Graduate Admissions

Admission to the Master of Fine Arts Theatre degree program is based on artistry and scholarship. We will begin recruiting our next Master of Fine Arts class in early 2010. 

Placement in the program will be determined through audition/portfolio review, academic credentials, diagnostic testing, and personal interview. Candidates for admission should have adequate training in theatre. Deficiencies may be corrected before beginning graduate study.

Faculty from the University of Florida audition prospective graduate students at the National Unified Auditions and Interviews (NUA/Is) of the University/Resident Theatre Association (U/RTA). Please follow the U/RTA recommended guidelines for the audition at www.urta.com or Please call 212 221-1130.
Interested students should complete the U/RTA application packets no later than mid-November 2009. Acting & Design faculty from the University of Florida will be in the following cities and look forward to meeting you and viewing your work.

New York City: January 23 - January 27, 2010
Chicago: January 29 - February 3, 2010
San Francisco (Acting Only): February 5 - 6, 2010

Application is now available online!
We thank you for your interest and hope to meet you in person. Actors please contact Dr. Mikell Pinkney at (352) 273-0512 or mpinkney@ufl.edu if you have other questions related to the acting program.

For more information regarding the design programs, please contact Professor Paul Favini, Design/Technical Area Coordinator at 352-273-0507 or favinip@ufl.edu. Interested designers are encouraged to contact us with a letter of interest prior to the auditions requesting an interview at their audition site. Design students ONLY may elect to seek an audition on campus either before or after the U/RTA auditions although no assistantships or scholarships may be offered until after the U/RTA auditions have concluded.

Admission Steps

Actors and designers normally submit an application after a conditional offer of admission has been extended or upon request by the design or acting area faculty. Although there is not an official application deadline, admission decisions for the fall semesters are generally made between February and April.


Step 1:

Apply online to the University of Florida and pay the $30 application fee. The online application includes a section for you to write a statement of purpose to express your interest in pursuing our graduate program and provides the opportunity for you to highlight special talents and skills that you will bring to the program. We recommend you prepare this text, review, and then cut and paste into the online application. The online application has been enhanced to allow you to electronically request letters of recommendation that will become part of the application. More information and directions are provided as you complete the online application.  If you cannot use the online system, you may print the letter of recommendation form and mail it to your recommender. Please include a pre-addressed reply envelope with your requests for letters of recommendation or advise your recommenders to send letters to the School of Theatre & Dance (address below in step 2).

Submit official transcripts from all institutions attended (a minimum 3.0 grade point average of is required for all upper-division undergraduate work, which is the last two years of your undergraduate academic record.)

Transcripts should be sent directly to:

Office of Admissions
S201 Criser Hall
P.O. Box 11400
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-4000

The University of Florida requires the General Test of the GRE for admissions. Test scores are considered in conjunction with your overall application. The GRE is NOT required for MFA students who completed an undergraduate degree at a U.S. institution. If you earned your bachelor's outside of the U.S, please submit official Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores. See step 3 for more important information for International applicants.


Step 2:

Send the following materials to the School of Theatre & Dance:

Graduate Admissions & Academic Programs
College of Fine Arts
P.O. Box 115800
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-5800 USA
(352) 273-0324
Fax: (352) 392-3802

1. Please send an email to gradadmissions@arts.ufl.edu to let us know you completed the online application

2. Mail one set of official transcripts

3. If you did not provide a resume and headshot at the time of audition, please send to the address above.


Step 3:(international students only)

For additional information regarding the MFA Acting program, please review the student handbook or contact:

Dr. Mikell Pinkney
Graduate Coordinator
(352) 273-0512

For additional information regarding the MFA Design program, please review the student handbook or contact:

Professor Paul Favini
(352) 273-0507