Complete an application for admission, which includes:
Visit our How to Apply page for more information.
If you are interested in applying for our Scholarships and/or Assistantships, you must also submit an application for those opportunities (found at the link).
Yes, but your non-refundable $50 application fee will be waived if you attend an Open House. There are three Open House opportunities:
1. Graduate Studies Open House
2. Graduate Studies Online Information Session
3. Theatre Department Open House (multiple dates in January)
Ask your Open House representative to provide you with the discount code!
You should submit a paper you wrote for an undergraduate Theatre, English, or Capstone class that show us your writing style and potentially your research interests. Papers should be at least 5 pages and no more than 15 pages.
If you don’t have a paper, you can submit dramaturgical notes or production reviews.
Your statement of goals should be 500 to 1,500 words, articulating your aspirations upon the completion of this degree.
A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 is required for admission.
No. Students matriculate into the program from a wide variety of undergraduate majors, spanning the humanities and the sciences. The result is a vibrant, diverse community of scholars with a passion for theatre as a common denominator.
Please contact our Program Coordinator at (610) 519-4760.
Villanova University’s Office of International Student Services assists students from outside the United States in adjusting to Villanova and the surrounding community. The Office provides information and advice about visas and immigration, housing and employment, health care and other questions related to living and studying in the United States. Contact Hubert Whan Tong, or telephone the Office of International Student Services at (610) 519-8017.
During the online application process, you will enter the name and email address of your recommenders, and they will receive a request for a digital submission. We cannot accept letters of recommendation directly from our applicants.
No. Because Villanova Theatre involves acting classes and regular production, we encourage students to submit an audition, but do not require it. Only those applying for an Assistantship or a Research Scholarship are required to interview. More information on these funding opportunities can be found here.
No. The Villanova University application will allow for the submission of GRE results, but the Theatre Department does not require scores or an official ETS score report as part of a completed application.
The deadlines for our Masters programs are as follows:
Please note that early applications are always encouraged since available spaces in a program may fill before the “Applications may be Considered Until” date.
For 2020-2021, all courses in Villanova’s Graduate College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are $820.00 per credit. Almost all graduate courses are three-credit courses.
Teachers and educators and administrators in public and private schools receive a tuition reduction of 20%, and those in Catholic schools receive a tuition reduction of 40%.
Yes! Financial assistance is available to all matriculated/degree-seeking students in a graduate level program. In order to receive assistance you must be enrolled in at least 3 credit hours in the summer, fall, or spring semester. Nathan Walch (nathan.walch@villanova.edu) is the representative in the financial aid office dedicated to assisting graduate students. More information is available on the Financial Assistance website.
Yes! Read more about our merit-based Assistantships and Scholarships here.
In addition, Graduate Assistantships may be available occasionally in various other university offices. Please check the Funding Opportunities Around Campus site for more information on these openings.
The deadline to submit Scholarship and Assistantship applications is February 1, 2022. All application materials, including those materials for your application to the graduate program, must be submitted by this date as well.
No way! We encourage applicants to apply for all of our Assistantships and Scholarships, regardless of resume and skill level. We are looking for great citizens, excellent students, and theatre artists to fund so don't sell yourself short.
No, only full time students (taking 3 classes a semester) are eligible for our departmental funding opportunities.
Yes. There are places to submit additional documents within the online application.
Yes. Prospective students applying for an Acting Scholarship must audition. Prospective students applying for a Research Scholarship or for an Assistantship in Props, Set, Costume or PR are required to interview. Those interested in applying for both the scholarship and the assistantship will be asked to interview and audition. Acting Scholarship Auditions and Assistantship/Research Scholar Interviews will be held in February.
Upon submitting your Villanova Theatre Graduate Program application, the department will contact you by email to set up your audition and/or interview.
You will need a total of 36 credits to complete the Master’s in Theatre program.
Yes. Aside from traditional coursework, students must meet complete the following requirements:
The Villanova Master of the Arts in Theatre with Certificate in Nonprofit Management is a new program that combines the scholarly, creative and practical curriculum of the M.A. in Theatre with a certificate designed to facilitate a career in the nonprofit sector. This Certificate requires three additional credits than the MA in Theatre, meaning students must complete 39 credits to graduate.
The Graduate Certificate in Practical Theatre gives a broad background in practical theatre to the student who may not wish to pursue the M.A. degree but would like to acquire the skills, vocabulary, and methodology fundamental to the practice of theatre. Students take five performance or production-related courses and complete one practicum.
Generally, students complete all the requirements for their Master’s degree in two years, although students are permitted up to six years to complete their degree.
To finish in two years, students would need to take three courses (totalling 9 nine credits) a semester.
Part-time students may take one or two classes per semester.
Only full-time students are eligible for our Assistantships and Scholarships.
Classes are offered Monday-Thursday. All classes meet once a week.
Academic classes run from 4:30-7:00 pm.
Practical classes run from 4:30-7:30 pm.
MPA Program courses may vary from these times.
No, we do not currently offer any graduate courses on-line. Since our courses offer a combination of theory and practice, we have no current plan to establish an on-line program.
Students may be able to take a course outside the theatre curriculum if it is approved by their advisor. Of course, the certificate in Nonprofit Management requires students to take 12 credits in the Public Administration Department.
Rehearsals are generally held on weeknights, beginning at 7:30 or 8pm, and on weekends for a total of 8 hours per day. Directors will give cast and crew at least one night off a week.
Rehearsals do not run later than 11:30 pm.
There are four mainstage shows per year (two in the fall and two in the spring). Typically, three are straight shows and one is a musical.
There is a Studio Show in January that provides an opportunity for students to produce their own work.
There is an additional 6th show being added to our season this year--stay tuned for more information!
No, only acting scholars are required to audition for our productions. All students are required to participate in three productions in some capacity before graduation--we call these practicums--and this work can be completed by acting, stage managing, assistant stage managing, light or sound board operation, or spotlight operation.
Our Season Selection process takes a wide variety of factors into consideration and our Mission as a University is certainly a part of that. That being said, our department has produced plays that both support and at times challenge all kinds of ideas. This is the very nature of art making. The answer to this question is never straight forward and that would be true for all producing companies who are considerate of their constituencies.
