Graduate Program Performing & Media Arts

The graduate program in performing and media arts at Cornell University offers students an interdisciplinary environment in which to pursue critical studies of various dramatic cultures, theatrical traditions, and expressive behavior in multilingual, intermedial, and globalizing performance contexts. The program is located within the Department of Performing and Media Arts and comprises distinguished faculty from across the humanities.

There are two degree programs for the prospective applicant: the PhD and the joint MA/PhD. Students benefit from the unusual flexibility of Cornell's graduate system and the ideals of freedom with responsibility on which that system is based. Our small size enables us to offer a generous funding package. A course of study is determined in consultation with a student's faculty advisors, and the PhD may be combined with a formal minor in such areas as directing or acting pedagogy, film studies or feminist, gender and sexuality studies.

Cornell does not offer a stand-alone Master's degree.

All PhD degree candidates are guaranteed four years of funding (including a stipend, a full tuition fellowship, and student health insurance):

Students have also successfully competed for Buttrick-Crippen Fellowship, Society for the Humanities Fellowships, Provost’s Diversity Fellowships, fellowships in recognition of excellence in teaching, and grants from the Graduate School to help with the cost of travel to scholarly conferences and research collections.

The field of Performing and Media Arts administers three examinations for graduate degree candidates: the qualifying examination, the examination for admission to doctoral candidacy, and the doctoral dissertation defense. Admitted students will receive more information about these exams upon matriculation.

The field of Performing and Media Arts also requires that all graduate students demonstrate reading proficiency in two languages other than English. The languages must be relevant to the student's research, as approved by the student's Special Committee.

The field of Performing and Media Arts offers majors in three areas: Theatre and Performance Studies, Cinema and Media Studies, and Theatre Theory and Aesthetics. Graduate students are expected to declare their major area of study, two minor areas, and the composition of their Special Committee by the end of their first year of study. An incoming student will be assigned a committee chair by the director of Graduate Studies until he/she has formed a complete committee. Interdisciplinary programs are easily arranged by taking minors in other fields. Possible minors include (but are not limited to): acting and directing pedagogy, Africana studies; anthropology; Asian studies; cinema studies; English; feminist, gender, and sexuality studies; German; Russian; and philosophy.

There are few required courses in the PhD program. However, students are strongly encouraged to take classes that provide a general background in theatre history, dramatic literature, critical and dramatic theory, cinema and media studies, and pedagogy.

This student group meets to discuss recent academic articles and books that have contributed to the field of media studies, as well as screen films that have historical or artistic significance.

Provides opportunities for grad students to share research interests, socialize, and network. Ongoing yearly events include The Roundtable and the Play Reading Group.

Our program is focused on preparing students for careers as researchers and professors, with concentrations in theatre and performance studies, cinema and media studies, and theatre theory and aesthetics. Students work closely with Cornell's Society for the Humanities and The School for Criticism and Theory, interdisciplinary centers of intellectual exchange that draw scholars and artists from across the globe. The University boasts one of the best research libraries in the country, which maintains extensive holdings in theatre and performance studies and houses a number of special collections.

The field's faculty members are drawn from the Department of Performing and Media Arts and from other departments, such as Anthropology, Asian Studies, Classics, Comparative Literature, German Studies, English, and Africana Studies.

Our program seeks applications from self-motivated, independent thinkers eager to benefit from the unique, interdisciplinary structure of graduate education at Cornell. Applicants may or may not have pursued undergraduate training in theatre, performing arts, or media, but they must demonstrate a commitment to and preparedness for rigorous study in one or more of these areas. The program is first and foremost focused on scholarly research and writing, while at the same time providing robust opportunities to integrate scholarly work with artistic practice.

Eligibility: Applicants must currently have, or expect to have, at least a BA or BS (or the equivalent) in any field before matriculation. International students, please verify degree equivalency here. Applicants are not required to meet a specified GPA minimum.

To Apply: All applications and supplemental materials must be submitted online through the Graduate School application system. While completing your application, you may save and edit your data. Once you click submit, your application will be closed for changes. Please proofread your materials carefully. Once you pay and click submit, you will not be able to make any changes or revisions. Applications for admission in the fall semester must be received by the preceding January 15. (Students are not admitted for the spring.)

Visit the Graduate School website to learn more about doctoral study at Cornell, including information about our special committee structure and degree requirements.