Students are required to take a minimum of 144 units, which is equivalent to four years of full-time study (full-time students must enroll for a minimum of 12 units each quarter). Forty of these units (10 courses) are taken in required seminars; the balance is made up of elective seminars, independent study and research projects (including preparing the qualifying paper), and dissertation research. Students must take four seminars in the UCSD Program in Theatre and Dance. The program of study makes it possible for students to take a significant number of elective courses and independent studies both with faculty in Drama and Theatre and in other departments.

All graduate courses may be repeated when the topic varies. Descriptions of the topics to be treated in a given academic year are published by the Department in the fall. Enrollment in each course requires the consent of the instructor. The courses are limited to registered doctoral students.

These 10 required seminars must be completed by all students, including those who have an M.A. or an M.F.A., before the end of the third year. In addition, students must pass comprehensive examinations at the end of their first and second years.

DRAMA 293 Directed Studies and DRAMA 294 Dissertation Research are also required.

This Emphasis may be taken at any time during a graduate student's doctoral work, preferably during the first 4 years of graduate study, prior to the dissertation. The Emphasis includes 3 courses:

The emphasis also includes a research component on dramaturgy in consultation with the Instructor .

In the first year, students prepare for the Written Comprehensive Examination, which is based on a series of reading lists curated by the joint faculty. Students take this examination prior to the beginning of fall quarter of their second year. The exam consists of essay questions. At the end of the exam period, the student submits their essays, which are review by two faculty members.

Students should select an advisor by the end of winter quarter of year two. They should select two committee members (one from each campus) by the end of spring quarter of year two.

In spring quarter of year two, the student will work with their advisor to develop the area of dissertation focus and a field reading list. During the fall of year three, students will write a prospectus that establishes the scope, theoretical engagements, and rationale of the project. During winter quarter of year three, the student will write one qualifying paper, which serves as the strong foundation for a dissertation chapter. In the spring of year three, there will be a two-hour oral examination, with the full, five-member committee, covering the prospectus and qualifying paper.

Upon completion of this exam, the language requirement, and all course requirements, the student will be admitted to candidacy.

Students may select a dissertation advisor from either the UCI Department of Drama or the UCSD Department of Theatre and Dance. All UCI doctoral dissertation committees must include at least one faculty member from UCSD.

Students are required to complete an advanced research project using primary and secondary material in a second language (materials may include live and/or recorded performance; interviews with artists, critics, and scholars; and other non-documentary sources, as well as more conventional textual sources). This requirement may be satisfied by writing a seminar paper or a qualifying paper (see Advancement to Candidacy above) that makes extensive use of materials in a second language. The second-language requirement must be satisfied before the end of the third year. This requirement will not be waived for students who are bi- or multilingual; all students are required to do research-level work in more than one language.

It is assumed that students will have acquired a second language before entering the doctoral program, although second-language proficiency is not a requirement for admission. While students may study one or more second languages while at UCI or UCSD, language courses may not be counted toward doctoral program requirements.

Students are required to teach a minimum of four quarters, via DRAMA 399. No more than eight units of apprentice teaching may be counted toward the required 144 units.

Students must advance to candidacy by the end of the fall quarter of their fourth year. Departmental normative time for completion of the degree is five years; total registered time in the Ph.D. program at UCI or UCSD cannot exceed seven years.

Ph.D. students entering the program with a B.A. may be supported (either by teaching assignments or fellowships) for five years. Students who have an M.A. and have been given transfer credit may be supported for four years. Such support depends upon the funds available, the number of students eligible, and the student’s rate of progress.