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| MA
& PhD FAQ |
| Mary
Trotter, Head of Area |
Before meeting with the director of
graduate studies for advising, please
take a moment to read through this
document. It may focus the questions you
still have.
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When is the best time to register
for courses for this semester? How
many courses should I register for?
You should wait until you've had a
chance to meet with the Director of
Graduate Studies, Professor Michael
Vanden Heuvel, to go over your
program. View the
Timetable on-line and
have a proposed schedule of classes
in mind before you meet with him.
Spaces are held in all TD graduate
courses for incoming MA and PhD
students, so you do not have to
register earlier than Welcome Week.
If you are a PhD student, upon
arrival on campus, get two blank
copies of the PhD checklist in the
departmental office and bring them
with you as well. You should keep
one copy and have the departmental
Graduate Secretary put one copy in
your file; update both copies every
semester in pen.
All entering graduate students in
the MA/PhD program are required to
take Theatre & Drama 700. If you are
a TA, you may wish to register for
only three courses altogether;
otherwise, for non-TAs the usual
course load is four courses a
semester.
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Which courses count toward a
graduate degree?
Courses numbered over 300 count
toward a graduate degree. Courses
numbered from 301-699 carry both
undergraduate and graduate credit;
courses numbered from 700-999 are
open to graduate students only.
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Is it possible to waive the 700
requirement?
No. The 700 class is designed to
develop research and writing skills
at the graduate level. Even if
you've taken such a course before at
another university, it's important
to take 700 here because it is
intended to introduce you to the
specific research resources here at
the UW and in the Madison area.
As well, it is also the way the new
students in the department form a
learning community. Part of the
course time is given over to guests,
including advanced graduate students
and faculty members, so it's a good
way to learn about your colleagues'
and teachers' research areas and
strategies. You'll also learn about
the important journals,
organizations, and conferences in
our profession and develop methods
of peer-group feedback that will be
useful to you throughout your life
as a scholar/teacher in Theatre
Research.
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Is it possible for MA/PhD students
to get involved in University
Theatre productions?
In keeping with our departmental
mission that theory and practice
mutually inform one another, MA and
PhD students are required to
participate in significant ways (as
dramaturg, assistant director,
designer, or performer) in
University Theatre productions. MA
students are required to participate
in at least one production during
their course of study; PhD students
must participate in at least three
productions altogether, one of which
may be a non-University Theater
production that involves UW
students. (See the information sheet
on production requirements for PhD
students for more detailed
information on this policy.) See
Norma Saldivar, the Director of
Theatre, to apply for a production
position.
You may choose to receive course
credit for your production
experiences by registering for T&D
561 for one credit, although this is
not a requirement. Three credits of
561 (for three production
experiences) may count as one of the
three practical courses required for
the PhD. See your advisor to discuss
this option before you participate
in any productions.
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Who is my advisor?
The Graduate School requires that
every graduate student have an
advisor. Your advisor is your
primary contact person within the
department, the faculty member who
will guide you most closely through
your degree program.
MA and PhD students in our
department work with the Director of
Graduate Studies as advisor for the
first semester here. In addition to
meeting with the Director of
Graduate Studies to plan your fall
course schedule, you should plan to
go over the PhD checklist and
transfer credits with him if you are
a PhD student, and to begin to
discuss who your permanent advisor
might be. In order to inform
yourself about the personnel
available to direct your long-term
studies, it is advisable to take
courses with as many Theatre
Research faculty members as possible
during your first year here.
After you've chosen your permanent
advisor (by the middle of your
second semester here) and he or she
has agreed to work with you, write a
memo to that faculty member
confirming your agreement and give a
copy to the Graduate Secretary to be
added to your permanent file.
Even after you've chosen your
advisor, the Director of Graduate
Studies continues to serve as the
liaison between the Graduate School
and graduate students, working
closely with the graduate student's
advisor on such issues as fellowship
competitions, graduation
requirements, transfer credits,
residency requirements, and
fulfilling the language requirement.
Students are responsible, however,
for making sure they're on track,
meeting deadlines, and filling out
appropriate applications. You must
take initiative to get through the
program administratively by staying
informed about both Graduate School
and departmental requirements. PhD
students should go over their PhD
checklist regularly with their
advisors.
Each year during the spring
semester, the Theatre Research area
reviews graduate students' progress.
If your progress is unsatisfactory,
you should work with your advisor to
improve your progress.
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How is departmental information
circulated during the school year?
All graduate students have mailboxes
or slots in the main departmental
office in 6173 Vilas. Also, all
graduate students should open UW
email accounts as soon as possible
and give the Graduate Secretary in
the main office your home address,
telephone number, email address, and
your student ID number so your file
can be kept up to date.
For the most part, announcements
about departmental events and
deadlines of various kinds are made
over email, so check your email
regularly. However, sometimes
announcements come in the form of
hard-copy memos, so make it a
practice to check your departmental
mailbox often as well. Bulletin
boards are another important means
of sharing information in Theatre
and Drama. Check the boards on the
sixth floor on both sides of the
hall for information about both
university and professional events
and opportunities; also check the
boards outside the scene shop on the
second floor of Vilas and the boards
on the first floor on the far east
side of the building for production
information. Although your classes
and other activities will take you
to many different areas in Vilas and
on the UW campus, don't be a
stranger in the department. Not all
scholarship and learning takes place
in the classroom and the library. An
important part of academic life is
attending talks and colloquia in
order to participate in the forming
of new knowledge and to learn from
guest scholars visiting from other
universities, from theatre
professionals, and from discussions
that involve other students and
faculty members than those in your
regular courses. MA and PhD students
are expected to attend the
University Lectures sponsored by our
department, as well as
regularly-scheduled monthly
departmental colloquia for a series
of presentations and discussions on
different topics of theatre research
and theatre practice.
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What about financial aid?
All assistantships are administered
through the department. There are
fellowships administered through the
Graduate School, but you must be
nominated by the department to
compete for them.
Sometimes project assistantships and
readership open up during the
semester (readerships at the
beginning of the semester). Check
bulletin boards for calls for
applications for these positions.
The department has some modest
scholarships, which are awarded in
recognition of both academic and
performance-related achievements for
the following school year at the
annual end-of-the-year departmental
awards ceremony. Speak to your
advisor if you think you merit
nomination for one or more of these
awards.
The department sometimes also has a
small amount of money for student
travel to conferences and to carry
out research at archives and other
resource centers. Since the money is
limited, only MFA and PhD students
(not MAs) are eligible to apply.
Although the amounts are small, we
encourage students to apply. Even a
$75 or $100 grant can help with
conference travel, and you can put
it under "Grants Received" on your
curriculum vitae. Finally, you can
visit the Graduate School web page,
at http//www.wisc.edu/grad/ and
select "For Students" to get
information about outside grants and
fellowships.
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Do I need to start thinking about
comprehensive exams?
See separate FAQ sheet on graduate
exams.
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What are the language requirements
for PhD students?
The language you study should be
relevant to your area of
specialization and must be discussed
with your advisor. The language
requirement may be fulfilled by
taking a course at UW at the
appropriate level for graduate
reading comprehension, or it may be
fulfilled by taking an exam at UW.
(See the separate sheet on the
language requirement for more
details.)
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What is an area of specialization
for PhD students?
Your area of specialization may be
defined by a genre, a theoretical
approach or methodology, a time
period and/or a geographical or
linguistic area. For example, your
area of specialization may be
circus, or melodrama, or Noh
theatre; it may be feminist
analysis, or ethnography, or
dramaturgy, or theatre in education;
it may be British Restoration
theatre, or Asian-American theatre
in the 1990s, or Ancient Greek
theatre, or Russian ballet in the
19th century. It should be focused,
yet broad enough for you to take
eight courses relevant to it. At
least four of the eight courses in
your AOS must be taken in the
Department of Theatre and Drama (but
six is more usual).
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If I am an MA student, how do I
eventually enter the PhD program?
MA students in the department are
not automatically admitted to the
PhD program. If an MA student wishes
to enter the PhD program, the
student must send a letter of
application to the Director of
Graduate Studies, with a copy to the
student's advisor. The Theatre
Research area will assess the
student's application, and the final
determination will be made only
after the student defends the MA
thesis.
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How else can I learn about and
integrate myself into the
department?
Talk to other graduate students
about the customs and folkways of
both our department and other
departments. Talk to one another;
your peers are as important as your
professors in your graduate school
learning experience. Get involved in
UT productions and be sure to attend
the colloquia and guest
lectures--they provide opportunities
to be socialized into the department
as well as to exchange knowledge
with others.
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