In Emerson’s Department of Performing Arts, your undergraduate education will help you develop the tools you need as a working practitioner of your craft. Located in Boston’s theatre district, your Emerson education encompasses rigorous studio work, scholastic engagement, hands-on experiences, and real-world opportunities in Boston’s thriving theatre scene. Our department offers nine different BFA degrees, each focused on a specific aspect of a career in performing arts.

All Performing Arts programs include a core liberal arts curriculum designed to give you a common language with which to discuss your work in years to come. A thorough grounding in liberal arts makes you a stronger, more versatile artist, with a deep understanding of the role that arts play in society – and your role as both an arts-maker and a citizen of the world.

Acting (BFA)

The BFA in Acting is intensive, designed to help you develop a clear process that will sustain your professional work. The program, therefore, is intended for students who find themselves craving more trust, connection, and exploration through ensemble work and a strong individual focus on the craft itself.

Comedic Arts (BFA)

At Emerson, we believe that great comedy stems from a huge bank of knowledge. The BFA in Comedic Arts sustains an intense focus on comedy, while remaining rooted in the liberal arts by exposing you to a wide range of perspectives.

Musical Theatre (BFA)

The BFA in Musical Theatre program mission nurtures important foundations in the student such as teamwork, preparation, managing the business, and seeking conclusions about the nature of the creative process. Through the supplementary study of liberal arts, the program exposes the student to what we endorse as a more holistic approach to the craft.

Stage & Production Management (BFA)

Classroom learning and hands-on experience engage Stage and Production Management students at Emerson to discover and develop their skills in collaboration, process, and leadership within the art of theatre! Through this, the Stage and Production Management curriculum will thoroughly prepare you for a career as a stage or production manager.

Theatre & Performance (BFA)

Emerson College’s BFA in Theatre & Performance is an outstanding actor training program that combines the rigor of sequential studio courses with the flexibility to explore a diverse world of possibilities.

Theatrical Design & Production

The BFA in Theatrical Design and Production prepares students to enter the theatre industry as a professional in their craft: fluent in the language of design and technology, conversant in the tools they will encounter at theatres throughout the country, and with a strong understanding of the essentials of design.

Theatre Education & Performance (BFA)

In Emerson College’s Theatre Education & Performance program, students master the fundamentals of dramatic arts and learn how to employ the experience of stage performance in classrooms and communities. Through hands-on learning, they start on their path to becoming well-rounded educators and artists.

Theatre Education (BFA)

Emerson College’s Theatre Education program integrates the fields of theatre arts and education in the classroom, in the community, and on the stage. Our students and faculty believe in the transformative power of theatre to shape society and to change lives; they are artists who see education as the tool with which they create the future.

Theatre (BFA)

Emerson College’s BFA in Theatre offers dynamic, comprehensive training grounded in the liberal arts. With a programmatic structure artfully balanced between study and practice, breadth and depth, arts and academics, our students will explore the world of the theatre and theatre in the world.