Part of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Theatre Arts (founded in 1982) offers BA, MFA, and PhD degrees in theatre arts. All faculty members are active in both teaching and artistic or research activities.

The responsibilities that constitute the mission of the Department of Theatre Arts are congruent with the generally recognized mission of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in the University of Pittsburgh, which supports our collaborative efforts in garnering a community of learners that are actively engaging in interdisciplinary research, teaching, and creative practice. The department makes every effort to support diversity and inclusion by bringing together faculty, staff, and students who have a broad range of viewpoints, practices, and interests in the performing arts and its practices. These encompass our BA, MA, MFA, and PhD programs, faculty teaching and course development, research, and scholarship. We seek to provide the widest possible spectrum of practical and educational opportunities to the theatre artists and scholars of the future. We pursue our mission through rigorous course work combined with direct practical experience in theatre research, performance, design, and production, as occasions for self-development and artistic challenge. We expect our faculty to enrich human knowledge through disciplinary and cross-disciplinary research and creative activity issuing in scholarly and artistic projects accessible to the campus and the Pittsburgh community of citizens and scholars. We work to create theatrical and scholarly leaders in the cultural life of the University and the global community.

The University of Pittsburgh Theatre Arts Department promotes an awareness of diversity and inclusion in our curriculum, classrooms, and departmental productions a priority. We have structured the season selection process to ensure that our production choices are focused on the department’s pedagogical goals of giving practice in the history of performance and drama as well as promoting our goals of diversity, inclusion, and principles of equal opportunity for all who research, study, and work on departmental productions. We will support these choices within our curriculum to ensure that each student who majors in Theatre Arts graduates with well-rounded academic experiences and perspectives.