Funding and assistantships
All our graduate students receive generous funding packages.
Master of Fine Arts in Drama
Explore research questions and creative development with artistic and social impact, working across drama and other disciplines within and beyond the performing arts. Receive expert instruction and supervision from some of Canada's most recognized scholars and artists.
Master of Fine Arts (MFA), thesis-based
Thesis-based programs require that you pursue independent and original research culminating in a thesis. You will work under the supervision of a faculty member whose expertise matches your research area.
Admission requirements
- A bachelor's degree that clearly includes a major emphasis in the study of Drama, with study in the proposed area of specialization. A minimum of 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 point system is required. Deficiencies of background may be corrected during a year of study as a qualifying student.
- A written application, including a biographical outline of your studies and experience(s) in theatre, as well as a statement of intent, outlining proposed projects in Drama.
- Two letters of reference with a reference form completed online, or letters of reference mailed with an official reference form attached to each letter.
- If your first language is not English, you may fulfill the language proficiency requirement as mentioned on the graduate studies page.
Specialization requirements
We are accepting applications to our Interdisciplinary Creation and Research Specialization. In addition to the general application requirements, we ask that you submit a portfolio of original work and a writing sample.
Curriculum Renewal
The Faculty of Arts is embarking on an ambitious three-year curriculum renewal process.
This process aligns with the strategic priorities outlined in Ahead of Tomorrow and the Arts Strategic Plan and is informed by the findings of the 2024 Faculty of Arts Unit Review.
Starting for Fall 2025, we will pause admissions to the following select graduate programs in the School of Creative and Performing Arts.
Graduate
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis-based in Drama, Design/Technical Specialization
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis-based in Drama, Directing Specialization
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis-based in Drama, Playwriting Specialization
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis-based in Drama, Theatre Studies Specialization
Want to learn more? View our Curriculum Renewal page.
Awards scholarships
The Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) administers a wide variety of internal and external awards for graduate students.
Also check with our Graduate Program Administrator for program-specific awards.
Graduate assistantships (teaching/non-teaching)
- Graduate Assistantships (Teaching) assist with the instructional responsibilities of the Drama division.
- Graduate Assistantships (Non-Teaching) assist the Drama division and/or professors with non-teaching responsibilities (e.g., research for a faculty member, paid out of operating funds).
No more than the equivalent of twelve hours of work per week may be required of Graduate Assistants. Regulations governing terms of employment for Graduate Assistantships (Teaching, Non-Teaching) are covered by the below agreement.
Our facilities
The Drama Division offers:
- three thoroughly equipped theatre spaces, ranging from 150 to 500 seats
- three rehearsal spaces
Students also have full access to:
- staff-supported costume, properties, and scene shops
- state-of-the-art Integrated Media Lab for experimentation and production purposes
These facilities support student learning and research and a diverse season of programming, including multiple main stage productions as well as a student-driven festival of experimental work.
Recent guest artists include Adrienne Wong, Jan Derbyshire, Haysam Kadri, Daniel MacIvor, Eric Rose and Ghost River Theatre, and Eric Moschopedis.
The SCPA is also an active collaborator on multiple training, production and research initiatives with professional Theatre and Performance organizations such as:
- the High Performance Rodeo
- Alberta Theatre Projects
- Vertigo Theatre
- Quest Theatre
- the Banff Centre
This broad range of professional engagement results in strong industry contacts and experiences prior to graduation.
Our students
Students in the MFA Drama program regularly come to Calgary from all over Canada and the world. In addition to opportunities for high level training in theatre practice and theory, all MFA students acquire practice-based research skills and learn to produce new artistic and scholarly knowledge.
Our MFA students explore a wide range of interdisciplinary research topics with direct artistic and social impact. Recent topics include:
- How can virtual reality technology improvise with actors?
- How may artists develop safety strategies for trauma-based devised creation?
- How can Indigenous artists derive dramaturgical principles from their languages and cultures?
- Which directing approaches may reduce anxiety triggers for opera singers?
- Can interdisciplinary methods help advance the exploration of text and vocalization in choreographic processes?
- What can architecture and ethnography teach us about how to establish a rehearsal space with interpersonal and environmental care?
- What are the factors that impact how cisgendered audiences experience transgenderperformance?
- Can play-based sensory theatre approaches enrich the lives of primates in captivity?
- How can young adults process experiences of poverty through participatory playwriting and visual art?
Our students enjoy high levels of agency within a carefully structured framework as they determine their individual, thesis-driven program designs.
Graduates of the MFA in Drama benefit from a high employment rate. Shortly after graduation, recent students have successfully secured contracts and leadership positions in the performing arts industries, teaching positions in universities, and employment in associated fields like community programming, educational curriculum development, science communication, and research communication.
