Undergraduate programs
The School of Music & Theater is located within the hub of musical and theatrical activity in the Pacific Northwest, only three blocks from the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. It maintains close ties to the Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera, Portland Jazz Orchestra, Portland Piano International, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Chamber Music Northwest, Oregon Repertory Singers, Artists Repertory Theater, Portland Center Stage, Milagro Theatre, and Third Rail Repertory Theater, among other organizations. Faculty and students alike interact with these performing organizations in various ways.
Students have the opportunity to study with faculty members who are internationally recognized performers, conductors, composers, actors, directors, writers, and scholars. Standards are high as students pursue the conservatory-like Bachelor of Music degree or the more general Bachelor of Arts or Science in Music or Theater. Graduates have consistently demonstrated their excellence in the fields of performance, conducting, composition, acting, writing, production, and scholarship. Many are leaders in music, theater, and education around the Northwest and elsewhere.
Programs in the School of Music & Theater are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and National Association of Schools of Theater. Graduates have gained admission to both university graduate programs and professional training programs; they have become teachers and university professors; and they have pursued a range of related professions in the arts, education, business, administration, law, social services, and non-profit management.
Theater Arts B.A./B.S.
Area Coordinator: K. Magaldi
Undergraduates in theater arts are expected to acquire basic skills in performance, design and production, practice, and dramatic literature and theater history. These basic skills are developed in the core requirements. The remaining credits are met through a selected option, performance, design/production, or theater studies including criticism, literature and dramatic writing, which provides for flexibility and allows a student to specialize in an area of interest. Students choose from electives in Theater, Film, and World Languages and Literatures (Kabuki).
Requirements
In addition to meeting the general University degree requirements, the Major in Theater Arts must complete 68 adviser-approved theater arts credits to include the following:
31 Core Credits
| TA 111 | Stagecraft | 3 |
| TA 121 | Introduction to Design for Theater | 4 |
| TA 151 | Introduction to Theater Arts & Practice | 4 |
| TA 201 | Script Analysis | 4 |
| TA 248 | Acting I: Process | 4 |
| TA 363 | Development of Dramatic Art I | 4 |
| TA 364 | Development of Dramatic Art II | 4 |
| TA 454 | Directing I | 4 |
8 credits chosen from the following:
| TA 322U | History of Dress I | 4 |
| TA 323U | History of Dress II | 4 |
| TA 330U | Multicultural Theater | 4 |
| TA 369U | Women, Theater, and Society | 4 |
| TA 471 | Theater History: Periods and Topics | 1-4 |
| TA 472 | Theater History: Major Figures | 1-4 |
9 credits of the following:
| TA 134 | Workshop Theater: Scenery, Costume & Lighting Production I | 1 |
| TA 234 | Workshop Theater: Scenery, Costume & Lighting Production II | 1 |
| TA 333 | Workshop Theater: Directing/Stage Management/Dramaturgy | 1 |
| TA 334 | Workshop Theater: Scenery, Costume & Lighting Production 3 | 1-2 |
| TA 335 | Workshop Theater: Management/Publicity | 1 |
with a maximum of 3 credits in any of the 300 workshops. Workshop credits in excess of this maximum may be used to satisfy elective and general requirements.
20 credits of the Theater Electives
20 elective credits from the theater curriculum with at least 12 carrying numbers 300 or above.
Total Credit Hours: 68
Courses taken under the undifferentiated grading option (pass/no pass) will not be accepted toward fulfilling department major requirements. All courses used to satisfy the major requirements must be graded C or above.
At least 20 credits of upper-division Theater Arts courses, including a minimum of 2 credits from TA 333, TA 334 and TA 335 must be taken in residence at Portland State University.