Mission

The Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin exists as a diverse educational community of artists and scholars who are committed to excellence in teaching, research, creative practice and service.

We train students to work in professional arts environments as well as educate them in the rich traditions of theatre and dance. We encourage our students to be critical spectators as well as professional practitioners, and educate them to the importance of arts advocacy and promotion. We believe students should hold deep, complex understandings of theatre and dance so that they can participate in the widest possible cultural conversations about the arts.

We empower students by challenging assumptions, stressing continuing intellectual and artistic development and demanding high standards of achievement. As educators we are committed to the continual examination of our own teaching, the integration of research and creative practice into the classroom and high levels of expertise in our various disciplines. We model collegiality, free and open expression, collaboration, intellectual honesty and civility and expect that our students will do so as well. We value innovation, craft and vision as positive attributes of research and creative production.

As artists and scholars we remain active in our respective fields. As citizens of the department, we believe in a system of self-governance and self-evaluation consistent with university policy, and we accept our responsibility to share in departmental administration. We also commit to serve the College of Fine Arts, The University of Texas at Austin, our respective disciplines and the state in which we live and work. As a community we are actively committed to diversity as essential to the educational experience of our students.