B.A. in Theater - Theater and Dance

Bachelor of Arts in Theater—Our most popular degree for students who want to develop their passion for theater into their own creative practice.

The B.A. in Theater can prepare you for entry-level work or graduate school training toward a career in theater and related occupations in America’s huge entertainment industry. Competition is keen, though. This degree prepares you for the additional training usually required to enter the field as a professional.

Recent graduates are now engaged in the profession in multiple ways—running their own their theater companies in NYC, training at some of the top MFA programs in the country, working as actors, singers, and dancers on stage, writing plays, directing, stage managing, and working as production technicians.

“I'm lucky enough to be enjoying my twenty-fourth year in the professional theater… I am the founding artistic director of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Maryland's largest classics theater and one of the fastest growing Shakespeare companies in the country... I take particular joy in employing IUP alumni whenever the chance arises.”
—Ian Gallinar, alumnus

Many graduates find themselves well suited to other careers that require collaborative skills and creative imagination, coupled with a personal discipline required of a theater company member.

Advertising, law, counseling, and event management are examples. This degree is ideal for budding entrepreneurs by sharpening their creative abilities, especially when coupled with a minor in Entrepreneurship for the Arts.

“While I always knew I had some unidentifiable artistic sensibility about myself, I had no idea how to cultivate, wrangle, or understand it . . . . My time in theater school gave me the tools to understand what I'm capable of as an artist, but, more importantly, what I'm capable of as a leader and communicator.”
—Nathan Anderson, alumnus

Liberal Studies: 43-44 credits

As outlined in the Liberal Studies section with the following specifications:

Fine Arts: any except THTR 101
Mathematics: 3cr
Liberal Studies Electives: 3cr, no courses with THTR prefix

Major: 42(1)

Foundation Courses:
Course Number	Course Name	Credits
THTR 111	Foundations of Theater	3
THTR 116	Fundamentals of Theatrical Design	3
THTR 211	History and Literature: Classic	3
THTR 212	History and Literature: Renaissance	3
THTR 213	History and Literature: Modern and Contemporary	3

Core Skills Courses
Course Number	Course Name	Credits
THTR 120	Stagecraft	3
THTR 122	Costume Workshop	3
THTR 140	Foundations of Performance	3

Theater Electives in Concentration Areas:

Choose one area:

Design/Tech/Management Area
Course Number	Course Name	Credits
THTR 225	Theater Graphics	3
THTR 489	Design/Technology/Management Studio	3
and two electives from:
THTR 221	Basic Stage Lighting	3
THTR 223	Makeup for the Stage	3
THTR 320	Scene Design	3
THTR 321	Stage Lighting Design	3
THTR 322	Costume Design	3
THTR 323	Sound Design	3
THTR 324	Advanced Stagecraft	3
DANC 355	Dance Production	3

Performance Area
Course Number	Course Name	Credits
THTR 130	Stage Voice	3
or THTR 131	Stage Movement	3
THTR 240	Acting I	3
THTR 340	Acting II	3
and one of these electives:
THTR 341	Acting Styles	3
THTR 342	Acting Shakespeare	3
THTR 350	Directing	3
THTR 487	Acting Studio	3
DANC 485	Dance Studio	3

Theory and Criticism Area
Course Number	Course Name	Credits
THTR 310	Theater Criticism	3
THTR 311	Dramaturgy	3
and two of these electives:
THTR 350	Directing	3
ENGL 308	Critical Theory	3
ENGL 343	Drama	3
ENGL 434	Shakespeare	3
ENGL 450	Film Theory	3
ENGL 350	Gender and Sexual Orientation in Literature, Theory, and Film	3
ENGL 460	Topics in Film	3
ENGL 463	Topics in Global Literature and Film	3
ENGL 466	Topics in Theory	3

General Studies Area
Course Number	Credits
THTR and/or DANC prefix courses as advised	12

Production Practicum: (2)
Course Number	Course Name	Credits
THTR 486	Practicum in Production	5

Capstone
Course Number	Course Name	Credits
THTR 480	Theater Seminar	1

Free Electives: 34-35

Total Degree Requirements: 120

Students must achieve a “C” or better in all major courses in order to graduate.
Students are required to be enrolled in THTR 486 Practicum in Production while a THTR major. Students must complete 8 different practicum assignments, with three assignments in design or technical areas. With prior approval of the Department Chair, THTR 493, Internship, may be substituted.