Ph.D. Program
The mission of the graduate program in TAPS is to produce students who work in the leading edge of both scholarly and performance practice.
Mission
The Ph.D. program in TAPS emphasizes the combination of theory and practice. Graduate students complete a program with a rigorous study of critical theory, textual history, elements of production (directing, acting, choreography, writing, and design) and embodied research. We have a superb record of placement and the U.S. National Research Council ranked Stanford’s Ph.D. program in Theater & Performance Studies second in the nation.
Our generous funding package includes tuition, health insurance, travel award and a living stipend. This is a five-year fully-funded fellowship package which allows students to devote the first two years to full-time graduate study, the third year to graduate study and research, and years four and five to teaching and writing the dissertation. Following formal admission to candidacy (usually after the second year), the dissertation can be completed and approved within five years.
Learning Outcomes
The PhD is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research and analysis in Theater and Performance Studies. Through completion of advanced coursework and rigorous skills training, the doctoral program prepares students to make original contributions to the knowledge and production of Theater and Performance Studies and interpret and present research results.
Ph.D. Placement History
WESTLEY MONTGOMERY
Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Yale
SARIEL GOLOMB
Lecturer, Princeton Writing Program at Princeton University
AMANI STARNES
Assistant Professor of Theatre Histories, Pomona College in its Theatre Department for the Claremont Colleges
SUHAILA MEERA
Assistant Professor of Theatre, Lewis & Clark
ANNA KIMMEL
Assistant Professor of Dance, Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at George Washington University
DANEE CONLEY
Diversity and Inclusion Strategist, Actors Equity Association
RISHIKA MEHRISHI
Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Theatre and Dance, University of California, San Diego
THAO NGUYEN
Lecturer, School of Theater and Dance, San Francisco State University
KARI BARCLAY
Ric Weiland Fellow, Preparing Future Professors Fellow, and Adjunct Faculty in Performing Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California
DOUGLAS EACHO
Assistant Professor of Performance & Technology, University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies
KARINA GUTIÉRREZ
Assistant Professor of Multicultural Theatre and Performance Studies in the Department of Theatre and Dance, Santa Clara University
JESSI PIGGOTT
Honors in the Arts Fellow, Stanford Arts Institute
SO-RIM LEE
Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Columbia University
REBECCA ORMISTON
Program Manager, Stanford Arts Institute
REBECCA CHALEFF
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Riverside
KELLEN HOXWORTH
Postdoctoral Fellow, Dartmouth
JOY BROOKE FAIRFIELD
Assistant Professor, Rhodes College
ISAIAH WOODEN
Assistant Professor, American University
ANGELA FARR SCHILLER
Assistant Professor, Kennesaw State University
RYAN TACATA
Visiting Faculty, San Francisco Art Institute
MYRTON RUNNING WOLF
Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Reno