Theatre (MFA) – Theatre for Young Audiences

We are now accepting applications for Fall 2025 admission.

The University of Central Florida offers one of the nation's most distinct graduate training programs in Theatre for Young Audiences. The program offers courses such as Puppetry, Storytelling and Methods of Teaching Drama is partnered with Orlando Repertory Theatre, a professional Theatre for Young Audiences in vibrant downtown Orlando.

The Master of Fine Arts in Theatre for Young Audiences track is designed for students who demonstrate the artistic and intellectual capacity and evidence of professional promise to pursue careers in professional and academic theatre. This track is for all theatre disciplines and offers opportunities to create work with and for youth, including community-based applied theatre, teaching artistry and education, devised theatre and directing.

The program is a highly selective, rigorous, three-year professional training program emphasizing both theatre theory and practice. The MFA degree is rooted in the belief that classroom study and practical experience in the theatre are of equal and complementary value.

Students, in addition to becoming highly trained theatre practitioners, must also demonstrate the ability to understand the conceptual basis of their art and to be able to articulate that understanding to others. Toward this end, the department will recruit and develop graduate students who can serve, along with faculty and staff, as role models for undergraduate students whose BA and BFA programs of study are integrally connected with the graduate programs. Assistantships also offer students teaching opportunities in the theatre department.

The Theatre for Young Audiences track of the Theatre MFA program requires 6 credit hours of core courses and 26 credit hours of specialization courses to be completed following a yearly schedule in addition to a thesis and an internship. The electives can be chosen (with instructor approval) from existing courses in other MFA tracks in Theatre. Because allowed electives are both two- and three-credit-hour courses, the course of study shows a sliding number of credits for electives. Consequently, although 61 credit hours are required, a student may graduate with as many as 65 credit hours. Students earning the degree are expected to demonstrate proficiency in their area of specialization.

Total Credit Hours Required: 61 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor's Degree

Track Prerequisites

General Entrance and Area Specific Prerequisites—Students applying for entrance into the MFA Programs must have successfully completed the following undergraduate courses or their equivalent:

• Theatre for Young Audiences—Script Analysis or Play Analysis, Directing I, Theatre History or Dramatic Literature, as well as experience in some area of theatre and/or education.

Degree Requirements

Core

• Complete the following:
  • THE5910 - Research Methods in Theatre (3)
  • THE6086C - Careers in Professional Theatre (3)

Specialization

• Complete the following:
  • THE6756 - Methods of Teaching Drama (3)
  • THE5385 - Dramatic Literature for Children (3)
  • TPP5386C - Directing for Young Audiences (3)
  • THE6726 - Advanced TYA Seminar (3)
  • THE6507 - Dramatic Theory and Criticism (3)
  • TPP6216C - Theatre for Young Audiences Tour (3)
  • TPP6247 - Theatre for Social Change (3)
  • TPA5885C - Puppetry (2)
  • THE5307 - Contemporary Theatre Practice (3)
  • THE5945L - Theatre Practicum I (1)
  • TPP5248C - Storytelling as a Theatrical Art Form (2)
  • TPA5085C - Design Seminar for Theatre (2)

Elective Courses

• Earn at least 12 credits from the following types of courses: Students may choose from any 5000 or 6000-level course with the prefix of THE*, TPA, and TPP which does not have program restricted prerequisite requirements. Alternatively, students can select electives from other departments within the university, subject to approval by the instructor and the TYA Area Coordinator. - Maximum of additional 6 credits of internship can be used towards electives. * THE 6971 cannot be used towards electives. Note: Fifty percent of total program course work must be at the 6000 level or above.

Thesis

• Earn at least 6 credits from the following:
  • THE6971 - Thesis (1 - 99)

Internship

• Complete all of the following
  • Earn at least 6 credits from the following:
    • THE6946 - Internship (1 - 99)
  • Maximum of additional 6 credits of internship can be used towards electives.

Examination

• A comprehensive departmental Theatre exam is administered to the MFA students in the Theatre for Young Audiences Track at the end of their course work. The department allows two attempts at a comprehensive exam.

Independent Learning

• The Independent Learning Requirement is met by successful completion of a master's thesis.

Grand Total Credits: 61

Application Requirements

Financial Information

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Fellowship Information

Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.

Students must maintain a minimum "B" (3.0) overall Theatre grade point average to continue in the major. Theatre courses with grades of less than "C" will not be counted toward degree requirements. A student's continuation in the program is contingent upon a positive annual evaluation. Students must successfully complete an internship, present a written journal documenting their experience and a thesis project. The thesis proposal must be approved in advance.