Frequently Asked Questions

The Theatre (THET) Major

How Do I Change My Major to Theatre?
How Do I Declare a Double Major or Pursue a Double Degree?
How Do I Add a Major?

First Year, First Semester Students

What Courses Should I Take as a First-Semester, First-Year Theatre Major?

Transfer Students

What Courses Should I Take as a First-Semester Transfer Theatre Major?
How Do I Transfer Non-Theatre Courses from Another College or University?
How Do I Transfer Theatre Courses from Another College or University?



How Do I Change My Major to Theatre?
Go to the College of Arts and Humanities Office of Student Affairs located at 1120 Francis Scott Key Hall and, at the front counter, ask for a 'Change of Major' form. Then make an appointment and meet with Scot Reese, the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Theatre, to be advised on the curriculum and have him sign and stamp the 'Change of Major' form. Last, make an appointment and meet with an advisor in the ARHU Office of Student Affairs to be advised on university and college requirements and to be officially changed to your new major.

How Do I Declare a Double Major or Pursue a Double Degree?
Any student may earn a double major or double degree. In both cases, the transcript will show that the student completed all university, college, and major requirements for both programs. For a double degree, a student must earn a minimum of 150 credits and will receive two diplomas. The student earning a double major must complete only 120 credits and will receive only one diploma. (If you pursue a double major, your one diploma will reflect the degree (for example, B.A. or B.S.) of your "primary" major.)

How Do I Add a Major?
Part of the process of adding a major is to declare which will be your primary major and which will be the secondary. Your choice may matter in several different ways. For instance, if you are pursuing a double major (which results in a single diploma) and one of the majors grants a B.A. and the other a B.S., your primary major will determine the degree that appears on your diploma. If you want to apply for a scholarship this is limited to THET majors, you need to have THET as your primary major.

If you are adding a major that is not in the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU), you will need to meet with an advisor in the new college.

If you are adding a major within the College of Arts and Humanities, go to the ARHU Office of Student Affairs located at 1120 Francis Scott Key Hall and, at the front counter, ask for the green 'Add a Major' form. Then ...

Make an appointment and meet with a departmental advisor in your primary major, have him or her complete the requirements portion and sign and stamp the 'Add a Major' form. [If the primary major is not in the College of Arts and Humanities, you must also have the Dean of the college sign and stamp the green 'Add a Major' form.]

Then make an appointment and meet with a departmental advisor in the major you wish to add (aka, the secondary major), have him or her complete the requirements portion and sign and stamp the 'Add a Major' form. [Those considering majoring in Music are required to audition before being admitted into the program.]

Last, make an appointment and meet with an advisor here in the ARHU Office of Student Affairs to be advised on university and college requirements and to be officially added to your second major.

Scot Reese, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Theatre, is the person who must complete the Theatre portion of the 'Add a Major" form.

What Courses Should I Take as a First-Semester, First-Year Theatre Major?
THET 110 Introduction to the Theatre
THET 170 Theatre Crafts I and/or THET 171 Theatre Crafts II

What Courses Should I Take as a First-Semester Transfer Theatre Major?
1. If you have taken any accredited institution's "Introduction to the Theatre" (our THET 110), you should take THET 111 Making Theatre: Art and Scholarship and THET 120 Acting I. Be sure to register for one of the THET 120 sections for THET majors.

2. If you have taken any accredited institution's "Theatre Crafts I" or "Stagecraft" (our THET 170),r THET 170 Theatre Crafts I, you should take THET 171 Theatre Crafts II.

3. If you need to take both THET 170 and THET 171, you may take both or you may take whichever course best fits your schedule.

4. If you are pursuing the Design and Production track and you have taken the equivalent of THET 70 Theatre Crafts I, you should take THET 273 Scenographic Techniques.

5. If you believe you have taken a course you believe to be the equivalent of our THET 273 Scenographic Techniques, you should seek evaluation by Scot Reese during the regular academic year as described under "How Do I Transfer Theatre Courses from Another College or University?" If you need a possible equivalent of THET 273 during the summer, contact
David Kreibs or Dan Wagner with the same materials.

6. If the course you believe to be the equivalent of our THET 273 Scenographic Technique is approved as an equivalent, you should take THET 373 Rendering for the Theatre.

How Do I Transfer Non-Theatre Courses from Another College or University?
Check your transfer credit evaluation as early as possible. Don't assume a transfer course meets a requirement unless it is specifically applied to that requirement through the transfer evaluation. Consult with an advisor in the College of Arts and Humanities Office of Student Affairs located at 1120 Francis Scott Key Hall and be sure to get a copy of advising records showing how transfer credits will be applied to CORE requirements. Don't wait a few semesters, or until just before graduation to seek changes or adjustments to any transfer evaluations that you may question. You may be asked to provide materials from the course for additional review. To determine whether or not a specific course is transferable, you may contact the Transfer Center at 301-314-8240, 1130 Mitchell Building. You may also e-mail the Transfer Center at tccinfo@deans.umd.edu or conduct a Transfer Credit Equivalency Search at http://www.sis.umd.edu/TCC.

Special transfer agreements apply for students transferring from a Maryland public 2-year or 4-year institution. These agreements ease transition between the institutions. Please refer to "Maryland Higher Education Commission Transfer Policies" in the Undergraduate Catalog.

How Do I Transfer Theatre Courses from Another College or University?
1. We will accept any accredited institution's "Introduction to the Theatre" (our THET 110) and "Acting I" (our THET 120).

2. No other institution teaches anything like our THET 111--so there's nothing that's going to transfer here as a substitute.

3. We will evaluate any other theatre course that you believe has a correlation to one of our THET courses. (Your best ways to check for a possible correlation would be to 1) read the course description in the
Undergraduate Catalog and 2) ask in the theatre department office for a copy of the "on file" syllabus for any course you wish to compare.

4. Once you believe you have a good match, you should take a copy of these materials from the other institution 1) your transcript, 2) the course's catalog description and 3) the syllabus for the course and meet with Scot Reese, the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Theatre.