Capstone and Honors

Theater and Dance majors may pursue either a capstone or an honors project for their senior experience. Both opportunities support majors in developing individualized research that connects performance and scholarship. While the capstone experience lasts the course of a semester and takes place in THDA490, Senior Seminar, an honors project is a year-long experience consisting of both artistic and scholarly components and developed under the guidance of an advisor.

Capstone

THDA490, Senior Seminar is a required course for the Theater and Dance major and typically serves as a platform for THDA majors interested in completing a one-semester capstone experience. Their individual research, paper, and final conference-style presentation fulfill this graduation requirement. THDA490, Senior Seminar welcomes THDA minors. As part of the Honors process, students pursuing Honors will submit a 10-page paper to the Senior Seminar’s instructor and members of their committee, but they are exempt from preparing a conference-style presentation.

Honors

The Honors Project in Theater and Dance is a year-long research project advised by a THDA faculty member. Honors Projects usually consist of a creative component in a THDA production, a critical essay of approximately 20 pages, and a 4-page public presentation of their research in which they introduce their project to the audience and reflect on the research process.

THDA majors are eligible to pursue an Honors Project in Theater and Dance if they have a 3.5 GPA or higher in department courses, and a 3.7 GPA or higher in courses in the field of their projects. Theater and Dance Department Honors projects are accepted at the discretion of the faculty and staff. The Department encourages majors with a demonstrated record of excellence in Department coursework and production to pursue Departmental Honors in their senior year.