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WVU Morgantown

Theatre, B.A.

  • Overview
  • Admissions Requirements
  • Major
  • Learning Outcomes

Degree Offered

  • Bachelor of Arts

Nature of the Program

The Bachelor of Arts degree offers a broad-based program of study combining a liberal arts education with a general theatre curriculum.

The B.A. meshes perfectly with minors, and especially double majors, potentially increasing interest from future graduate schools or employers. Typically, the B.A. student in Theatre is one who chooses not to specialize in any one area of the art form, but prefers instead to keep as many educational and career options open as possible. The B.A. program is also well-suited for students looking to explore multiple areas of study within the theatre discipline, such as stage management, directing, or producing.

Admissions for 2025-2026

The BA in Theatre does not require an audition or interview, but applicants must meet all University undergraduate admissions requirements. 

For further information, please contact the College of Creative Arts and Media Recruitment Office at (304) 293-4339.

Major Code: 3708

General Education Foundations

Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.

NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.

Course List
Code Title Hours
General Education Foundations
F1 - Composition & Rhetoric3-6
ENGL 101
& ENGL 102
Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric
and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research
or ENGL 103
Accelerated Academic Writing
F2A/F2B - Science & Technology4-6
F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning3-4
F4 - Society & Connections3
F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past3
F6 - The Arts & Creativity3
F7 - Global Studies & Diversity3
F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree)9
Total Hours31-37

Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.

Curriculum Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
University Requirements44
Theatre Major Requirements76
Total Hours120

University Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits)
Outstanding GEF Requirements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 828
THET 191First-Year Seminar2
General Electives14
Total Hours44

Theatre Major Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
Theatre Studies:
THET 100First-Year Practicum1
THET 113Stage Management Principles3
THET 230Text Analysis3
THET 302Directing3
THET 401Capstone Experience3
Theatre History:
THET 170World Theatre and Drama (GEF 7)3
THET 301History of Western Theatre3
THET 365Western Theatre History 2: Enlightenment to Contemporary (Fulfills Writing and Communication Skills Requirement)3
THET 460Contemporary Drama3
Production:
Select one of the following sequences:4
THET 103
& THET 104
Stagecraft
and Stagecraft Lab
THET 105
& THET 106
Costuming
and Costuming Lab
Performance:
DANC 100SFundamentals of Dance Techniques2
THET 144SFundamentals of Acting (Fulfills GEF 6)3
THET 462SPuppetry3
Practicum:5
Select 5 credits from the following:
THET 200
Production Practicum (may be repeated up to two credits)
THET 213
Intermediate Stage Management
THET 300
Practicum (may be repeated up to two credits)
THET 400
Advanced Production Practicum (may be repeated up to three credits)
Theatre Electives (THET)16
Non-Theatre Electives18
Total Hours76

Suggested Plan of Study BA in Theatre

First Year
FallHoursSpringHours
Select one of the following:4DANC 100S2
THET 103
& THET 104
 ENGL 101 (GEF 1)3
THET 105
& THET 106
 THET 1133
THET 1001THET 144S (GEF 6)3
THET 170 (GEF 7)3GEF 3 3
THET 1912GEF 53
GEF 43 
General Elective2 
 15 17
Second Year
FallHoursSpringHours
ENGL 102 (GEF 1)3THET 2001
THET 2001THET 3013
THET 2303THET Elective3
GEF 24Non-THET Elective3
Non-THET Elective3GEF 83
General Elective 3 
 17 13
Third Year
FallHoursSpringHours
THET 3023THET 3653
THET 4001THET 4001
THET 462S3THET Electives 6
THET Elective3Non-THET Elective3
GEF 83GEF 83
General Elective3 
 16 16
Fourth Year
FallHoursSpringHours
THET 4001THET 4013
THET 4603THET Elective1
THET Elective3Non-THET Electives6
Non-THET Elective3General Elective3
General Elective3 
 13 13
Total credit hours: 120

Major Learning Outcomes

B.A. Theatre

Essential Content and Competencies

General Education

1. Competencies. Specific competency expectations are determined by the institution. Normally, students graduating with liberal arts degrees have:

  • The ability to think, speak, and write clearly and effectively, and to communicate with precision, cogency, and rhetorical force.
  • An informed acquaintance with the mathematical and experimental methods of the physical and biological sciences, and the historical and quantitative techniques needed for investigating the workings and developments of modern society.
  • An ability to address culture and history from a variety of perspectives.
  • Understanding of, and experience in thinking about, moral and ethical problems.
  • The ability to respect, understand, and evaluate work in a variety of disciplines.
  • The capacity to explain and defend views effectively and rationally.
  • Understanding of and experience in one or more art forms other than theatre.       

2. Operational Guidelines. These competencies are usually developed through studies in English composition and literature; foreign languages; history, social studies, and philosophy; visual and performing arts; natural science; technology; and mathematics. Precollegiate study, regular testing and counseling, and flexibility in course requirements are elements in achieving these competencies.

Theatre Studies

1. Competencies. Students holding undergraduate liberal arts degrees must have:

  • The ability to develop and defend informed judgments about theatre.
  • An acquaintance with a wide selection of theatre repertory including the principal eras, genres, and cultural sources.
  • An understanding of playwriting and production processes, aesthetic properties of style, and the way these shape and are shaped by artistic and cultural forces.
  • The ability to think conceptually and critically about text, performance, and production.

2. Operational Guidelines. Objectives of this type are ordinarily emphasized in courses such as acting, speech, play analysis, design technology, history and literature of the theatre, and through regular practical and intimate contact with living theatre.

Performance and Theatre Electives

1. Competencies. Students holding undergraduate liberal arts degrees must have:

  • Ability in areas of performance and production or playwriting appropriate to individual needs and interests, consistent with the goals and objectives of the specific liberal arts degree program being followed.
  • An understanding of procedures and approaches for realizing a variety of theatrical styles.
  • Intermediate to advanced competence in one or more theatre specializations in creation, performance, scholarship, or teaching.

2. Operational Guidelines:

  • The work in this area includes acting, design/technology, other aspects of participation in theatre productions, and studies in scholarly or pedagogical aspects of theatre.
  • In addition to electives in general education, further studies in theatre, including performance, should be possible through a selection of additional courses.
  • Institutions have various policies concerning the granting of credit for performance and production in liberal arts curricula, including the relegation of performance to extracurricular activity. Such policies are taken into account when curricular proportions are considered. 
  • School of Art and Design
  • School of Media and Communications -​ Reed
  • School of Music
  • School of Theatre and Dance
    • Acting
    • Dance
    • Musical Theatre
    • Theatre
    • Theatre Design and Technology
  • College Wide Degree

WVU Morgantown

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