THPST-BA - Theater and Performance Studies (BA)

During the senior year, students complete a senior project (also known as a "capstone") to fulfill the 60 units required for the major. All majors must choose a significant concentration in either Acting or Theater-Making. Specific requirements for these concentrations can be found in subsequent sections.

All TAPS Majors must complete a Capstone Project that represents significant work in any area of theater and/or performance. The project must be an original contribution, such as directing a play, devising an original piece with a group, writing a script, choreographing a dance, designing a set, lights, or costume for a show, creating a solo, acting a significant role, writing an essay, or another creative enterprise agreed upon with advisors. Work for this project typically begins in the junior year’s spring quarter and must be completed by the end of the senior year. Students enroll in four credit units for capstone projects through course Senior Project. Students pursuing capstone projects must submit an adviser-approved proposal to the Production Manager, to be approved by the Artistic Director and Director of Undergraduate Studies no later than the end of spring quarter of the junior year.

For a select number of students, the department confers the Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Theater and Performance Studies degree. To qualify for departmental honors, students must meet the following requirements in addition to the other requirements of the TAPS major:

1. Applying to the honors program involves a written application, including a project proposal and transcript, which establishes the student’s work in the department and outlines the area of research that the student wishes to pursue. Students must have at least an overall university GPA of 3.3 and a 3.5 GPA in courses counting towards the major.

2. Students must have completed a significant portion of their major coursework before enrolling in honors. It is recommended that students take courses that have prepared them for advanced study in the proposed area of research.

3. Students enroll in course Honors Thesis, which is worth four units total. Students must enroll in this course each quarter during the senior year (one unit in autumn, one unit in winter, and two units in spring). It is graded S/NC (grade determined by the student’s advisor).

4. The honors thesis (described below) is due on May 15 in spring quarter and is double-marked by the primary advisor and one other Stanford faculty member.

5. Entry into the honors program does not guarantee an honors degree. The student’s thesis advisor makes the final decision to confer an honors degree upon evaluating the quality of the thesis. 

Honors Thesis

There are two ways to undertake an honors thesis. The first is to write a 40-50 page essay, presenting research on an important issue or subject of the student’s choice. The second option is for students to use their involvement in a creative project as a case study. In this situation, the honors thesis critically analyzes the creative work. Typically, the creative project is the student’s capstone, but subject to the advisor’s approval, a student can write on a substantial creative project other than the capstone. This essay is shorter (about 30 pages) because the creative work constitutes part of the honors project. Students are expected to work consistently throughout the year with their advisor, whom they identify at the time of application. Advisors can be selected from Academic Council faculty or artists-in-residence. Lecturers can be asked to co-advise with an Academic Council faculty member.