Theatre and Dance

Information for Prospective Graduate Students

The department offers the Master of Fine Arts degree in the following areas:

  • Acting
  • Costume Design
  • Lighting Design
  • Scenic Design

A balanced program of study involving a minimum of 62 semester hours of classroom, studio, and production work is required. The programs are designed to be completed in three academic years and one summer off-campus.

The Acting and Directing Programs are on a three-year recruitment cycle. The next class in those programs will be entering in the fall of 2020.The Scenic, Lighting and Costume Programs are recruiting for entrance in TBA.

Graduate students in acting may act in Mainstage or Studio productions every semester. A role in the third year of study will become the MFA Final Project in Acting. Students in design receive design assignments every semester for Mainstage and Studio productions.

Financial assistance is available through departmental assistantships. An eight month stipend and a full waiver of tuition is awarded with an assistantship in an academic year. Duties are related to the student's area of concentration, which must be declared at the time of application. Generally, acting students serve as teaching assistants or teach their own sections of Intro to Theatre, Analysis, some introductory performance courses, or as publicity assistants. Design students serve as technical assistants in scenic, costume, or lighting studios, working on Mainstage and Studio productions.

For more information, contact the Graduate Program Advisors and consult the online graduate catalog.

Other information can be found on the School of Graduate Studies webpage.

If you cannot find what you need here, please contact the department office and let us know what information would be helpful on our web pages.

Tammy Killian
Chairperson
Office Location: 101 Browne Hall
Office Phone: (309) 298-1543
Email: TL-Killian@wiu.edu ; theatre@wiu.edu