New York City,
NY,
United States
Type
Private
Degrees offered
Bachelor's Degree
PhD in Theatre and Performance in New York United States | Columbia University
Columbia University
|
New York United States
Visit institution website
for more information
Qualification
Doctor of Philosophy
Languages
English
Delivery Mode
On-Campus
Tuition (2025)
USD
53,576
Attendance
Full-time
Full-time Duration
36 months
Columbia University's Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Performance fosters an environment where students can investigate the dynamic connections between performance and academic study, critique and artistic production, as well as theoretical concepts and practical applications, all within New York City's vibrant theater scene. This curriculum enables participants to gain comprehensive knowledge of both Western and non-Western theatrical traditions while developing their own specialized research focus. Guided by a cross-departmental faculty committee representing diverse disciplines including English and Comparative Literature, the School of the Arts' Theatre Program, Comparative Literature and Society, language departments, Philosophy, Classics, and Barnard College's Theatre Department, the program promotes interdisciplinary exploration across theater and performance studies. With intentionally limited enrollment, students benefit from personalized faculty mentorship and frequently collaborate with peers from other humanities disciplines as well as M.F.A. candidates specializing in directing, dramaturgy, and playwriting. The program provides six years of financial support through a combination of fellowships and teaching opportunities. Graduates have secured tenure-track positions at prestigious institutions worldwide, including Stanford, Princeton, and the University of Chicago, while others have pursued successful careers as playwrights, screenwriters, directors, and fiction authors.
Destination of Study
Subjects of Study
Language Requirements
English
IELTS 7.5
Qualification Requirements
Students entering the program have strong backgrounds in some dimension of the academic study of performance and performance practice, ranging from performance and philosophy to literary studies, theatre history and performance theory. The program, strongly interdisciplinary in nature, is run by an interdepartmental committee and is enriched by the faculty resources of the Department of English and Comparative Literature, the School of the Arts, the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, language departments, Anthropology, Classics, and of the Barnard College Department of Theatre. Because of its New York location, the program is attuned to emerging events in contemporary theatre and society. Students are admitted for the Ph.D. only, and receive both the M.A. and M.Phil as part of their progress toward the doctoral degree. The admissions committee carefully considers all applications, and the program encourages students with either a bachelor's degree or a Master's degree in any related discipline of drama, theatre, and performance research to consider applying.
A complete application to the Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance includes:
the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences application form (see GSAS site for details)
a c.v.
transcripts from previous academic institutions (see GSAS site for details)
a statement of academic purpose, outlining your academic interests, and possible trajectories of future work in the study of drama, theatre, and performance. Since students in the program take two years of intensive coursework, we expect that your goals and interests may well change. The statement identifies your academic orientation at the time of application.
a critical writing sample (20pp. maximum, typically 6000 words, double-spaced). The writing sample need not be in the field of your future work, but should represent your rhetorical fluency as well as your critical, theoretical, and interpretive capabilities, preferably with regard to drama, theatre, and/or performance, you should feel free to add a note at the beginning of the sample locating it in relation to scholarly interests, or describing its place in a larger project if it is excerpted from a longer piece of writing.
three letters of recommendation, the most effective letters are from faculty members who know you, your work, and your scholarly potential in the field well.
The Graduate School requires the following minimum scores-
IELTS - overall 7.5
TOEFL (IBT) - 100
TOEFL (PBT) - 600
A complete application to the Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance includes:
the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences application form (see GSAS site for details)
a c.v.
transcripts from previous academic institutions (see GSAS site for details)
a statement of academic purpose, outlining your academic interests, and possible trajectories of future work in the study of drama, theatre, and performance. Since students in the program take two years of intensive coursework, we expect that your goals and interests may well change. The statement identifies your academic orientation at the time of application.
a critical writing sample (20pp. maximum, typically 6000 words, double-spaced). The writing sample need not be in the field of your future work, but should represent your rhetorical fluency as well as your critical, theoretical, and interpretive capabilities, preferably with regard to drama, theatre, and/or performance, you should feel free to add a note at the beginning of the sample locating it in relation to scholarly interests, or describing its place in a larger project if it is excerpted from a longer piece of writing.
three letters of recommendation, the most effective letters are from faculty members who know you, your work, and your scholarly potential in the field well.
The Graduate School requires the following minimum scores-
IELTS - overall 7.5
TOEFL (IBT) - 100
TOEFL (PBT) - 600
Tuition
USD
53,576