Graduation Requirements

Completion of the following - while maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress - is required to earn the Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from Columbia School of the Arts:

  1. sixty (60) points of required and approved graduate coursework. "Approved" coursework is any elective approved by both the Concentration Head and Director of Academic Administration that enhances or supplements the student's educational or professional goals.
  2. a production assignment for at least one thesis play (usually completed in the first year). More information can be found here.
  3. a thesis approved by the student's Concentration Head. A thesis can be either a written document, participation in a production, or some combination of both.

In addition, students in the Directing, Dramaturgy, Playwriting, and Stage Management concentrations must complete two (2) internships while enrolled in the Theatre Program. Students in the Theatre Management and Producing concentration must complete three (3) internships. Acting Concentration students do not need to complete any. Details about internships can be found here.

Courses that do not count toward the 60-credit minimum are:

  1. any course below the 3000-level.
  2. any language course below the 6000-level.
  3. an elective not previously approved by Concentration Head and Director of Academic Administration.
  4. any more than six (6) points of coursework at the 3000-level.

What follows are additional requirements specific to each concentration (if applicable).

Dramaturgy students must either:

  • have earned a grade of “C” or better (or “Pass” for those graded Pass/Fail) in two semesters of an intermediate-level undergraduate language course
  • pass one semester of a Rapid Reading and Translation course at Columbia
  • receive a grade of “B” or better in the equivalent of the Rapid Reading and Translation course at another accredited college (i.e., CUNY’s Language for Reading Knowledge), or
  • pass a language proficiency exam at Columbia. 

It is the student’s responsibility to provide evidence of fulfillment of this requirement (transcript, letter/certificate of completion, etc.) before the final graduation audit in their 3rd year. 

Stage Management students must serve as either Assistant Stage Manager (ASM) or Production Stage Manager (PSM) on no less than six (6) Columbia productions during the three years in the program. These requirements are typically completed on the following timeline:

1st Year

  1. ASM on thesis production
  2. ASM on thesis production

2nd Year

  1. PSM on a Chekhov director project
  2. PSM on a Materials director project
  3. PSM on New Play Festival project

3rd Year

  1. PSM on thesis production

 

Stage management students may replace either #3 or #4 with another Columbia production. 

The two ASM assignments in the 1st year also fulfill the thesis production assignment listed above. The PSM assignments in the 2nd year are attached to THEA 8650, Rehearsal and Production. As such, successful completion of the course/requirement also requires a 7-10 page reflective essay and a complete production prompt book. 

Theatre Management and Producing students must serve as a General Manager or Producer for at least one (1) Columbia-affiliated production.