Learn More
The Yale School of Drama offers a range of graduate academic programs covering all areas of the professional theater. This web site includes information on the School of Drama's mission and objectives, history, faculty and staff, performance schedule, and application procedures. The menu at the left lists downloads with further information on the School of Drama. You may also request a copy of our current program information brochure.
Please be sure to visit the pages for our various areas of study (listed on the left), as well as the VIDEO introductions from the Dean James Bundy, and department chairs. We hope you’ll consider joining us in New Haven for one of our scheduled Visitor Days on Thursday, December 6, or Friday, December 14. A campus visit affords you the opportunity to get to know us and learn more about the programs of study and life at Yale School of Drama. Please view the Visitor Day information page to register and view a schedule of events.
The Bulletin of Yale School of Drama is published annually under the editorial purview of the Secretary of the University. The 2007-2008 School of Drama Bulletin includes an academic calendar, a faculty list, official details on programs of study, course descriptions, degree and major requirements, costs and financial aid, and additional School of Drama regulations.
Yale University offers a wealth of information on visiting and living in New Haven, as well elements of the student experience. For further information please visit the main Yale University web site.
Travel directions for New Haven and acting audition sites in San Francisco and Chicago.
Degrees and Certificates
Master of Fine Arts
The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree is conferred on students holding a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college who complete with distinction any of the programs of study outlined and who exhibit excellence in their professional practice. Three years in residence is the time required for this work. The M.F.A. is awarded in the following areas of study: Acting, Design, Sound Design, Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism, Directing, Playwriting, Stage Management, Technical Design and Production, and Theater Management.
Doctor of Fine Arts
The Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) degree is conferred on students who hold the M.F.A..degree in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism and who have completed the M.F.A. qualifying comprehensive examinations and have written a dissertation of distinction whose subject has been approved by the D.F.A. committee.
Certificate in Drama
The Certificate in Drama is conferred on students who do not hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited college, but who complete with distinction the three-year program in Acting, Design, Sound Design, Directing, Playwriting, Stage Management or Technical Design and Production. The Certificate in Drama is subject to the same training as that of the M.F.A. degree.
Technical Internship Certificate
The Technical Internship Certificate is awarded to students who complete with distinction the one-year internship program of the Technical Design and Production department.
Training
The Classroom
Students are prepared in the particular disciplines for which they were admitted. Each student’s program in Yale School of Drama has a sequential series of courses unique to its discipline and designed to develop an advanced understanding of the program of study and the art of the theatre.
Production
Production activity is central to the training of all departments. Each season features more than forty productions at Yale School of Drama, Yale Repertory Theatre and Yale Cabaret. The School of Drama’s production calendar is the most extensive of any theater training program in the United States. These productions afford ample opportunities to present student work to the faculty so that they can evaluate the progress of the student from the classroom to the stage.
Yale School of Drama Productions
Yale School of Drama presents six plays in productions that are open to the general public. Three of these are selected in consultation with the Directing department; three are new plays from the Playwriting department, produced in repertory in the spring term. Additional productions within the School of Drama, performed for invited audiences only, include verse plays, new plays from the Playwriting department, and projects selected by the chair of the Acting department.
Yale Repertory Theatre
Yale Repertory Theatre serves as master teacher for Yale School of Drama. Each department has established a unique relationship with this professional theatre and challenges the student to work at the level of this distinguished professional company. Yale Rep is a member of the League of Resident Theatres and draws talent from around the world. Please refer to the Yale Rep production season web site.
In addition to offering mainstage productions and special presentations, Yale Rep connects to the community through outreach programs including the Dwight/Edgewood Project and Will Power!
Yale Cabaret
Operated entirely by students, Yale Cabaret provides an extracurricular outlet for exploration of a wide range of material as determined by its artistic and managerial leadership. The season of twenty productions presented for a paying public audience is the area of production at Yale School of Drama in which students most regularly work outside of their primary discipline of study: actors direct, managers act, and playwrights sing. Please refer to the Cabaret production season web site.
