Graduate Design Admissions

Applicants must have or be about to receive a Bachelor's Degree (not necessarily in theatre) prior to applying for graduate admission. A 3.0 or better grade point average in the last two years of undergraduate or post-baccalaureate work is required. The GRE is no longer required for Design applicants. Please note that due to the nature of our program, students may enter only in the fall quarter, and we DO NOT accept transfer credits from other programs. All design applicants are urged to apply early.

DESIGN PORTFOLIO

Design applicants must submit a small representative portfolio of sketches, drawings, photographs, color reproductions, CDs, DATs, CD ROMS, and / or slides (maximum of 24 slides) with your application.

Your design portfolio is the most important part of your application to the Design program. It is a measure of your ability to communicate design ideas through visual and aural material, to work with space, color, sound, and form, and the use of research materials. It should document the growth of your work over time, and should include your own work from the last few years. Please do not include examples of work you assisted on, UNLESS the work shown is actually your own.

We would like to see rough sketches, research, work-in-progress, and finished work. This helps us assess your design process. Scenic designs should include model photos. For fully executed scenic designs please include ground plans and production photos/slides. Costume design sketches should be swatched where possible, and include production photos/slides for fully realized shows. Light Plots, either hand drawn or computer generated, should include paperwork and production photos/slides where available. Sound design system configurations, either hand drawn or computer generated, should include equipment list, sound plots, and clearly marked cue sheets. Sound and music samples can be submitted in CD, DAT, ADAT, score, or computer readable multi-channel audio file formats. Any Rendering or Drawing class example sketches should also be included, as well as photos/slides or examples of any artwork, in any medium, that expresses your individual artistic aesthetic.

INTERVIEWS

Appointments are available in February and March for applicants to see the school and to show their full portfolio in person at an interview at UCSD. Other locations may be offered as situations allow, but cannot be guaranteed. Please contact the UCSD Department of Theatre & Dance for more up-to-date information.

All design students are encouraged to apply early. Once your application materials have been received and reviewed, you will be contacted by email or phone to set up an interview appointment with the appropriate member of the design faculty. If you have any other questions, please contact Lee Montaño, Graduate Advisor at the Department of Theatre & Dance, telephone 858-534-1046 or online at lmontano@ucsd.edu.

Apply Online >>

Now Available!!! You can now apply to our Design program online by clicking this button! Be sure you know what your first and second choices for audition dates are before you continue. If you have questions, you can contact our Graduate Adviser, Lee Montaño