MFA in Lighting Design
Our Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design program provides developing theatre professionals with the opportunity to cultivate their own individual artistic identity, and innovative and collaborative creative process, while refining and enhancing their craft.
Our program seeks to:
Enhance artistic expression, critical thinking, communication, and design skills through hands-on, mentored experiences within a wide range of production opportunities and classroom instruction.
Explore creative collaborations to tell important stories to today's audiences.
Create inclusive and accessible forms of theatrical expression for the next generation.
MFA Lighting Design students are being prepared for substantive careers in the professional world of theatre and the related performing arts. Training includes a rigorous curriculum, design opportunities, and exposure to the profession. Students are regularly mentored by working professional faculty and advisors through their studio coursework; hands-on, in-process Theatre in Practice advising; and end-of-term conferences.
Financial aid is available to some students in the form of scholarships, living stipends, and teaching assistantships. Admission is highly selective, with the School of Theatre admitting one to three students each year into the Lighting Design program.
Curriculum Highlights
Robust schedule of guest artists, workshops, and intensives for special topics.
Mentored portfolio and resume development, with introductions to Professional Theatre Initiative affiliates for summer opportunities following the first year.
Funded presentation at the National Design Portfolio Review, Showcase West, or the Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review at the successful completion of the program.
Curated portfolio and introduction to professional theatre and live performing arts industry network contacts provided at the successful completion of the program.
Learning Outcomes
The Lighting Design program aims to develop a complete theatre artist by fostering a passion for theatre, storytelling, design, and the collaborative process. Through their required coursework and design assignments, Lighting Design students will:
Demonstrate a deep understanding of theatre as an art form and the essential role it plays in contemporary society.
Demonstrate spoken and written critical thinking, collaboration, problem-solving, and communication skills in an arts-based discipline.
Demonstrate an ability to enrich creative storytelling and take artistic risks.
Demonstrate an awareness of and ability to engage in the diverse community of theatre artists.
Demonstrate a high level of artistic, interpretive, and craft skills and techniques in Lighting Design as a foundation for entering into a career in theatre and the live performing arts.
Program of Study
(minimum of 60 units‡)
First Year
1st
2nd
CFA TH 701 Graduate Salon
CFA TH 607 Collaboration Forum 1
CFA TH 549 Theatre in Practice
CFA TH 539 Production
CFA TH 639 & 640 Lighting Design Studio 1 & 2
CFA TH 707 & 708 Scenography Studio 1 & 2
Approved elective(s)
Total units (minimum)
Second Year
CFA TH 701 Graduate Salon
CFA TH 549 Theatre in Practice
CFA TH 539 Production
CFA TH 739 & 740 Lighting Design Studio 3 & 4
CFA TH 807 & 808 Scenography Studio 3 & 4
Approved elective(s)
January 2025
College of Fine Arts
855 Commonwealth Avenue,
BOSTON,
Massachusetts,
02215, United States
Student must have a Bachelor degree. A BFA or BM is not a prerequisite for admission, and we invite applicants from students with a variety of academic backgrounds to apply for our graduate programs. Applicants admitted to graduate music programs with deficiencies in theory or history may be required to take review courses that will not confer graduate credit.
English Proficiency Requirement: Students who are most competitive for admission will present a composite TOEFL score of at least 90-100 and scores of 20 or higher on each subsection; The IELTS minimum score is 7.0.
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.