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The University of Central Florida offers one of the nation's most distinct graduate training programs in Theatre for Young Audiences. The program offers courses such as Puppetry, Storytelling and Methods of teaching Drama and the MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences is partnered with Orlando Repertory Theatre, a professional Theatre for Young Audiences in vibrant downtown Orlando.
The Master of Fine Arts in Theatre for Young Audiences track is designed for students who demonstrate the artistic and intellectual capacity and evidence of professional promise to pursue careers in professional and academic theatre. This track is for all theatre disciplines and offers opportunities to create work with and for youth, including community-based applied theatre, teaching artistry and education, devised theatre and directing.
The program is a highly selective, rigorous, three-year professional training program emphasizing both theatre theory and practice. The MFA degree is rooted in the belief that classroom study and practical experience in the theatre are of equal and complementary value.
Students, in addition to becoming highly trained theatre practitioners, must also demonstrate the ability to understand the conceptual basis of their art and to be able to articulate that understanding to others. Toward this end, the department will recruit and develop graduate students who can serve, along with faculty and staff, as role models for undergraduate students whose BA and BFA programs of study are integrally connected with the graduate programs. Assistantships also offer students teaching opportunities in the theatre department.
The Theatre for Young Audiences track of the Theatre MFA program requires 6 credit hours of core courses and 26 credit hours of specialization courses to be completed following a yearly schedule in addition to a thesis and an internship. The electives can be chosen (with instructor approval) from existing courses in the MFA tracks in Acting and Theatre for Young Audiences. Because allowed electives are both two- and three-credit-hour courses, the course of study shows a sliding number of credits for electives. Consequently, although 61 credit hours are required, a student may graduate with as many as 65 credit hours. Students earning the degree are expected to demonstrate proficiency in their area of specialization.
Total Credit Hours Required: 61 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor's Degree
Track Prerequisites
General Entrance and Area Specific Prerequisites—Students applying for entrance into the MFA Programs must have successfully completed the following undergraduate courses or their equivalent:
- Theatre for Young Audiences—Script Analysis or Play Analysis, Directing I, Theatre History or Dramatic Literature, as well as experience in some area of theatre and/or education.
Degree Requirements
Core
6 Total Credits
- Complete the following:
- THE5910 - Research Methods in Theatre (3)
- THE6086C - Careers in Professional Theatre (3)
Specialization
26 Total Credits
- Complete the following:
- THE6756 - Methods of Teaching Drama (3)
- THE5385 - Dramatic Literature for Children (3)
- TPA5081C - Design Concepts for Youth Theatre (3)
- TPP5386C - Directing for Young Audiences (3)
- THE6726 - Advanced TYA Seminar (3)
- TPP5289C - Acting Methodologies (2)
- THE6507 - Dramatic Theory and Criticism (3)
- TPP6216C - Theatre for Young Audiences Tour (3)
- TPP6247 - Theatre for Social Change (3)
Elective Courses
11 Total Credits
- Earn at least 11 credits from the following:
- TPP6686 - Playwriting for Young Audiences (3)
- TPP5246C - Circus Arts (2)
- TPA5885C - Puppetry (2)
- TPP5125C - Improvisation Studio (2)
- TPP5248C - Storytelling as a Theatrical Art Form (2)
Thesis
6 Total Credits
- Earn at least 6 credits from the following:
- THE6971 - Thesis (1 - 99)
Internship
12 Total Credits
- Complete 1 of the following
All Internship - 12 Credit Hours- Earn at least 12 credits from the following:
- THE6946 - Internship (1 - 99)
Internship/Elective Combo Option - 12 Credit Hours- Earn at least 12 credits from the following types of courses: If students decide to only take the minimum 6 internship credits, the remaining 6 credits must be taken in the electives area.
Examination
0 Total Credits
- A comprehensive departmental Theatre exam is administered to the MFA students in the Theatre for Young Audiences Track at the end of their course work. The department allows two attempts at a comprehensive exam.
Transfer and Residency
0 Total Credits
- Students who do not hold a master's degree can usually transfer up to nine semester hours into this program. Ordinarily, students holding completed MS or MA degrees will not be admitted into the MFA program. Each case will be evaluated on an individual basis. Final acceptance and number of credits to be transferred will be determined by a graduate faculty committee. A minimum of 51 credits must be taken at the University of Central Florida. A student without an earned master's degree must complete a residency requirement of at least five semesters with at least four of them being full-time, consecutive semesters. Summer session may be counted toward the four consecutive semesters.
Independent Learning
0 Total Credits
- The Independent Learning Requirement is met by successful completion of a master's thesis.
Grand Total Credits: 61
Application Requirements
For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the Admissions section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants must apply online. All requested materials must be submitted by the established deadline.
In addition to the general UCF graduate application requirements, applicants to this program must provide:
- One official transcript (in a sealed envelope) from each college/university attended.
- Undergraduate degree in Theatre or equivalent.
- A 3.0 Theatre GPA.
- Essay stating applicant's academic and professional goals.
- Résumé.
- An 8 X 10 headshot.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- An audition.
- Interview.
- Complete the general entrance and area specific undergraduate prequisites or their equivalents.
- Applicants applying to this program who have attended a college/university outside the United States must provide a course-by-course credential evaluation with GPA calculation. Credential evaluations are accepted from World Education Services (WES) or Josef Silny and Associates, Inc. only.
Auditions, Portfolio, and Interview Requirements:
- MFA Theatre for Young Audiences applicants are required to participate in an onsite interview and students must either audition (perform two contrasting monologues, not to exceed three minutes total) or give a creative presentation.
For more details about these requirements, contact the School of Performing Arts at https://performingarts.cah.ucf.edu
General Entrance and Area Specific Prerequisites—Students applying for entrance into the MFA Programs must have successfully completed the following undergraduate courses or their equivalent:
- Theatre for Young Audiences—Script Analysis or Play Analysis, Directing I, Theatre History or Dramatic Literature, as well as experience in some area of theatre and/or education.
Meeting minimum UCF admission criteria does not guarantee program admission. Final admission is based on evaluation of the applicant's abilities, past performance, recommendations, match of this program and faculty expertise to the applicant's career/academic goals, and the applicant's potential for completing the degree.
No part-time students will be admitted into the MFA program.
Financial Information
Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.
Fellowship Information
Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.
