[Fall 2021 Theater/Performance Studies PhD]

3 hours ago, theatremeg12 said:

@Noe Montez Thank you for your insight! If you are still available to give advice, is there a significant uptick in applicants to solely Performance Studies programs? I am more interested in theatre history and theory than enacting those theories in practice. I feel as if I am at a disadvantage as the field, based on what I've seen, tends to skew more towards Performance Studies these days.

 

Hi Meg,

I would say that the programs that tend to draw the largest number of applicants have substantive performance studies components. Those programs tend to draw (and place) students from programs outside of theatre since PS has so many entryways in. I think there are great  programs (CUNY, Maryland, Washington, so many more) that focus on archival theatre history 

[Fall 2021 Theater/Performance Studies PhD]

My program isn't accepting any applicants this year, so I hope that my presence isn't considered an intrusion. 

When I hosted a convening of PhD program directors in Theatre and Performance Studies at 2018, I created a survey asking several questions, including about applicant pool. Across the field, our programs average about 25 applications. Now this varies widely and some of the most applied to schools (Brown, NYU, Stanford) will see somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-90 applications, while some schools with less robust funding (not guaranteed or guaranteed for three years) may only receive ten or so. Tufts has received a tick over 40 applications a year in the five years that I've been Director of Graduate Studies.

Hope this helps

[Northwestern IPTD vs. School of Communications MA/PhD in Performance Studies]

The most succinct answer (albeit a tiny bit reductive) is that NW IPTD studies play texts and performances, whereas performance studies considers performance and performance ethnography (in the Conquergoodian sense) that is open to a wider scope of projects.

[Would you like to Apply for an MA or PhD in Theatre & Performance Studies?]

Like many of my colleagues, I begin to receive emails from prospective applicants for our January deadline. If you're thinking about a PhD program in the field, now is a good time to start. For those of you who may be looking a programs, here are some tips that you might want to keep in mind. There are only 36 PhD Theatre & Performance Studies programs in the United States so hopefully you'll find a program that's right for you!

1. Think about your interests and how they match up with the interests of university faculties.

You may or may not have a clear idea of a dissertation topic. Even if you only have some vague research questions or interests, you'll want to think about how a particular university's faculty (and its geographic location for that matter) might work in service of your trajectory. Our programs vary widely from highly theatre history focused to purely performance studies. Some department's are particularly well-grounded in critical race studies or gender and sexuality studies. Other programs really seek to ground students in production experiences. Think about the kinds of program that you want to be a part of and let that guide your search. Spend some time on our webpages for seminar listings, faculty publications and bios, recent theses/ dissertations, and graduate handbooks to learn a bit more about institutional philosophies and values

2. Start to think about your application materials

Nearly every institution will want a cover letter/statement of intent, a writing sample, GRE/TOEFL scores, and recommendation letters. Rest assured that most of us won't care even a little bit about the math section of the GRE. But in the cover letter and writing sample we're looking for a). evidence that you understand why a faculty, university, and program might serve you well b). demonstrates an awareness of who you are in academic conversation with c). shows us why you're invested in particular questions and how you hope to creatively answer them through your research. The writing sample should provide some example of this labor.

As you start to cultivate letters of recommendation, think about people who can speak to your intellectual promise and your academic interests. We get a lot of letters that talk about a student's skill as a performer, and that doesn't really help us at all. If performance practice is a big skill that you bring to a program or that informs your research, create an online portfolio so that we can see images or video of your work and speak to how that work is in conversation with critical discourses in the field. 

3. It's never too early to reach out and speak with the Director of a PhD program.

Once you find a few programs that have piqued your interests, try to set up a conversation with the directors of the programs. When I talk with prospective applicants at this point in the summer, I want to know a). How you think a PhD program might serve your individual growth and aspirations?  b). What sorts of research questions are of interest to you. I'm less interested in potential dissertation topic than I am in why you're drawn to particular research questions, what you see as the through-line between your topics, and why you feel a personal investment in the research questions you've selected.

You may want to ask me about the program's mission and values, funding packages, summer funding, travel and research support, program structure, time to degree,  graduate placement, teaching and production opportunities, alt-ac training, credit transfers if you're coming from an MA program, language requirements, or other program logistics. But prepare those questions before we start our conversation (Just FYI: this is the state of T&PS PhD job placement from 2011-2017): 

 

 

Finally, you may want to float the idea of visiting campus once the fall semester starts or look for an opportunity to speak with faculty members via phone or web conference. Most institutions can't pay to bring admitted students out until after a review of application materials, but some applicants have the means to visit campus prior to applying. If you can't you can at least learn more about faculty who you might like to work with about the seminars they plan to teach, their mentorship styles, and other opportunities for engagement. Don't be afraid to ask about the possibility of speaking to graduate students either. Most of our programs can facilitate that easily. 

I hope that this helps and doesn't seem too simple. Please feel free to use this thread if you have questions. Or if you have a question that you don't want to ask in this thread, email me noe.montez@tufts.edu. 

Good luck learning about the programs in our field!

 

[Theatre and Performance Studies Admissions AMA]

Hi All

I'm so sorry to be lax on these responses. I forgot my log in info and couldn't access the site. It won't happen again

On 7/9/2017 at 7:23 PM, DirectorsCoffee said:

Its great to see you on here willing to talk with those of use looking to apply.  I am considering Tufts in addition to other schools, and I'm wondering about visiting the school before applying, and will it matter a great deal to meet potential faculty advisors prior to applying.

DirectorsCoffee- If you're interested in visiting Tufts, reach out to me at my email noe.montez@tufts.edu and I would be happy to work with my graduate assistant to set up a visit. We can't afford to pay for anyone's visit before we offer admission, but we can find graduate students who will let you crash on their couch and try to do other things to minimize your costs.

On 8/23/2017 at 8:32 PM, arachnospores said:

First off, this is absolutely wonderful of you and I know that I (and I'm sure many other students) really appreciate the offer, especially as application season gets underway.

Onto the question - I'm finishing up my MFA in Music Composition at The California Institute of the Arts this year, and through that have gained some experience in both the dance and theater fields as well. I'm planning on applying to Doctoral Programs in Performance Studies and doing research in dance and music (particularly the resurgence of burlesque in modernity) - I was wondering if it would make more sense to apply just to a PhD program since I'll already have a Master's, or if I should apply to an MA/PhD since my Master's will not be in the exact same area? I figure it'll be somewhat different case by case, but I'd love to get your perspective on it! Thanks again!

We accept applicants for the PhD program with MAs/MFAs in a variety of programs. If you are applying to Tufts, go ahead and apply to the PhD program. I think that most of my other colleagues at grad programs across the country would feel the same way

[Theatre and Performance Studies Admissions AMA]

Hi I'm Noe Montez, Director of the PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies at Tufts. There seems to be a lot of questions and a lack of transparency in the graduate admissions process. I have been reviewing PhD applications for six years and wanted to create a space where I could answer any questions that you might have about the application and admissions process. The best way to make good application decisions is to make sure that people prepare the strongest applications possible. So as you prepare application materials, feel free to ask questions you may have about how graduate faculty read applications, what sorts of materials to submit, or anything else that you want to know.

Of course I'd also encourage you to look at the Tufts PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies http://dramadance.tufts.edu/graduate/ and to check out the YouTube videos that my colleagues and I have put together about the admissions process: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9js5V3BqCE8&index=1&list=PL7beqzWtdvNZMihHeEHdWuSMDPxou6ZOh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7EPHiAAmvc&index=5&list=PL7beqzWtdvNZMihHeEHdWuSMDPxou6ZOh