Studies & Degrees in Drama/Theatre History
Theatre history is the academic study of how theatre has been written, staged and received in different periods and cultures. Students read plays and theory, study how acting, stage design and directing developed, and learn to place a production in its historical context. The subject sits between literature, history and the performing arts.
It is rarely a separate bachelor's degree. In most countries it is a compulsory part of a drama degree, a track within theatre or performance studies, or a specialisation at master's and doctoral level. Students who want to act or direct meet it as the academic side of their training; students who want to research or teach it normally continue to postgraduate study.
What students learn
The Theatre Studies programme at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts is a typical example. It trains students in the analysis of theatre and performance from historical, theoretical, practical and aesthetic perspectives, and includes dramatic literature, dramatic theories and performance traditions from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Students are expected to improve their reading, writing and research skills.
In Spain the official curriculum for drama degrees defines a basic subject called "Historia de las artes del espectáculo" (history of the performing arts). It covers the comparative history of performance, including audiovisual performance, and the history of the dramatic text, dramatic theory, acting, stage design and staging, together with the historical analysis of productions.
Qualifications and levels
- Spain: higher arts degree in drama. The Título de Graduado o Graduada en Arte dramático is an official qualification regulated by Real Decreto 630/2010. It lasts four academic years of 60 credits each, 240 credits in total, and has three specialities: stage directing and dramaturgy (Dirección escénica y dramaturgia), stage design (Escenografía) and acting (Interpretación). Theatre history is part of the basic training in all of them.
- Spain: university postgraduate study. Official master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. At doctoral level, the Universidad de Alcalá offers the Doctorado en Estudios Lingüísticos, Literarios y Teatrales, which absorbed its earlier doctoral programme in theatre studies (Estudios Teatrales). The university describes theatre as one of its strategic lines of study and research.
- United States. At New York University the Tisch Drama department awards a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre of 128 credits. At least 28 of them, a minimum of seven courses, are in theatre studies, and the department also offers an honours programme in theatre studies and a minor in dramaturgy. The university's Department of Performance Studies, established in 1980, has BA, MA and PhD programmes.
- Private theatre schools. Schools such as La Escuela de Teatro La Lavandería in Madrid teach acting, verse and classical theatre, stage directing and dramaturgy in practical courses, and prepare candidates for the entrance examinations of the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático. Ask the school what recognition its courses have before enrolling.
Admission
For the Spanish drama degree, applicants must meet the general requirements for higher arts education and pass a specific entrance examination for the chosen speciality. The education authorities hold the examination at least once a year, and a pass is valid only for the academic year for which it was held. A pass gives access to any centre in Spain that teaches the degree, subject to the places available.
For a doctorate, international students should check with the university which previous degree it requires and how a foreign degree is recognised. In the United States, admission to a drama degree depends on each university; check the department's admissions page.
Where to study it
SpainExchange lists four active schools for this subject: two in Spain, one in Denmark and one in the United States. They are the Universidad de Alcalá, in Alcalá de Henares, and La Escuela de Teatro La Lavandería, in Madrid; DIS - Danish Institute for Study Abroad, in Copenhagen; and New York University. Teaching is in Spanish at the Spanish centres and in English at New York University.
Careers
Theatre history rarely leads to one fixed job. Graduates work as dramaturgs and literary advisers in theatres, as critics and editors, in archives, museums and cultural management, and as teachers. New York University notes that its theatre studies courses also prepare students for graduate study in theatre history, dramatic literature and performance studies, as an alternative to a stage career.
University teaching and research normally require a doctorate. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, postsecondary teachers typically need a PhD or other doctoral degree in their field, and their overall employment is projected to grow 7 percent from 2025 to 2035. The figure covers all subjects, not theatre alone.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take a bachelor's degree only in theatre history?
Usually not. Theatre history is normally a component of a drama or theatre degree, as at New York University, or a specialisation chosen at master's or doctoral level.
How long does a drama degree take in Spain?
The official Grado en Arte Dramático takes four academic years and has 240 credits. Entry requires passing a specific entrance examination for the speciality.
Do I need acting experience to study theatre history?
Not for the academic route: research programmes such as a doctorate assess previous university studies. Drama degrees combine theory with practical training, and their entrance examinations assess aptitude for the chosen speciality.
What can I do after a doctorate in theatre studies?
The main paths are university teaching and research, which normally require a doctorate, and specialist work in theatres, publishing and cultural institutions.