About the School of Theatre and Dance
The NIU School of Theatre and Dance (SoTD) provides intensive artistic and academic training for students preparing for careers in theater and theater-related areas. The course of study is rigorous and realistic, designed to develop, challenge and broaden the skills and attitudes of all theater students, but especially the highly motivated student who takes responsibility for their own growth.
Our principles are simple. Students perform publicly all four years of the program. Our students have a strong work ethic and commitment to excellence, but also the ability to work as an ensemble and treat other artists with respect – this is not only fostered but required. We emphasize collaboration, not competition.
Programs and Performances
The school offers several degree programs, including a B.A. in theatre arts, a B.F.A. with emphases in acting, design and technology and dance performance, and an M.F.A. with specializations in acting and design and technology.
Every academic year, we stage a full season of eight productions, six plays and two dance concerts on three stages, providing public performance opportunities every year of a student’s academic career. Our programming reflects eclectic choices, which are designed to challenge both our students and our audiences.
"I have had the pleasure of working with a number of recent graduates of Northern Illinois University's actor training program, and I have found them to be exceptionally well prepared as artists and as professionals. I feel NIU is certainly one of the premiere training programs in our region, and quite likely in the country."
--Steve Scott
Artistic Collective and Former Producer
The Goodman Theatre
Professional Development
There are three metropolitan areas within a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the university, all with robust theater communities, including Milwaukee, Madison, and, of course, Chicago. NIU’s proximity to Chicago gives our students enormous professional exposure, with opportunities to audition for summer stock companies, and internships at major regional theaters, as well as to work as assistants and designers for many of the hundreds of producing organizations that call Chicago home.
The goal and the focus of the training we provide ensure that graduates of this program step out the door ready to begin their careers. SoTD alumni are actively working in film, and television, as well as onstage in New York, Los Angeles, major regional theaters and overseas.
Global Impact
We have an internationally recognized faculty of practicing artists and scholars, and about two hundred gifted students, recruited and carefully selected from around the country and abroad. The School of Theatre and Dance is a member of the University Resident Theatre Association, and our programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre.