Abstract
This article offers a personal, historically grounded defense of the PhD in theatre, contextualizing its erosion amid the ascendance of the Master of Fine Arts and changing higher education policy. Through narrative reflection, it documents the decline of doctoral programs, administrative neglect, and labor market contraction, then contrasts the scholarly rigor, disciplinary identity, and research oriented training of the PhD with the practice centered MFA. The discussion maps comprehensive curricular demands, foreign language proficiency, and dissertation requirements onto professional pathways, demonstrating how such breadth cultivates critical theory literacy, historiographic competence, and instructional versatility. Examining technological advances, demographic shifts, and renewed demand for faculty with deep research capacity, this article forecasts a resurgence of doctoral study and urges graduate curriculum planners, theatre administrators, and policy analysts to reassess degree structures, academic labor priorities, and the future of theatre scholarship.
Recommended Citation
Addington, David W.
(1989)
"An Apology for the Ph.D. Degree in Theatre: A Personal Retrospective,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 70, Article 9.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol70/iss1/9
