PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies

The PhD program in Theatre and Performance Studies trains scholar-artists to develop projects in theatre history, performance studies, critical theory, and cultural analysis in various performance traditions and global contexts. As a faculty, we approach performance through diverse methods, such as historiography, ethnography, and critical analysis of performance texts. We welcome students from underrepresented communities, and we believe that people of color, disabled people, queer and trans folks, and first-generation scholars produce new ways of seeing and knowing that facilitate thinking and working in a diverse classroom.

Enrollment is selective in order to provide individual attention to the scholarly, pedagogical, and artistic projects that shape the student experience at Tufts. In addition to drawing upon Tufts' award-winning faculty, we offer students the opportunity to take courses across the university, and in the Boston Consortium for Higher Education.

In addition to their research, graduate students engage in academic life in a variety of ways, including undergraduate teaching, editorial and dramaturgical assistantships, among many forms of university life. Opportunities to develop and teach courses in students' areas of specialization also exist within the department, at Tufts' acclaimed Experimental College, and through adjunct appointments across Greater Boston. Recently courses designed by our graduate students include Playwriting, LGBTQ+ Theatre, Performing Asian America, and Creativity in Crisis. Additionally, our students serve as actors, directors, designers and dramaturgs on campus and throughout greater Boston.

Graduate faculty actively mentor students' participation and integration into academic life. We encourage and support pathways towards publication in leading journals, conference presentations, and membership in professional organizations.
We support and encourage a wide range of career aspirations and outcomes. Our alumni currently hold tenured or tenure-stream positions at over 30 institutions around the globe, including Vanderbilt University, Connecticut College, Barnard College, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Northwestern University, and more. Our alumni also make distinctive contributions in higher education administration, arts leadership, K-12 education, and more.
 

Current graduate students can consult The Graduate Handbooks for all requirements, milestones, and department procedures.