Program Requirements
General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required Beyond the Baccalaureate: 60
The Theater/Design MFA curriculum follows a three-year cycle. Specific course order is based on when a student starts their program.
Required Courses:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Seminar in Dramatic Literature | ||
| Scenic Design | ||
| Costume Design | ||
| Lighting Design | ||
| Design for TV and Film | ||
| History of Decor | ||
| History of Fashion | ||
| Drawing and Rendering Techniques | ||
| Draping and Flat Pattern Drafting | ||
| Costume Crafts | ||
| Theatrical Model Making | ||
| Scene Painting | ||
| Projection and Media Design | ||
| The Job Market | ||
Additional Requirements:
As a component of the three-year MFA degree program, all Theater/Design candidates actively participate in design and production work in the Theater Department's main stage season. This work is an extension of what is presented in the classroom and becomes the experiential component to the degree program. Coursework and production work are equally balanced throughout the academic year, both philosophically and pedagogically.
All Design students must participate in a portfolio review and faculty evaluation at the end of each semester.
Culminating Event:
Thesis:
The master's thesis is typically a realized and produced production executed by the Theater Department as part of its main stage season. The underlying premise is to create and produce a professional design within a professional production. Along with gathering all research and creating all designs, drafts, renderings, models and appropriate paperwork for the design, fulfilling a written thesis component completes the degree process. The thesis production and document are defended before a faculty committee and then digitally published through Temple University.
In some cases, where appropriate, a "paper" thesis may be assigned. In this case, the candidate completes all the same research, designs, drafts, renderings, models and a written document defending the design and the process, but the design will neither be realized nor produced.