Degree Requirements

Majors, Minors, Concentrators, and HASS requirements

Theater at MIT is for makers, thinkers, and investigators. For students who want to use performance as a tool for understanding the world they are actively building. Whether you major, minor, or concentrate in Theater, the curriculum is designed to meet you where you are and take you further. Choose a focused path in design, performance, or dramaturgy, or move freely across disciplines to build an interdisciplinary foundation of skills and knowledge.

MIT Theater is a space to ask hard questions, sit with ambiguity, and engage the human dimensions of complex systems. Our students bring those skills back to their labs, studios, and startups just as they bring their engineering, science, and design thinking onto the stage.

Select a tab below to better understand the degree requirements for Majors, Minors, and Concentrators in MIT Theater Arts.

Bachelor of Science in Theater Arts

The Major in Theater Arts is designed to provide a broad range of offerings in performance and design practices. Students complete a set of designated elective subjects in dramaturgy, acting, dance, design, or dramatic writing—two of which satisfy the CI-M requirement. A capstone thesis with a pre-thesis tutorial is an optional component of the major. This course of study prepares students to enter the field or pursue graduate studies in the performing arts. Before declaring the major, students should consult with the major advisor in Theater Arts the first term of their junior year.

MIT’s registrar maintains the official requirements for the Course 21T degree on their website. 

The current Major Advisor is Jay Scheib, scheib@mit.edu.

​​The Minor in Theater Arts

A minor in Theater Arts is designed to give students the opportunity to experiment in a practice-based approach to performance and design. The flexibility of the minor allows students to explore either the basic principles of several performance disciplines (for example: dramaturgy, interactive design, dance, and acting) or to concentrate more deeply into one area of artistic discipline. MIT’s registrar maintains the official requirements for the Minor in Theater Arts on their website. Please see Bulletin for more information.

MIT’s registrar maintains the official requirements for the Theater Minor on their website. 

The current Minor Advisor is Josh Higgason, higgason@mit.edu.

The Concentration in Theater Arts

A concentration in Theater Arts comprises three to four 9-to-12-unit courses for a minimum of 36 credits in the Theater Arts curriculum. This option serves as a general introduction to the discipline. Up to nine units of theater practicum (acting, directing, or design) in Theater Arts productions can be counted toward the concentration.

The current Concentration Advisor is Dan Safer, safer@mit.edu.

Ways to fulfill HASS requirements:

  • HASS-Arts distribution requirement: All 12-unit classes
  • Communication Intensive-Humanities requirement: Script Analysis, Introduction to Drama, Contemporary American Theater
  • Exploratory Classes: Fundamentals of Stage Technology, three units of discovery credit

Questions? Contact the following advisors directly: