors include: Anonymous, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Aphra Behn, Bhasa, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Pierre Corneille, Euripides, Kalidasa, Jesús Lara, Federico García Lorca, Ben Jonson, Lope de Vega, John Webster, and William Shakespeare. Examples of verse translators/ adaptors might include: Christopher Hampton, Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan, José Rivera, Richard Wilbur, David Ives, Nilo Cruz, Ezra Pound, Tony Harrison, Ranjit Bolt, Caryl Churchill, Adrian Mitchell, Anne Carson, Derek Walcott, and Jo Carson among others. 
  • Please avoid selecting multiple pieces by the same author (Shakespeare excepted).
  • Regarding pieces in verse (whether contemporary or classical) — we’re looking for you to “lift the verse off the page.” By that we mean, how do you take these words and make them feel like they spring from your own thoughts? We are not concerned about you speaking Shakespeare or Lorca or Tupac or Eminem ‘correctly’. Rather than only a poetic recitation of the verse, we hope to feel a sense of your imagined scene partner or circumstances.

For additional questions, please email gradacting@nyu.edu.