Graduate Degrees: MA/MFA/PhD

The MA degree in Theatre & Dance offers three concentrations: Dance, Performance Studies, and Theatre. Each requires the completion of 30 credit hours and provides Plan A or B options. For Plan A, the candidate writes a thesis the research focus of which depends on the specific concentration being pursued. Upon completion of the written thesis, students will meet with their committee to orally defend it. The revised thesis is then submitted to ProQuest for publication. For Plan B, the candidate takes additional advanced coursework and completes a research-related or creative project. Plan B students will make a public oral presentation in their final year, detailing the results of their research-related or creative project.

Dance Concentration

The focus of Plan A is on research related to Culture and Performance Studies in Dance, and this research can be conducted in the form of a performance-as-research or fieldwork project. The focus of Plan B is on Dance Education.

Performance Studies Concentration

Both Plan A and B in this concentration explore the major concepts of Performance Studies as well as the broad spectrum from artistic to cultural performance, but the focus of Plan A is on academic research, whereas Plan B involves a creative project.

Theatre Concentration

The focus of Plan A in this concentration is on theatre-related research, and of Plan B on theatre education and pedagogy with regard to the theatre arts.

The M.F.A. in Theatre and Dance offers two concentrations: Dance or Theatre. Each requires the completion of 60 credit hours and, as a Plan B option, emphasizes creative and performance work. 

Dance Concentration

Students in this concentration may choose one of the following dance focus areas: performance, choreography, screendance/new media performance installation, and Hawai‘i/Asia/Pacific.

Theatre Concentration

Students in this concentration may choose one of the following focus areas: acting, design, directing, Hawaiian theatre, playwriting, and Theatre for Young Audiences. While design is housed under the theatre concentration, MFA candidates in this area will gain design experience working on both Dance and Theatre productions.

In consultation with an advisor, each MFA student develops a program appropriate for their interests within the specific requirements of designated focus areas. Please contact the respective Dance and Theatre graduate chairs for the specific requirements for each focus area in these concentrations. 

The Doctor of Philosophy degree is given for scholarship in theatre and dance history, theory, or criticism, performance studies, and practice as research. The PhD degree is not conferred for the acquisition of academic credits. It is granted only to candidates who demonstrate outstanding ability to do imaginative and original research and who present the results in a cogent dissertation. The PhD in Theatre & Dance is offered in three concentrations: Asian Performance, Hawaiian and Indigenous Performance, and Performance Studies. A candidate for the degree is required to successfully complete three semesters of full-time residence, required courses (see link to Program Sheet below), other courses as deemed necessary by the student’s doctoral committee, examination in at least one non-English language, a written and oral comprehensive examination, and an oral defense of the student’s dissertation. The minimum residency requirement is three semesters of full-time work or the equivalent in credits at UHM.