MFA Programs
Graduate Programs in Stage Management
California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts)
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: Valencia, CA
Duration: 3 Years
# of Students: 2-3 Students / Year
Internship: 1-2 Semester Long Internships (Any Arts Discipline)
Thesis: SM a Large Project (Any Arts Discipline)
Attends URTAs: Yes
Carnegie Melon
Degree: MFA in Stage and Production Management
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Duration: 3 Years
# of Students: 1-4 Students / Year
Internship: None Required
Thesis: 100 PG Research Paper
Attends URTAs: No
Columbia University
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: New York, NY
Duration: 3 Years
# of Students: 5-9 Students / Year
Internship: 2 Professional Internships Required
Thesis: 40-50 PG Research Paper OR Project
AEA Opportunities: 1-2 Students / Year can earn their AEA card via The Young Company production at Classic Stage Company
Attends URTAs: No
“I think a person attending Columbia should have aspirations to live and work in NYC. It’s not a neccessity, you can learn so much from this program regardless, but Columbia’s program is geared toward commercial theatre in NYC. It’s only a plus for people who want to live here and work here.”
Rutgers University
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: New Brunswick, NJ
Duration: 2.5 Years
Attends URTAs: No
University of Alabama
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
Duration: 3 Years
# of Students: 1 Student / Year
Thesis: Capstone Project (designed for specific student)
Teaching Opportunities: Yes
Tuition: Fully Funded (tuition wavier & monthly stipend)
Attends URTAs: No
University of California, Irvine
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: Irvine, CA
Duration: 3 Years
# of Students: 3-4 Students / Year
Internship: 1 Ten Week Internship
Thesis: 20+ PG Research Paper
Teaching Opportunities: Optional
Attends URTAs: Yes
University of California, San Diego
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: San Diego, CA
Duration: 2 Years, 2 Quarters
# of Students: 3-4 Students / Year
Internship: None Required
Thesis: Major Production & Reflective Essay
AEA Opportunities: Students Receive AEA Card by ASMing at La Jolla Playhouse
Attends URTAs: Yes
“[UCSD] completely shaped my life. I credit it with everything. The connections I made, the knowledge I gained, the professor’s continued guidance has shaped my career. ”
University of Cincinnati (College - Conservatory of Music)
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Duration: 2 OR 3 Years
Internship: 1 Required (Requirement POSSIBLY Waived if Student Has Significant Work Experience Prior to Admittance)
Thesis: Major Production AND Research Paper
Teaching Opportunities: Yes
Attends URTAs: Yes
“We have fully produced productions in drama, musical theatre, opera, and dance. We also do a few events, though those are “for the experience” and not really part of the curriculum. I teach people how to stage manage all variety of productions, for example, how one would record blocking and note cueing for dance off a video, as different from blocking for a large opera chorus. I stage manage in all these genres, so am quite acquainted with the differences and similarities, but my philosophy is that we manage people, and people are people no matter what the situation, onstage or at The Gap. Maybe the paperwork is a little different, or maybe the method of cueing is a little different, but people can all be managed effectively with a similar approach.”
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: Champaign, Illinois
Duration: 3 Years
# of Students: Unknown
Internship: Unknown
Thesis: Unknow
Opportunities: Work on theatre, opera, & dance!
Attends URTAs: Yes
University of Iowa
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Duration: 3 Years
# of Students: 2-3 Students / Year
Internship: None Required
Thesis: Major Production OR Research Project
Attends URTAs: Yes
University of Missouri, Kansas City
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Duration: 2.5-3 Years
Internship: 1-2 Required
Thesis: Portfolio Review
Attends URTAs: Yes
Virginia Tech
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Duration: 3 Years
Internship: 1 Semester-Long Internship
Attends URTAs: No
Yale University
Degree: MFA in Stage Management
Location: New Haven, CT
Duration: 3 Years
# of Students: 3-4 Students / Year
Internship: None Required
Thesis: "Actors Edition" Prompt Book for Yale Repertory Show
AEA Opportunities: Students Receive AEA Card by PSMing at Yale Repertory Theatre
Attends URTAs: No
Inside Look Into Stage Management Training: Yale School of Drama by Nicole Marconi
“The program really pushes you to work professionally with high-caliber people (from actors, directors, designers, stagehands, etc.). It trains you in the way a teaching hospital does...and it is a safe place to make mistakes because you have great advisors watching over you and guiding you.”
“I haven’t gotten any jobs in New York in the six years since I graduated that hasn’t come from a Yale connection”
How to Apply
Directly Apply to a Specific School via Their Website
Attend the URTAs in New York or Chicago where the following schools recruit Stage Managers: CalArts; University of California, Irvine; University of Cincinnati-Conservatory of Music; University of Illinois at Urbana Campaign; University of Iowa; University of Missouri- Kansas City; and Wayne State
Advice and Wisdom
What Advice Do You Have to Someone Considering an MFA in Stage Management?
"It’s not 100% necessary to go to grad school for stage management to be a professional stage manager. That being said, deciding to go to graduate school has forever changed my career and my life. I would not be the stage manager that I am had I not gone too Columbia. So, if you are able to take on the financial burden of grad school and know that you will be able to live with afterwards, I think that it can only be a positive experience. That’s just not how it works, unfortunately. The degree gives you the skills that you can put to use, but the degree itself isn’t the value, it’s what you get from the program." - Garrett Rollins, Columbia University Alum
"Don’t go to graduate school just for connections. It takes too much time and costs too much money for that. You should be interested in being a student AND in making connections. You should have personal fulfillment reasons for attending graduate school." - Jenna Woods, Yale University Alum
"I always see it as two different paths. Let’s say your goal is having a career in NYC. You can either come to NYC right out of college and work your way up the PA chain OR you can go get your Masters, which will get you some of that necessary experience. You have to make sure graduate school is something that you want to do. You are certainly going to come out of it with the experience of debt and you'll need to plan your career trajectory to see if you’re able to pay off the debt. If you have any interest in academia, you should consider getting an MFA, as it’s a terminal degree and it offers a lot more opportunities." - Kelly Glasow, UCSD Alum
"My big piece of advice is sharing your ambitions with everyone. Let people know what you want to do because we’re in a field where people are willing to help each other. People don’t forget that they got a hand up, so they’re willing to give a hand up. Your desires don’t have to always be professional; your desires can be personal. You should be willing to talk about both equally." - Ross Jackson, UCI Alum
"I think you can learn all you need to know about stage management from doing a season of summer stock." - Peter Lawrence, Broadway PSM & 2013 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre Recipient
Articles About Pursuing an MFA in Theatre
Should I get an MFA? Or, What Should I Do Now That I Have My MFA? by Polly Carl
To MFA or Not to MFA? by Scott Walters
Do You Need an MFA to Stage Manage? at Stage Directions
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the many MFA program students, graduates, teachers, and faculty that helped me obtain the above information. This list includes, but is not limited to: Jessi Cotter, Kelly Glasow, Ross Jackson, Michelle Kay, Peter Lawrence, Lee Micklin, Garrett Rollins, Tina Shackleford, Ashton Williams, and Jenna Woods