The doctorate is the terminal degree for those interested in theatre scholarship as well as theatre practice. Doctoral students take two years of coursework, including some outside the department, to prepare for qualifying examinations. Shortly following exams, students complete and must have their committee approve a prospectus for the dissertation, which must be completed six years following advancement to candidacy.
In addition to coursework and dissertation research/writing, doctoral students must demonstrate advanced competency and progress in at least one area of theatre practice, primarily in directing. Doctoral students must also prove reading/translation competence in a foreign language (unless already demonstrated at the master's level) and a second research tool relevant to their dissertation research.
Students entering the doctoral program should have completed a master’s degree in theatre arts or the equivalent
To learn more about the requirements for earning a doctorate through the Department of Theatre Arts at UO, please consult our Graduate Student Handbook.
Doctorate Requirements
The doctorate in theatre arts requires nine courses in the first year and seven courses in the second year, plus four to six credits registered in independent reading towards the qualifying examinations in winter or spring terms of the second year. Students seeking a doctorate must have demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language, either from two years of successful college coursework or by passing a basic translation/comprehension exam.
Following completion of coursework, students wishing to pass to doctoral candidacy must pass qualifying examinations. Within one month after advancement to doctoral candidacy, students must deliver a dissertation prospectus for committee approval. The degree is granted only with successful completion and full approval of a dissertation under Graduate School rules and deadlines.
Basic Timeline
- First year: Complete a total of at least nine courses, including three 600-level graduate seminars. (Graduate seminars are offered by doctoral faculty on various topics in advanced history, literary analysis, and production/aesthetic theory each term in the regular school year.) In addition, successfully complete at least one 500-600 level course in another department .
- End of first year: End-of-year meeting with graduate faculty to discuss successes and challenges of your graduate study. The students should prepare an informal self- assessment of successes, growth and challenges, and their goals going forward. This meeting typically takes place in week 10 or finals week of spring term.
- Second year: Complete at least seven courses, plus four to eight credits in preparation for qualifying examinations and prospectus. Two of the seven courses should be in the student’s secondary area of research, i.e., outside of the department. (Please also see requirements below, which states that doctoral students take five of the six theatre arts graduate seminars offered.) If the language requirement was not met as part of the grad student’s admission process, the language requirement must be met by candidacy.
- Beginning of third year: Qualifying examinations are written in the week prior to the week of welcome. The dissertation committee should also be complete by this time.
- Third year: Fall term includes oral defense of qualifying exams, and then writing and approval of the prospectus by end of fall term. Advancement to candidacy takes place after committee approval of prospectus, including expected timeline for completion of the dissertation.
Degree Requirements
- A minimum of 20 graded credits in theatre arts 600-level graded graduate seminars (in other words, 5 of the 6 TA 607 graduate seminars offered during their two years of course work)
- At least 12 graded credits (or three 500/600-level courses) in a related field outside of theatre arts
- Language requirement met by candidacy
- Faculty-guided artistic production during the four years
- Qualifying examinations, oral defense and approved prospectus
- At least 18 credits of TA 603: Dissertation
- Completion of dissertation and approval at oral defense
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