Abstract
This article examines graduate advisement in theater education by contrasting the Master of Fine Arts MFA the Doctor of Philosophy PhD and the emerging Doctor of Fine Arts DFA as potential terminal degrees. Drawing on disciplinary debates in dramaturgy design directing and production it outlines how research orientation academic career goals secondary education roles and professional theater aspirations shape degree suitability. The discussion describes the scholarly expectations of the PhD the applied creative competencies cultivated by the MFA and the contested hybrid status of the DFA situating each within promotion and tenure structures and university credentialing norms. By illuminating credential thresholds workload considerations and evolving accreditation standards this article equips advisors and students to align curricular planning with career trajectories while underscoring that degree choice should reflect individual educational imperatives rather than institutional prestige.
Recommended Citation
Gray, Rick
(1991)
"Graduate Student Advisement: Which Degree?,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 78, Article 12.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol78/iss1/12
