The Program

Any UMass Amherst undergraduate student in any major or field is eligible for this certificate, including those in University Without Walls (UWW) and Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC). The Multicultural Theater Certificate is not currently envisioned as a stand alone “program” or administrative unit. Rather, it is a series of classes (core and elective) that will result in a certificate supplemental to an undergraduate student’s declared major. Although no certificate currently exists for graduate students, it is part of the long-term goal for the department.

To receive the certificate, students must successfully complete 24 credits consisting of 7 courses and 1 three-credit internship at an approved performing arts institution with a multicultural focus.

There are three required courses:

1. Theater 130: Contemporary Playwrights of Color (4 credits)
2. Theater 336: Multicultural Theater and the Latino Experience (3 credits)
3. Theater 597D: Special Topic: Multicultural Theater Practice (3 credits)

In addition, students are asked to choose 4 electives:

1. For non-theater majors: at least three courses (9 credits) in aspects of theater craft such as acting, directing, voice, movement, design, playwriting and one course (3 credits) from the menu of courses approved by the Certificate administrator and board advisors.
2. For theater majors: at least three courses (9 credits) from the menu of courses approved by the Certificate administrator and board advisors and one course in theater craft such as directing, voice, movement, design, playwriting (3 credits).

Visit SPIRE (https://www.umass.edu/spire/) for more details on these courses.

For course selection and other matters pertaining to the successful completion of the certificate, students will work with the certificate administrator, Priscilla Page, who is a dramaturgy faculty member in the Department of Theater teaching the multicultural theater courses, the student's academic advisor, and faculty members teaching multicultural theater courses.