Specialization in Theatre History, Dramatic Literature,
and Dramatic Theory and Criticism
DUE DATE FOR APPLICATION MATERIALS: January 15, 2007.
The faculty of the LSU Theatre Department believe that our doctoral
program effectively blends traditional study in theatre with recent
conceptual approaches that have challenged the outlines of our
discipline.
Primary theatre courses consist of:
- theatre history
- dramatic literature
- theory/criticism.
Within each seminar, attention is given to new critical approaches
and methodologies that invigorate theatre studies today. Including:
- cultural studies
- performance theory
- historiography
- gender studies, etc.
Also, South Louisiana, with its unusual mix of Creolized cultures,
offers special research opportunites for students interested in
carnival, ritual and cultural performance.
Degree program require a MINIMUM of 81 hours credit beyond the
bachelor's degree (excluding a minimum of 9 dissertation hours).
Students with the M.A. or M.F.A. degree in theatre are usually
allowed to transfer 30 credit hours, leaving a MINIMUM of 51 to
be completed, including 9-12 credit hours in a department outside
of theatre ("the outside minor"), such as English, and
3 hours in one 7000 level course to be taken outside of the major
and minor departments. The number of hours credited for master's
work, and the number of hours needed for completion of the Ph.D.
program (whether 81 or over) are determined by the director of
graduate studies and the graduate faculty. To complete all requirements
for the degree, at least two years of residency is usually necessary,
and one year devoted to research and writing of the dissertation.
With emphasis in theatre history, dramatic literature, criticism,
and performance theory, the Ph.D. degree program seeks to cultivate
students' skills in research and writing. Doctoral study in theatre
also aims to broaden and deepen students' understanding of theatre's
role in society and to explore research problems through inquiry,
original thinking, and conceptual approaches. Students are expected
to produce papers in their classes worthy of submission to regional
and national conferences and to periodicals for publication. Class
projects should not only demonstrate a thorough grasp of research
materials, but also display an originality of thought, a power
of conceptualization, and a spirit of intellectual inquiry. Students
are expected to be in touch with, rather than isolated from, the
production arts. Therefore, one may wish to take an acting, directing,
or design course, to supplement his/her training. One may also
participate in productions, on stage or behind the scenes, if
that experience is needed. Always, however, the student must remain
aware of the academic demands of the Ph.D. program and of his/her
own responsibilities to those demands. If production work begins
to interfere with the ability to carry out the academic requirements
of the program, the graduate faculty may advise the student to
drop or diminish production work.
Requirements for the Ph.D. degree:
- Qualifying Examination
- 9-12 credit hours in minor
- 3 credit hours outside of major and minor (7000) level
- 3 credit hours in non-Western theatre, art or culture
- 3 credit hours in THTR 7900, Introduction to Graduate Study
- 6 credit hours in theory sequence
- 6 credit hours in dramatic literature sequence
- 6 credit hours in theatre history sequence
- 81 total credit hours exclusive of dissertation and transfer
credit
- Minimum of 9 credit hours in THTR 9000 (dissertation research)
- Reading knowledge of one foreign language
- Successful completion of the "General Examination"
- Approved dissertation prospectus
- Written dissertation
- Final Examination -- oral defense of the dissertation
Qualifying Examination
Given usually within the first four weeks of a new student's
residency, the Qualifying Examination consists of question/answer
discussion session with the department's graduate faculty. The
purpose is to determine the student's curricula needs in planning
the program of study, and to provide an opportunity for the student
and faculty to assess the student's academic/creative strengths.
A Ph.D. student is not considered in residence until he/she has
passed the Qualifying Examination/Discussion, and, in conjunction
with the Director of Graduate Studies, has submitted to the Graduate
School a detailed Program of Study, which lists all of the courses
to be taken in the major and the outside minor. New students should
see the director of graduate studies within the first week of
the fall semester to review the requirements for the qualifying
examinations and the "program of study."
Requirements for Dissertation Prospectus and Foreign
Language
Before a student may take the comprehensive "General Examination",
he/she must have completed all course work requirements and provided
evidence for the satisfactory mastery of a foreign language (other
than one's native language) to the director of graduate studies
and the graduate faculty.
Prospectus. A prospectus, which proposes and
justifies the dissertation study that the student wishes to undertake,
must be distributed to and approved by the student's committee
(four members from theatre faculty, one member from minor department.)
The format, organization, and nature of the content of the prospectus
is in the back of the Handbook. The student will meet with the
graduate committee to discuss the prospectus before its final
approval. The prospectus must be approved before the General Examinations
can be taken.
General Examination
After the completion of the requirements listed above (course
work, foreign language, approved prospectus), all doctoral students
are required to take the comprehensive General Examination, which
covers four major areas: 1) theatre history; 2) dramatic literature;
3) dramatic theory and criticism; and 4) specialist area (such
as post-modern criticism; or, Antebellum American drama; or 20th
century American drama prior to WWII, etc.)
Students may also be examined in the chosen outside minor area,
at the discretion of the minor advisor. For the major areas, as
above, students take written exams in each of the first three
listed areas (three hours each), and the fourth (specialist area)
is a take-home exam, with up to ten days permitted for its completion.
General Examinations are scheduled once each semester and once
in the summer. The Theatre faculty sets the dates for the General
Examination, but students are encouraged to propose dates. Students
planning to take the General Examination should agree among themselves
on the preferred dates to be proposed to the Director of Graduate
Studies. Each student should submit the examination request, approved
by the student's advisor(s), to the Director of Graduate Studies
no later then two months in advance of the proposed dates.
Dissertation
A dissertation, which demonstrates successfully the student's
mastery of scholarly research and writing, is required of all
doctoral students. The choice of the dissertation topic must be
made in conjunction with the student's adviser and must be approved
by the majority of the student's doctoral committee that has been
assigned at the completion of the Qualifying Examinations. EACH
Ph.D. candidate must provide a copy of the completed dissertation
to the department library. Students must allow at least one week
between the final examination and final submission of the dissertation
to the Graduate School.
