Do I have an advisor in the Theatre Department?
What is a Focused Study and who tells me what to do for one?
As a major, do I need to do an internship?
If I want to do an internship, what do I need to do?
How do I become a minor or declare a thematic sequence?
If I complete the thematic sequence, what more would I need to complete a minor?
How do I add a theatre major?

Do I have an advisor in the Theatre Department?

YES! All theatre majors and minors are assigned a faculty advisor. Your advisor can help you plan your degree and offer insight into which Miami Plan courses might work best for your studies. Every advisor can also offer professional advice and mentorship as you consider your career options. The Theatre Major Advisor Assignment list is posted on the bulletin board next to the theatre office, or check the advisor link on your MyMiami page. Julia Guichard typically advises all minors.

What is a Focused Study and who tells me what to do for one?

The Focused Study is only a requirement of those majors who began in Fall 2010 or earlier. It an opportunity for you to personalize your degree through the completion of 8 credits of coursework and/or internship credit that connect to some area of theatre. These need NOT be all theatre classes! Unlike the Miami Plan Thematic Sequence, there are no pre-determined focused studies. You decide what you want to study. See Focused Study Overview page for more information and examples.

By your junior year, you will need to complete a Focused Study declaration form with your theatre advisor.

Majors who started at Miami in the Fall of 2011 or later do NOT have to complete a Focused Study.

As a major, do I need to do an internship?

No, you don't, even though your DARS may tell you otherwise. On your DARS, under "Focused Theatre Requirements" your DARS will say you need to take 8 credits to fulfill a practicum requirement. What it doesn't tell you is that you can meet this requirement with 8 hours of electives of your choosing that create a focus. This FOCUSED STUDY is a key part of your theatre degree. Please see the previous question on the Focused Study. These need NOT be theatre classes! See Focused Study Overview  for more information and examples. Of course, you could do an internship with a theatre or theatre-related company to complete all or part this requirement. Participation in Thrall Children's Theatre, Field Studies in the Czech Republic, and transfer study at the Korean National University of the Arts (KNUA) can also complete this requirement in part or in whole! See your advisor!

If I want to do an internship, what do I need to do?

First, you need to find an internship that interests you! The theatre faculty and your advisor have contacts in the profession and can help guide you. Internship opportunities are sent out on the department listserv, and are posted on the "Internship" bulletin board across from the Acting Studio. Karen Smith keeps a copy of ArtSearch in the theatre office that you can look through to find internships. To get credit for your internship, you MUST work with your advisor before your internship begins to register you for academic credit. Our internship guidelines lists rules, requirements and provides you a checklist of steps to follow.

How do I become a minor or declare a thematic sequence?

Both are easy to do. If you are a non-theatre major and want to add the theatre thematic or minor, see Chief Departmental Adviser Julia Guichard and complete a change of major, minor, thematic sequence form.

If you are a theatre major and want to add a thematic or minor, you need to contact the department in which it is offered.

If I complete the thematic sequence, what more would I need to complete a minor?

The good news is that the Thematic Sequence in Theatre is included in both of our minors. Complete the thematic sequence and you’ve completed 9 hours of the minor.

How do I add a theatre major?

Please see our Admission page for requirements and process of adding the major.