NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma has announced a new Master of Fine Arts in Drama, with a concentration in Directing, launching in Fall 2026. Applications are now open for the inaugural cohort, whose members are expected to complete the degree by Spring 2029.
Offered through the Peggy Dow Helmerich School of Drama in the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, the MFA program is designed to cultivate visionary theater directors with a strong foundation in storytelling, leadership and collaboration.
Seth Gordon, a professor in directing and theater management, will oversee the new program. Students will benefit from a blend of practical directing experience and rigorous academic coursework and which prepares them for careers in both professional and academic theater, he says.
“The MFA in Directing represents an exciting new chapter for the OU School of Drama,” Gordon said. “It not only enhances our academic offerings but also positions us to help the next generation of American theater directors ignite their careers.”
Graduate students will have access to production and play development resources, as well as access to targeted professional residencies.
While the primary focus is on theatrical directing, the program will also allow students to take courses in film directing and theater pedagogy.
Learn more or apply at https://www.ou.edu/finearts/drama.
The Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma produces more than 400 concerts, recitals, plays, musicals, operas and dance performances annually. Learn more at ou.edu/finearts.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
The University of Oklahoma professor Christina Giacona is making her fourth trip to the Grammy Awards next month, as four albums she worked on have received nominations from the Recording Academy.
In a rare achievement for an undergraduate student, Colby Higdon, a geology major on the paleontology track with the University of Oklahoma has published original paleontological research conducted at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History that reveals new insights into whether competition between ancient animals was responsible for their extinction.
Newly published research in Science Advances, led by Jessica Cerezo-Román, at the University of Oklahoma, documents the oldest known cremation in Africa and provides some of the earliest evidence for intentional cremation using a pyre in the world.
