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Department of Drama
249 Drama
(949) 824-6614
drama@uci.edu
Programs in Drama
The Department of Drama offers comprehensive undergraduate and graduate programs led by internationally renowned faculty who are active theatre artists, scholars, and dedicated mentors. Students engage deeply through rigorous coursework, hands-on production experience, and interdisciplinary collaboration across campus. Graduates pursue successful careers on and off Broadway, in regional theatres, film and television, and academia, as well as in related creative and professional fields. UCI Drama prepares students to develop a distinct artistic voice and sustain a meaningful, long-term engagement with theatre.
Undergraduate Programs
UCI Drama offers comprehensive undergraduate programs that span all aspects of theatre making, from performance and playwriting to design, directing, and production. Guided by an internationally renowned faculty, students pursue rigorous training grounded in dramatic literature, global performance traditions, and hands-on collaboration.
The undergraduate curriculum integrates critical study with active participation in productions, allowing students to apply their training as actors, designers, writers, technicians, or stage managers throughout their time at UCI. Coursework emphasizes interdisciplinary learning across history, literature, music, visual culture, and contemporary technologies, preparing students for creative careers and a wide range of professional pathways.
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
The B.A. program consists of a comprehensive study of acting, directing, design, music theatre, playwriting, stage management, theatre production, and dramatic theory, criticism, literature, and history. It involves hands-on participation in productions as an actor, designer, writer, technician, or stage manager. Auditions for all productions at UCI are open to undergraduates, and some productions are open exclusively to undergraduates. The B.A. program does not require an entrance audition.
There can be few subjects as broad or as fundamental to human civilization as those of Drama and Theatre. The B.A. in Drama is part of a larger education which includes close consideration of world history and politics; human psychology and desire; music, dance, literature and art; visual and aural aesthetics, and both ancient and contemporary technologies of communication. While Drama is rightfully considered an entertainment, it is an entertainment that begins with the greatest literature ever written – from the classics of Euripides, Shakespeare and Molière to modern Americans like Tennessee Williams, August Wilson and David Henry Hwang – as presented in the most sophisticated performance techniques from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas developed over 3,000 years. And Theatre – the practice of Drama – is a hands-on collaboration that involves real-time interactions with other artists, and displaying the results to real-life audiences.
There currently is no audition required for admittance into the Drama major. Applicants to the drama major have the option of submitting an audition or portfolio based on their specialization. This supplemental portion is optional.
All students must meet the University Requirements.
School Requirements: None.
View the full set of requirements on the UCI Catalogue Website.
The Honors in Drama is a designation designed to recognize the generalist undergraduate Drama student, one who has chosen to focus on breadth in their education as opposed to depth in one area. Such students are often ineligible to be considered for Honors in a specific area and the Honors in Drama designation is a recognition of the high quality of scholarship and work that the student has accomplished within the Department.
Learn more about the Honors Program for the Bachelor of Arts
For full information on the Honors Program, see the UCI Catalogue
Music Theatre, Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)
The B.F.A. in Music Theatre includes high-level training curriculum including song repertoire building, audition technique, dance technique and repertoire, singing for the stage, and study in the history of the American musical. Each quarter, those students that have completed one quarter of Music Theatre Workshop, Level III (DRAMA 143A, DRAMA 143B, or DRAMA 143C) can audition for entry into the B.F.A. track.
Drama majors may audition for the program upon acceptance into the Music Theatre Workshop, Level III. B.F.A. auditions are held three times per year: during Welcome Week and finals week of the fall and winter quarters. A grade point average of 3.0 in music theatre courses completed prior to the B.F.A. audition is required.
All students must meet the University Requirements.
View the full set of requirements on the UCI Catalogue Website.
Minor in Drama
The minor in Drama provides opportunities for students to engage in research and creative work throughout the Drama department. The program is open to all undergraduate students. Coursework includes history, theory, culture, and practice topics. Students will also participate in drama productions of both large and small scales.
The minor provides the flexibility to allow students to explore areas of particular interest to them, including performance, design, scholarship, stage management, directing, and more.
The minor in Drama is open to all UCI undergraduates.
The minor in Drama consists of eight courses (32 units). Please visit the UCI Catalogue for coursework requirements.
For all course descriptions, please visit the UCI Catalogue.
Do you have a question or need help?
Give us a call or send us an email at:
Department of Drama
249 Drama
(949) 824-6614
drama@uci.edu
Graduate Programs
UCI Drama’s graduate programs are devoted to the development of working professional artists, with particular strength in the training of actors capable of sustaining meaningful careers in an exceptionally competitive field. Through intensive studio practice, rigorous coursework, and close faculty mentorship, students cultivate the skills, insight, creativity, and intellectual depth necessary to contribute to the theatre of the future.
The program has a strong record of professional success. Over the past fifteen years, M.F.A. graduates have gone on to work extensively on and off Broadway, in regional theatres, and in film and television, with many also holding faculty positions in university theatre programs. Graduate study at University of California, Irvine emphasizes not only professional competence, but the development of exceptional artists whose training supports long-term creative and professional impact.
Announcement
Please note: The M.F.A. in Drama specializations have transitioned to alternate-year recruiting.
Recruiting for Fall 2026 admission: Acting, Music Direction, Stage Management.
Recruiting for Fall 2027 admission: Design, Music Direction, Stage Management.
Masters of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Drama
The Department of Drama offers an M.F.A. in Drama, with emphases in Acting, Directing, Design, Music Direction, or Stage Management.
The Acting faculty is devoted to the development of working professional actors who possess the skills, insight, intelligence, creativity, and vision to create the theatre of the future. UCI has proven itself notably successful in training working professionals with alumni who perform on stages around the country, on and off Broadway, in regional theatres, or in feature films and television series. Many graduates of the program hold faculty positions in university theatre.
The Directing program is dedicated to the idea that theatre should challenge and expand the mind, move the soul, and delight the spirit. The Directing program is a three-year course of study. The program’s first year focuses on directing realistic “character driven” work, along with script analysis and collaboration skills. In the second year, the student director focuses on “language driven” plays, the components of production, and communication in collaboration. The third year centers on original and devised work as well as self-produced projects. Each student is expected to direct every quarter – in the classroom, with student directed projects, and/or in production. In addition, each student will be engaged in full-length plays in the second year. During their course of study, each student will receive, at a minimum, one fully produced show in the main season. One of these will be the student’s thesis production in their third year.
The Design program provides a challenging and creative environment for the curious and resourceful design student. Students in this program will be exceptionally well-suited to a career in the theatre and related entertainment arts, Incoming students specialize in a specific discipline: sound design, lighting design, costume design, or scenic design. Study of that specific discipline is at the heart of the student's education. Students will also develop a solid working knowledge of the basic principles and procedures of the other disciplines in order to foster more productive collaboration. In addition, the design curriculum includes the study of theatre history, art history, and dramatic literature. Instruction is focused on the growth of each student's individual design abilities. Students will work in a shared studio space, creating an atmosphere of constructive critique and support. Beyond the regular course load, additional learning opportunities can occur during weekly round tables, design tutorials, masterclasses, and post-performance critiques. The Design program provides professional training that respects our theatrical heritage and the traditional skills of a designer. In addition, a strong emphasis is placed on new technologies and how they affect and enhance contemporary design practices. Training on high-end computers and equipment using the latest software is required in all design disciplines, preparing students for a seamless transition to the professional world.
The Music Direction program prepares artists for a professional life in the theatre as musical directors. Students work with faculty members and other professionals in the Musical Theatre field, receiving instruction and mentoring in conducting, vocal coaching for the actor, musical preparation, script and score analysis, composing and arranging music for the stage, sound design, and singing pedagogy. Students also gain valuable first-hand experience through internships. The program is designed to help students refine/ improve their knowledge base and experience in vocal coaching, conducting, musical preparation of singers, rehearsal techniques, composing, arranging, and producing. Applicants are required to have excellent keyboard skills (including sight-reading, transposition), basic orchestra score-reading and conducting skills, and an understanding and appreciation of musical theatre as a genre. Students have the opportunity to work on musical productions each quarter while being closely mentored by the department’s Musical Theatre and associated faculty.
The Stage Management program is dedicated to the professional training of advanced students interested in developing their skills, knowledge, and abilities in stage management. Graduate stage managers work with directors, choreographers, musical directors, and designers in various genres including drama, musical theatre, dance, opera, concerts and special events. Through the course of the program, production assignments grow in complexity. Each graduate student will stage manage or assistant stage manage seven productions. The faculty provides training not only in the area of stage management but also in dramatic literature, the development of theatre, concepts and collaboration, and script analysis which helps stage managers understand how to communicate effectively with all members of the production team on a professional level. In addition, instruction supplemented with visiting professionals from all areas of the live entertainment industry, television, and film.
Applicants for admission to the degree program must meet the general requirements for admission to graduate study and hold a B.A., B.F.A., or higher degree.
Applicants must submit dossiers of biographical information and theatrical experience, together with photographs, essays, reviews, production books, and portfolios, as appropriate. Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation.
An audition is typically required for all applicants who intend to enter the Acting program. UCI coordinates its auditions with the University/Resident Theatre Association (U/RTA), and conducts auditions, both for U/RTA finalists and UCI applicants, in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Irvine during January and February. Other U/RTA audition sites may be considered. Interviews for applicants in Directing, in Design, in Music Direction, and in Stage Management are also required.
Normally three years of residence is required. Each candidate must enroll for three courses each quarter for nine quarters, exclusive of summer sessions.
The normative time to degree for students in the M.F.A. program is three years. Residence is required. The maximum time to degree can be extended to four years only through petition to the Head of the Program for extenuating circumstances. Students who do not complete the degree in four years will be recommended for academic disqualification.
During the first year of residence each candidate will prepare, for credit, two graduate projects, in acting, directing, design, music direction, stage management, theatrical research, or a combination of two of these. Satisfactory completion of these projects, as determined by the faculty, is prerequisite to entering the second year of the program.
The required thesis normally consists of directing, designing, musically directing, stage managing, or playing a principal role in a major production, and collecting in essay form the evidences of research, analysis, and judgments which formed a part of the production experience.
Each graduate student is expected to participate in productions throughout residence at UCI.
Specific course requirements must be satisfied in one of the following five areas:
- Acting
- Design
- Direction
- Music Direction
- Stage Direction
View the full set of requirements for each program area on the UCI Catalogue Website.
Ph.D. in Drama and Theatre
The Doctor of Philosophy in Drama and Theatre is a joint program offered by the UCI Department of Drama and the UCSD Department of Theatre and Dance.
This program has the largest dedicated doctoral faculty of any Drama program in the nation and one of the lowest teacher-student ratios. The program is designed to encourage students to develop a unique body of research working closely with a small group of faculty at both UCI and UCSD. This "boutique" approach calls on each student to explore avenues of research and scholarship that will maximize opportunities for entrance into the highest levels of academia.
The program's goal is to prepare students for a successful career at either a research university or a major liberal arts institution, in a variety of possible disciplines ranging from Drama and Theatre, English, and Performance Studies, to Cultural, Gender, and Ethnic Studies. The Drama Department places a high value on collegiality and professionalism, and nurtures these qualities through cooperative work within seminars, independent studies, organized events, teaching opportunities and professional trainings.
Students with a B.A. (minimum GPA of 3.5), M.A., or M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre are eligible for admission to the doctoral program. Students with training in literature (or another area in the humanities) will also be considered, provided they can demonstrate a background in drama or theatre. Experience in one of the creative activities of theatre (acting, directing, playwriting, design, dramaturgy) enhances a student’s chances of admission.
All applicants are required to submit samples of their critical writing and two letters of recommendation. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required.
While not required for admission, a working knowledge of a second language is highly desirable (see Language Requirement).
View the full set of requirements on the UCI Catalogue Website.
For all course descriptions, please visit the UCI Catalogue.
