The UMass theater MFA offers a hands-on professional training program with specializations in directing, dramaturgy, costume design, lighting design, and scenic design and technology. Students pursue a rigorous curriculum and practical experience alongside a faculty of committed teachers who have active careers in the profession. Our classes are small, allowing for personal mentorship and the opportunity to customize. Students collaborate extensively with fellow theater-makers in a production season that serves as a teaching laboratory. Our students can build extensive teaching experience, and most undertake internships with partner companies like Hartford Stage, Shakespeare & Company, Double Edge Theatre, and WAM Theatre.

We have a strong commitment to diversity that is reflected in our faculty and curriculum, with specializations in African American, African, Latinx, and Spanish language theater, as well as feminism and gender studies. We welcome international students and those with nontraditional theater backgrounds.

To ensure no students finish their MFA in debt, all graduate students receive full tuition waivers, health benefits, and assistantships during their three years.