Committee on Theater and Performance Studies Joint PhD Program
The PhD program in TAPS at the University of Chicago is dialogical, experimental, and highly individualized. Students develop a program of study that reflects their particular training and interests (including coursework, teaching, and performance-based research) and complement their training in TAPS with a joint doctorate in a cooperating field: Art History, Cinema and Media Studies, Classics, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, English Language and Literature, Germanic Studies, Music, or Romance Languages and Literatures.
The program consists of five main components: coursework, oral examinations, practice-based research, a joint PhD dissertation, and teaching. Compared to single degree programs, we expect the joint degree to involve up to an additional year of study. See PhD program requirements for more detailed information.
Students wishing to begin a joint graduate degree in TAPS in Autumn 2025 or after should visit the Prospective Students page for more information.
Visit our Faculty & Lecturers page for more information on graduate faculty and their fields of interest.
Browse current and recent courses by selecting Graduate as the course level on the Courses page.
Teaching
The Committee on TAPS is committed to preparing its students to succeed as teachers. Students in the joint PhD program fulfill the teaching requirements of their entry department and teach two quarters of courses related to TAPS. In addition, the program curates for its graduate students and faculty conversations, workshops, and practical training in theater & performance-oriented pedagogy. Students who have successfully completed their coursework and teaching requirements often go on to hold Humanities Division Teaching Fellowships. These competitive two-year fellowships are designed to enhance pedagogical skills and extend research training. TAPS Teaching Fellows participate in a program of professional development under the joint supervision of the Chicago Center for Teaching (CCT) and a mentor in TAPS.
TAPS Graduate Workshop
The TAPS Graduate Workshop brings together faculty and graduate students from across the university whose research involves performance. We seek to provide a forum for work that spans a variety of disciplines across the humanities and social sciences, including anthropology, cinema and media studies, East Asian languages and cultures, English, comparative literature, Germanic studies, history, music, romance languages and literatures, and more. In addition, the workshop seeks to put pressure on the long-standing divide between the theories and practices of performance. In any given quarter, the workshop serves as a forum for research across institutions and borders, for graduate student theses/dissertation chapters in progress, and for inquiry into pedagogical form.
The workshop typically meets on alternating Wednesdays throughout the academic year. For more information about the workshop and its current schedule of events, please visit the TAPS Graduate Workshop website or contact workshop coordinators Asya Sagnak and Aydan Shahdadpuri.
