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Graduate admissions

Design and Production (MFA)

Design students develop knowledge and skills in three areas: scenery, costume and lighting. You'll test your skills through practical applications in department productions. You’ll specialize in one area of design with a minor specialization in another. For your final project, you’ll design one or more elements of a fully-realized production.
Expected length Project or thesis Course-based
2 years Yes No

Quick facts

Program options:
Master's
Study options:
Full-time study
Program delivery:
On-campus
Dynamic learning:
Co-op optional

Outcomes

By the end of the MFA in Design & Production, students will be able to:

  • demonstrate and apply an understanding of both historical and contemporary approaches to performance design.
  • demonstrate a mastery of visual communication tools and vocabulary employed by performance designers, such as costume rendering, scale model building, cad drafting, etc.
  • engage in complex collaborative projects with fellow artists, including all members of the creative, technical and performance teams
  • engage in critical response around their own work and that of other artists
  • reflect upon their own artistic process and individual approach to the design and production process, as well as their area of scenographic practice
  • contextualize - both verbally and in writing - their work and aesthetic within the landscape of international performance design
  • create original, thoughtful and absolutely fabulous designs for performance

Find a supervisor

All graduate students in this program must have a faculty member who serves as their academic supervisor. When you apply:

  • you must list a potential supervisor on your application
  • this faculty member must agree to be your supervisor and recommend your admission

To find a supervisor, review the faculty contacts. When you've found a faculty member whose research complements your own, contact them by email.

Alexandra (Sasha) Kovacs

Assistant Professor Theatre History: theatre and performance history, historiography, Canadian theatre, theatre archives, devised performance, dramaturgy

Allana Lindgren

Professor Theatre History: dance history, theatre history, modernism, Canadian cultural history

Brian Richmond

Professor Performance: directing, dramaturgy, acting

Carmen Alatorre

Assistant Professor Costume Design

Conrad Alexandrowicz

Professor Performance: acting, movement for actors, devised theatre

Fran Gebhard

Assistant Teaching Professor Performance: acting, directing

Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta

Associate Professor Applied Theatre: language revitalization and theatre, aesthetics of theatre, ethics of theatre, community projects, devising for performance

Michael Elliott

Assistant Teaching Professor Performance: voice

Patrick Du Wors

Associate Professor Design: set and lighting design

Peter J. McGuire

Assistant Teaching Professor Performance: acting, directing, production and management, self-directed

Tony Vickery - Chair

Teaching Professor Theatre History: especially commercial theatre finance and business administration in the United States and Canada, melodrama and British and North American theatre of the 19th and 20th centuries

Yasmine Kandil

Associate Professor Applied Theatre: celebratory theatre, applied theatre in post-revolution Egypt, forum theatre, ethics of practice, theatre for development, community-based theatre, theatre for social change, immigrant & refugee theatre, scenario training with police officers

Show me program details

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Your program details

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Application deadlines

September – apply by February 1

All supporting material must be submitted to the Department of Theatre by February 1.

September – apply by February 1

All supporting material must be submitted to the Department of Theatre by February 1.

Admission requirements

Program specific requirements

As part of your application, you must submit:

  • a statement of purpose which includes your interests and aspirations in the field, including any special areas of interest, and how they relate to the specifics of this program
  • a detailed resumé of your educational background, theatre experience and teaching experience (if applicable)
  • a writing sample that speaks to your academic excellence
  • two reference names and their email addresses (references should come from theatre professors and/or recognized theatre professionals.)
  • a digital portfolio

You must have a basic knowledge and some experience in design of scenery, costume and lighting. You should also have some knowledge of Western theatre history and the art of directing. We may decide to assess your knowledge with a diagnostic exam.

Portfolio

Your portfolio must contain materials related to a maximum of 3-5 creative projects that demonstrate your practice-based work in the field. Suggested digital materials include:

  • a digital recording of an acting scene
  • stage manager's prompt script
  • photographs of design projects
  • a directorial concept for a play they you either directed or would like to direct

Links to Facebook or YouTube are accepted.

File formats accepted:

  • PDF
  • JPG
  • Word files (.doc or .docx)

These documents must be electronically submitted in a single email to the department secretary at theatre@uvic.ca.

Program specific requirements

As part of your application, you must submit:

  • a statement of purpose which includes your interests and aspirations in the field, including any special areas of interest, and how they relate to the specifics of this program
  • a detailed resumé of your educational background, theatre experience and teaching experience (if applicable)
  • a writing sample that speaks to your academic excellence
  • two reference names and their email addresses (references should come from theatre professors and/or recognized theatre professionals.)
  • a digital portfolio

You must have a basic knowledge and some experience in design of scenery, costume and lighting. You should also have some knowledge of Western theatre history and the art of directing. We may decide to assess your knowledge with a diagnostic exam.

Portfolio

Your portfolio must contain materials related to a maximum of 3-5 creative projects that demonstrate your practice-based work in the field. Suggested digital materials include:

  • a digital recording of an acting scene
  • stage manager's prompt script
  • photographs of design projects
  • a directorial concept for a play they you either directed or would like to direct

Links to Facebook or YouTube are accepted.

File formats accepted:

  • PDF
  • JPG
  • Word files (.doc or .docx)

These documents must be electronically submitted in a single email to the department secretary at theatre@uvic.ca.

Completion requirements

View the minimum course requirements for this program.
View the minimum course requirements for this program.

Funding & aid

Tuition & fees

Estimated minimum program cost*

* Based on an average program length. For a per term fee breakdown view the tuition fee estimator.

Estimated values determined by the tuition fee estimator shall not be binding to the University of Victoria.

Ready to apply?

You can start your online application to UVic by creating a new profile or using an existing one.

Apply now    How to apply

Faculties & departments

Need help?

Contact Connie te Kampe at theatre@uvic.ca or 250-721-7991.

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