Program Overview
College of Performing and Visual Arts
Contact: Michelle Gaza, M.F.A., Interim Director
Location: Frasier Hall 105
Telephone: 970.351.2991
Fax: 970.351.4897
Website: arts.unco.edu/theatre/
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of four parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits
- University-Wide Credits
*For Educator licensure majors, PTEP coursework counts towards the minimum of nine upper-division UNC credits (300-400).
Program Description:
A major in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Teaching provides training for students who have teaching of drama in grades K-12as their career goal. The program cultivates an appreciation and understanding of theatre as part of American society and culture.
A major in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Teaching prepares students to teach drama in grades K-12.
Program Admission Requirements:
Admission to the Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts, Teaching concentration degree program is by interview only. Information concerning interviews may be requested from the School of Theatre Arts and Dance, University of Northern Colorado, Frasier Hall, Greeley, CO 80639, phone 970.351.2991.
Program Requirements:
Students must adhere to the following guidelines in order to persist within the K-12 Drama Teaching Concentration - Licensure: Drama Theater Arts (Grades K-12) Program (“Theatre Education”):
- All Theatre Education concentration majors must demonstrate professional promise as a teacher to the satisfaction of the Theatre Arts Faculty.
- Theatre Education concentration students choosing to audition for a main stage play or musical during the academic year must accept any role they are offered.
Non-compliance of any of the above requirements may result in disciplinary actions including, but not limited to, removal from future production assignments, loss of talent scholarship funding, or expulsion from the program.
PTEP Program Requirements:
Teacher candidates who complete an approved content degree and the UNC professional teacher education program, as well as pass the appropriate Colorado Department of Education designated PRAXIS exam (if applicable), will be eligible for recommendation from UNC for a Colorado Department of Education teaching license.
If you are seeking licensure in your program area, the following items are required to complete your program.
- Completion of Application for Initial Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #1 (Enrollment in this checkpoint will result in a one-time program fee, assessed to student accounts to pay for assessment software. This checkpoint will also require an out-of-pocket payment - to the chosen approved vendor - to obtain a fingerprint background check, which is required by the Colorado Department of Education.)
- Completion of Full Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #2
- Completion of Application for Student Teaching – referred to as Checkpoint #3
- Completion of content specific PRAXIS test prior to Student Teaching
- Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the STE Director.
- All PTEP Field Experiences and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.
- Student Teaching outside the supervision of UNC Faculty may or may not be approved.
- Teacher Candidates will not be placed in a school where they were once students or where they have a close relative attending and/or working.
- Teacher education and educator preparation licensure programs do not accept Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) or field based courses that are more than ten years old. PLEASE NOTE: Teacher Candidates have the right to petition this policy at the discretion of the program coordinator.
Please work with your content advisor to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout your program.
Additional Information:
- Candidates must pass the Praxis or Place test prior to Student Teaching.
- Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the STE Director.
- All PTEP Field Experiences and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.
- Student Teaching outside the supervision of UNC Faculty may or may not be approved.
- A teaching minor is highly recommended. Students must remember that in the public schools of the State of Colorado more than half the teaching load must be done in the area of licensure. A student desiring this licensure should be prepared for many additional requirements in content and in methods and observation in the minor field.
- This program meets the current licensure requirements of the North Central Association of teachers of drama.
- Students who are in theatre education must apply for admission to the Professional Teacher Education program (PTEP). Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the requirements in the PTEP section of the catalog. It is recommended that application for PTEP be made during the sophomore year, or after completing 30 semester hours of University coursework and no later than the first semester of the junior year. Students must complete the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences PTEP requirements (see Theatre Education advisor).
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the required major credits.
Any additional LAC coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
THEA 296 (3) and THEA 297 (3) are recommended to fulfill Arts & Humanities requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 50 credits
Take all of the following courses:
Complete 8 hours of Individual Performance in Theatre courses:
| THEA 100 | Individual Performance in Theatre | 2 |
| THEA 110 | Performance in a Theatrical Production | 2 |
3. Required PTEP — 36 credits
| EDEC 250 | Diverse Early Language and Literacy | 3 |
| EDFE 444 | Supervised Student Teaching | 1-15 |
| EDF 290 | Foundations of Education | 3 |
| ECLD 340 | Academic Language/Literacy Development in the Content Areas at the Secondary Level | 3 |
| EDSE 433 | Exceptional Students in the Regular Classroom | 2 |
| PSY 347 | Educational Psychology for Elementary Teachers | 3 |
| | or | |
| PSY 349 | Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers | 3 |
| THEA 365 | Clinical Experiences I: Elementary Theatre | 3 |
| THEA 385 | Methods of Teaching Drama | 3 |
| THEA 485 | Clinical Experiences II: Secondary Theatre | 3 |
| THEA 490 | Theatre Arts Student Teaching Seminar | 1 |
4. University-Wide Credits — 3 credits*
Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for any degree at UNC; for this program, that will typically be 3 credits.
*Note: Students who apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum and the major requirements will have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree. See your advisor for details.
Program Notes
Admission to the Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts, Teaching Concentration degree program is by interview only.
All Theatre Education concentration majors must demonstrate professional promise as a teacher to the satisfaction of the Theatre Arts Faculty.
The Theatre Arts program requires student majors to consult with and be advised by a faculty member teaching in the program.
A teaching minor is highly recommended. Students must remember that in the public schools of the State of Colorado more than half the teaching load must be done in the area of licensure. A student desiring this licensure should be prepared for many additional requirements in content and in methods and observation in the minor field.
This program meets the current licensure requirements of the North Central Association of teachers of drama.
The Colorado Commission on Higher Education and this program require the completion of a yearly assessment process in this concentration area. The assessment, which includes an evaluation of your years progress as well as a yearly audition or interview, may be the basis of your continuance in this concentration area.
Students who are in theatre education must apply for admission to the Professional Teacher Education program (PTEP). Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the requirements in the PTEP section of the catalog. It is recommended that application for PTEP be made during the sophomore year, or after completing 30 semester hours of University coursework and no later than the first semester of the junior year. Students must complete the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences PTEP requirements (see Theatre Education advisor).