Our degree program offers study of the art form in both theoretical historical context and the practice of live dramatic performance. Course offerings include theatre history and dramatic literature; acting, movement, and voice; directing; design and technology for scenery, costume, lighting, makeup, and sound; and stage and arts management.
Coursework also embraces theatre as a group art, an art in which individual excellence is often fully realized only in collaboration with other artists. The practical application of the art encourages students to test classroom experiences under the pressure of public performance in the laboratory of the University Theatre.
For students interested in a BFA program, see Acting BFA for requirements.
The College of Liberal Arts Advantage: More Than a Major
When you study Theatre Arts at the University of Minnesota, you gain the added advantage of a College of Liberal Arts education. At CLA, the liberal arts mean you get more than just a degree in one major or another; it means you will be exposed to different areas of study, to different ways of thinking and learning. In fact, the liberal arts teach you how to learn—how to ask the right questions, how to problem solve, and how to innovate. The liberal arts highlight the complexities of our world, because here at CLA you will study not just, say, politics or art but also where politics and art intersect, where science and ethics intersect, where economics and the environment intersect.
