<p>The topic of an affordable MFA program in Directing is of interest to me.</p>
<p>I understand that there are relatively few MFAs available in Directing, as opposed to Acting. I have also heard that very few of them offer tuition waivers and stipends…but I’m not sure how accurate this is.</p>
<p>On an older thread, I noticed that KatMT had some knowledge of this topic. Would Kat or someone else be able to provide me with any further information?</p>
<p>NJTheatreMOM, I don’t know anything about MFA programs in directing, but one way of finding this information out would be to have your son go to the websites of each program he is interested in. They will say whether they have a stipend or not. They’re not really called tuition waivers, to my knowledge. They’re a stipend and usually in exchange for the free tuition, you have to teach. This is much more common in PhD programs in the sciences, but it happens in some MFA programs. There are also need based scholarships, which some schools offer, as well as other sorts of scholarships, for instance, under-represented minorities–we have a friend who is getting his MFA in directing at NU and he has a full ride there.</p>
<p>^He’d need more than a scholarship, and that is why the stipend is attractive.</p>
<p>It is not so much that my son is interested in one or more specific programs, although of course there are some that he would love to attend if they were within reach. It is more that he is interested in obtaining the degree because it would qualify him to teach. </p>
<p>He already has had a fair amount of directing training and experience through his BFA program and hopes to acquire more before seeking an MFA. But at some point, he thinks he will need the MFA credential in order to obtain a teaching position.</p>
<p>My son would not be trying to do this for at least a couple of years after receiving his BFA. He doesn’t have the time or inclination to do an exhaustive search right now. But I know he’s been thinking about it and has been asking around a little.</p>
<p>Probably the faculty members at his own school, or students there who are doing MFAs in directing, would be his best source of information.</p>
<p>But I’ve found that there are some amazingly knowledgeable people here on CC. :)</p>
<p>Many of the URTA Schools offer teaching assistantship stipends for MFA directing students. This is a good place to start to look. Most of these are state schools affiliated with a professional theatre. </p>
<p>Most of the private college programs do not offer the same level of financial assistance or assistantships as the larger universities. </p>
<p>The trade off (for good or bad) is that the assistantship is almost always in exchange for providing some sort of work for the university. When I was working on my MFA in Directing from Penn State I was a TA (this included directing Graduate Actors in scenes which we presented) for the Intro to Theatre class all of the semesters I was in residence. The summer between first and second year I worked for the Pennsylvania Summer Stage in the PR office, and was in one of the productions as an ensemble performer. This paid for the tuition (plus room, and travel) and gave an additional stipend for the study trip to London that we took as a class. </p>
<p>The only graduate school loans that I have are small ones I took out to supplement living expenses while in graduate school, and to have a little more ability to travel and see shows when in London for 6 weeks. Everything else was covered by Penn State. </p>
<p>Some of my classmates (particularly those who were a little bit younger when going to graduate school, without car payments, etc…) were able to complete graduate school with out any loans and without securing much outside summer work (although many did go out and perform/ direct professionally between the second and third years of graduate school).</p>
<p>When I was looking at programs (started in 2000) – Penn State offered the best package in terms of assistantship job related to directing, trip to London, etc… of all of the programs. But I received similar offers in terms of tuition remission and assistantship stipend from Indiana, VCU, and Memphis, if I am remembering correctly. I pulled out of the application/ interview process when I decided to go to Penn State, but I believe that Illinois State and UMass Amherst had similar tuition remission and stipend arrangements at that time. I also received an offer from Roosevelt for a partial assistantship, but that was smaller than the offers from the other schools. I do not think they have an MFA in Directing still… but, I could be wrong. </p>
<p>I know that the program at VCU has changed quite a bit since then (they no longer have a program in Directing: Studio track… all of their programs are not Theatre Pedagogy related). </p>
<p>Hope this helps. :-)</p>
<p>PS. As you mention he is considering… going out and working for a bit will make him more attractive to graduate programs and more likely to receive assistantship aid. It is pretty impossible for your directors coming out of undergraduate school to get hired to direct… but, there are some small theatres that will consider it… and assisting directors further along in their career can really help open doors to opportunities. :-)</p>
<p>Very helpful, KatMT. Thanks so much!!</p>
<p>Ps… I should have said:</p>
<p>“Most of the private college programs do not offer the same level of financial assistance or assistantships as the larger PUBLIC universities.”</p>
<p>"I know that the program at VCU has changed quite a bit since then (they no longer have a program in Directing: Studio Track… most of their programs are NOW Theatre Pedagogy related WITH SPECIALIZATIONS IN A SPECIFIC ARTISTIC AREA). "</p>
<p>:-)</p>
<p>KatMT, what would be the advantage to the student in seeking a Theatre Pedagogy MFA instead of a Directing MFA? </p>
<p>From web descriptions, it looks like the discipline of Theatre Pedagogy is more designed to learn how to help people outside of the theatre world improve their lives through exposure to the creative lessons of theatre. </p>
<p>It’s implied by descriptions on college websites that both would be equally valuable in preparing a student to teach theatre at the college level, but I don’t know…</p>
<p>I wonder why VCU changed. </p>
<p>According to one list of programs I found online, Texas Tech is the only school with a MFA that has “theatre pedogogy” in the name of the degree. I wonder if that is correct?</p>