Department of Theatre | University of Maryland

Admissions and Deadlines

MA and PhD | MFA in Design | MFA in Performance

MA and PhD

In 2010-2011, the Theatre and Performance Studies program will only be recruiting candidates for the PhD.

Applications to our programs are done online at: http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.htm

The Department of Theatre’s official application deadlines referred to on the application form are: December 15th is the Department of Theatre's deadline for all PhD applications, international and domestic, to facilitate the timely review of your materials. This deadline is also for students requesting financial aid.

You can expect to be notified that you have been accepted or not accepted by mid-March. Offers of financial aid are generally made before April 1.

Application requirements:

You must have earned a 4-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited U.S. institution, or an equivalent degree earned at a non-U.S. institution with at least a 3.0 GPA.
Applicants for the PhD must also have earned MA or MFA degree from a regionally-accredited U.S. institution, or an equivalent degree earned at a non-U.S. institution with at least a 3.0 GPA.
All International students must show evidence of acceptable scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). See information on the International Educational Services website for specific admissions requirements, including minimum TOEFL score.
Our PhD program also requires the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Scores must be less than five years old. (Use institutional score reporting code 5814.) We do not consider the quantitative reasoning score in our admissions process.
- For your application to be competitive you need:
  - a verbal reasoning score of at least 610
  - an analytical writing score of at least 5.0

After filling out your application at http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.htm, you will be given access to your Application Supplemental Form (ASF). You will need to have:

3 recommenders and their email addresses for the electronic recommendation forms to be sent to them
Your statement of goals, research interests, and experience. Please have this in a Word or pdf file that can be easily uploaded.
- The PhD programs are more concerned with what attracts you to scholarship, what your primary research interests are, and which faculty member or members in our program you most want to work with.
A writing sample that shows your ability to do research. Please have this in a Word file that can be easily uploaded.

Official transcripts from all universities attend will need to be sent to:

University of Maryland College Park
Enrollment Services Operation – Attn: Graduate Admissions
Room 0130 Mitchell Building
College Park, MD 20742

It is suggested that all materials are sent via the online ASF. If not possible, you can send the materials to the ESO.

THPF is the program code for both the PhD program in Theatre and Performance Studies. Be sure to indicate which degree for which you are applying.

MFA in Design

Applications to our programs are done online at: http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.htm

The Department of Theatre’s official application deadlines referred to on the application form are: April 15th is the Department of Theatre’s deadline for all domestic MFA in Design applications to facilitate the timely review of your materials. February 1st is the international student deadline. These deadlines are also for students requesting financial aid.

Application requirements:

You must have earned a 4-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited U.S. institution, or an equivalent degree earned at a non-U.S. institution with at least a 3.0 GPA.
The MFA programs doe not require the GRE but do require an audition/portfolio review and interview. Both MFA programs participate in the University/Resident Theatre Association (URTA), National Unified Auditions & Interviews held in January and February. Invited portfolio reviews occur after the U/RTA dates.
All International students must show evidence of acceptable scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). See information on the International Educational Services website for specific admissions requirements, including minimum TOEFL score.

After filling out your application at http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.htm, you will be given access to your Application Supplemental Form (ASF). You will need to have:

A portfolio that is able to be uploaded to the application displaying previous design work

Your statement of goals, research interests, and experience. Please have this in a Word or pdf file that can be easily uploaded.

3 recommenders and their email addresses for the electronic recommendation forms to be sent to them

Official transcripts from all universities attend will need to be sent to:

University of Maryland College Park
Enrollment Services Operation – Attn: Graduate Admissions
Room 0130 Mitchell Building
College Park, MD 20742

It is suggested that all materials are sent via the online ASF. If not possible, you can send the materials to the ESO.

MFAT is the program code for both MFA programs in Theatre. Be sure to indicate which concentration for which you are applying.

MFA in Performance

The MFA in Performance will recruit every 3 years starting in Spring 2010 for a class of 8 students to start in August 2010.

April 15th is the Department of Theatre’s deadline for all domestic MFA in Performance applicants to facilitate the timely review of materials. February 1st is the deadline for international applicants. These deadlines are also for students requesting financial aid.

Application requirements:

An application must be filled out before the requested audition date. You will be contacted after your application is complete to set up a date and time to audition.
You must have earned a 4-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited U.S. institution, or an equivalent degree earned at a non-U.S. institution with at least a 3.0 GPA.
The MFA program does not require the GRE but do require an audition/portfolio review and interview.
All International students must show evidence of acceptable scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). See information on the International Educational Services website for specific admissions requirements, including minimum TOEFL score.

Audition dates for the MFA in Performance will be:
-January 16, 17, 2010 at the University of Maryland, College Park
-January 24, 25, 26, 27, 2010 in New York, New York
-February 1, 2, 3, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois
-February 5, 6, 2010 in San Francisco, California
Callbacks will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park on February 15th and 22nd.

*You will be contacted after we received your complete application to set up a date and time to audition.

After filling out your application at http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.htm, you will be given access to your Application Supplemental Form (ASF). You will need to have:

A portfolio that is able to be uploaded to the application displaying previous performance work. It may consist of CVs, photos of work, art, designs, reviews, DVDs or CDs of work.
Your artistic statement. More specifics are provided on the Application Supplemental Form website. Please have this in a Word file or pdf that can be easily uploaded.
3 recommenders and their email addresses for the electronic recommendation forms to be sent to them
First and second choices for audition dates. There will be a section to request a preferred audition date. You will be contacted after your application is complete to set up a date and time to audition. Initial auditions will be no longer than 5 minutes long, consisting of performance material at which you excel, including at least one minute of text.

Official transcripts from all universities attend will need to be sent to:

University of Maryland College Park
Enrollment Services Operation – Attn: Graduate Admissions
Room 0130 Mitchell Building
College Park, MD 20742

It is suggested that all materials are sent via the online ASF. If not possible, you can send the materials to the ESO.