Admission to the Program

Formal admission to the major requires demonstrated talent through an audition arranged with the department, preferably prior to beginning university studies. However, a student may enter as an intended major and audition during the first year. Students will be accepted based on programmatic approval and written declaration of major. 

University Requirements

• A total of 120 credit hours 
• 6 credit hours of college writing 
• 3 credit hours of college mathematics or the equivalent by examination 

General Education Requirements

• A total of ten courses, consisting of one foundation course and one second-level course in an approved sequence from each of the five curricular areas 
• No more than 6 credit hours may be taken in the same discipline 

Major Requirements

• 48 credit hours with grades of C or better 

Students who wish to study abroad must receive prior approval from their advisor in order to ensure that appropriate courses will transfer and that scholarships and financial aid will apply. 

• Participation in a minimum of four department productions and management (as stage manager or assistant stage manager) of one of these productions before graduation 

Course Requirements

Core (21 credit hours)

• PERF-251 Fundamentals of Acting I (3) 
• PERF-260 Production I: Stagecraft (3) 
• PERF-261 Production II: Introduction to Design (3) 
• PERF-265 Theatre Practicum (1) (taken twice for a total of 2 credit hours) 
• PERF-365 Theatre History I: From the Greeks to the
       Seventeenth Century (3) 
• PERF-366 Theatre History II: from Baroque to the End of
      the Nineteenth Century (3) 
• PERF-440 Stage Management  (1) 
• PERF-445 Senior Capstone: Musical Theatre (3) 

Musical Theatre (27 credit hours)

• PERF-227 Musicianship I (3) 
• PERF-228 Musicianship II (3) 
• PERF-252 Fundamentals of Acting II (3) 
• PERF-340 From Scene into Song (3) 
• PERF-346 Survey of Music Theatre (3) 
• PERF-450 Rotating Topics in Theatre:
  Dance Styles for Music Theatre (3) 
• PERF-556 Acting V: Audition Techniques (3) 
• 3 credit hours of dance technique courses 
• 3 credit hours of applied music (MUS-xxx): voice 

University Honors Program

All University Honors students must complete at least 12 credit hours of advanced-level (300-level and above) Honors courses including a 3 to 6 credit hour Honors Senior Capstone Project. Students may graduate with University Honors in the major if they complete at least 12 advanced-level Honors courses including the Senior Capstone Project in the department. Each department has three levels of University Honors requirements: Level I Options (100-200-level Honors classes); Level II Options (300-level and above Honors classes); and Level III Options (Honors Senior Capstone). The department Honors coordinator advises students in the University Honors Program regarding departmental options. For more information, go to www.american.edu/academic.depts/honors/ . 

Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its accelerated bachelor’s/master’s programs. Undergraduate students may complete up to 3 credits for every 9 credits required for the graduate degree that may be applied to the requirements for both degree programs.  The department that oversees the graduate program the student enters will determine if the courses the undergraduate student completes will satisfy master’s degree requirements. 

Bachelor’s/master’s students must complete at least 18 in-residence credit hours at the graduate level after the bachelor’s degree is earned and  maintain continuous, sequential enrollment in the two programs. Students must finish the master’s degree requirements within three years from the date of first enrollment in the master’s program.