Theatre Arts Major
Program Overview
What is a theatre arts degree?
Discover your passion. Practice your craft. Design your future. The stage – and everything that electrifies it, from directing to lighting – brings limitless perspectives to issues we face every day. Theatre arts majors study and produce plays, take part in all aspects of production, and continually step out of their comfort zone through classes in acting, movement, theatre history, costuming, set design and more. They learn to think critically, communicate effectively, learn deeply, view things from multiple perspectives and evaluate and create collaboratively.
Begin your application or plan a visit to Furman’s beautiful campus.
Why study theatre arts at Furman?
When you combine a strong liberal arts and sciences foundation with a comprehensive understanding of the theater experience, the result is a launchpad like no other. With expert guidance from professors and collaboration with your peers, learn the nuances of staging up to four main stage productions in the academic year. Find your theater lane – lighting and sound design, acting, directing, set design, costumes, promotion, stage management – develop your craft, and marvel at your transformation from student to artist. Take your first steps by contacting admissions or reading more about how to apply.
How will you learn?
Study away with professors in Arezzo, Italy, or get an up-close look at Shakespeare’s birthplace and take in Royal Shakespeare Company productions while you study in the British Isles. Team up with faculty on research through a fellowship in theatrical production. Pick up an internship fueled by an active and engaged alumni network. Internship options include a local film production group, local and regional theaters, New York’s The Farm Theater, or the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Theater Institute, where the likes of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Garner and John Krasinski launched their careers.
Careers for theatre arts majors
Studying theatre arts at Furman gives you the foundation to go anywhere in the entertainment industry. And if that’s not where you land, use your creative collaboration process and your time management skills in virtually any arena.
Here are paths our theatre alumni have taken:
- Theatre producer, writer or director
- Lighting and sound designer, set designer, costume designer
- Higher education professor
- Entertainment and media industry professional
- Professional actor – Broadway and off-Broadway, regional theaters
- Sales and marketing professional
- Hospitality manager, event planner
- Movie and TV industry roles
- Museum or library staff member
- Military officer
Theatre arts courses: What will you study?
Sample courses include:
View all courses-
4Main stage productions per academic year, plus other smaller productions
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93%Students who participate in an engaged learning experience
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20average number of theatre majors on campus
Our faculty
Your academic advisor will help you explore your passions, define your interests and achieve your goals. You’ll tap into a widespread network of community and alumni mentors to help you on your individual educational path – and to the opportunities at the end of it. Furman’s theatre arts faculty represent decades of study and real-world expertise.
Maegan Azar
Caroline J. Davis
Furman’s theatre arts majors have found careers in theater production and design, professional acting on Broadway and elsewhere, as educators at the college level, as professionals in the hospitality industry, and even as officers the in military.
The national average salary for theatre major graduates in the U.S. is $49,000, but the top 10 percent of earners bring in about $78,000, according to Zippia.com.
The theatre arts B.A. at Furman is a four-year program.
