Due to the ongoing restrictions placed on theatres in the wake of the COVID-19 public health crisis, neither the Yale School of Drama nor Yale Repertory Theatre will produce a season of plays in 2020–2021. Because practical production work is a central tenet of the school's conservatory training, the three-year MFA programs have been temporarily extended to a fourth year, with all costs to be underwritten by Yale.
The additional fourth year of training is optional, though encouraged, for all currently enrolled students beginning their second and third years of training in the fall; and is mandatory for the incoming class of first-year students, who will now graduate in 2024. The one-year Technical Internship program will be extended by one semester.
YSD's professional conservatory offers training in acting, design (sets, costumes, lights, projection, and sound), directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, technical design and production, and theatre management.
For any student in their first three years, need-based financial aid will continue as is YSD's standing policy. In their fourth year or third internship semester, each student or intern will receive a full-tuition scholarship, a living-expenses scholarship, and work-study employment totaling the entire cost of attendance.
YSD's next student recruitment cycle will be for admission in the fall of 2022. Read the full statement at yalerep.org/about-us/our-plans-2020-21.
