In order to achieve EdD candidacy in educational theatre, students need to complete three projects:
1. Educational Theatre Portfolio, Narrative and Annotated Bibliography
2. Arts Dialogue
3. Performance Review
The three candidacy requirements aim for a holistic determination of students’ successful entry to EdD candidacy and are focused on the students’ culminating project as it fits within an “educational theatre” model.
The candidacy exam connects students to their professional, artistic and scholarly networks, and, in this respect, aims to develop the next generation of leaders in the field. Also, the exam ensures that students have achieved basic competence in the educational theatre discipline. Please review the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts and the New York City Department of Education Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Theatre, Grades Pre-K – 12.
Please note that the Arts Dialogue section must be included in the Educational Theatre portfolio. This inclusion needs to be clearly labeled.
Students must have identified a Faculty Advisor and Student Support Group at the time of preparing for candidacy, and they need to have been in regular communication with both before applying for candidacy.
A faculty advisor is someone students identify as agreeing to help shepherd them through the candidacy process, and who may then go on to be the student’s principal point person as the student develops and completes an EdD culminating project. Advisors have different expectations so please ensure you have selected one who fits your work ethic. For instance, some advisors require at least a two week lead time to review materials, maybe longer, which can impact on your timeline to completion. Other advisors can have a quicker turnaround.
A student support group is created by the candidate and consists of no more than three or four trusted critical friends who will provide thorough and regular feedback on the students’ work before it is shared with the advisor. These friends could be other doctoral students or even outside reviewers who you feel can contribute to the quality of your study. We try to avoid having advisors read first drafts and being copy editors. Many stylistic and content issues can be easily picked up by the student support group in advance of faculty input. In qualitative research, it is expected that you will go through a process of peer debriefing, so the sooner you have a student support group the better.
Students file for candidacy at the beginning of the semester and submit their digital portfolio either in PDF format or as a secure website (such as NYU’s Google Sites platform) to the mpap-doctoral-studies@nyu.edu according to the deadlines posted in the MPAP Doctoral Handbook: Deadlines and Dates for MPAP Candidacy. Additionally, a Candidacy application form signed by your faculty advisor must be included in the submission and sent separately to the Steinhardt Office of Doctoral Studies, steinhardt.doctoral.studies@nyu.edu.
A digital portfolio of students' work that demonstrates competence around the artistic processes outlined in the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts:
Creating – Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work
Performing – Realizing artistic ideas and work through interpretation and presentation
Responding – Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning
Connecting – Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context
And:
Knowledge of how to apply theatre form to the students’ chosen culminating project
Experience in Arts Based Research (ABR) and Practice-Led Inquiry
Portfolio might include:
combination of best papers
performance reviews
teaching citations
descriptions of workshops led
creative products
The digital portfolio must be introduced by a detailed statement that clearly articulates how it meets the criteria. In the detailed statement (at least 10 pages, double spaced [3,600 words]) students address how their portfolio reveals competency in the six criteria above. The narrative must also indicate the students’ understanding of arts-based research and practice-led inquiry as well as provide an overview of the Culminating Study that the student will formally propose later.
Please note, the portfolio will also include task 2 below. For the Arts Dialogue task, a paper reflecting on the student’s written and oral presentation must be included (see Arts Dialogue below for further information).
Headings are required and the student must refer in their narrative to particular sections of the portfolio that substantiate the claims that are being made.
A Table of Contents must be included.
A CV must be provided in the portfolio.
An annotated appendix is required which includes artifacts which provide evidence of competency around the standards listed above. The annotations need to explain what each portfolio item in the appendix is and how it meets the criteria.
An annotated bibliography is required. The annotations should include three sentences or less for each source. You may elect to organize these alphabetically or thematically. Additionally, sources need to represent a diverse body of literature from educational theatre (either applied theatre, drama in education, or theatre for young audiences – depending on the area of specialization), theatre history and repertoire, theoretical sources, and sources from other fields in so far as they relate to the content of the proposed Doctoral Project, in preparation for the literature review for the doctoral proposal. To that end, these annotations must articulate how that resource relates to or helped shape your intended Doctoral Project.
Please do not pad the portfolio with an abundance of material.
We recommend a “less is more” approach where you selectively choose materials that most aptly demonstrate how you are demonstrating competency. We don’t need 10 flyers which all show that you have acted or directed.
Select and analyze pertinent artifacts.
You should consult with your support group as you prepare for EdD candidacy and be conscious that this process is a time consuming and should not be rushed. We have had cases of students having to do further work because they have missed key guidelines or have not provided sufficient time for getting feedback from their support group or advisor
As you prepare the portfolio, be aware of both your strengths and weaknesses relating to the six competencies above. If you feel lacking in a particular area, as most people do, you need to explain where the gaps exist in your knowledge base and how you plan to improve your competency, perhaps by taking further coursework.
Faculty advises that you operate as a reflective practitioner, identifying your strengths and those areas that you need to build. In your Methods and Materials of Research course and other classes, you will be learning the elements of the reflective practitioner and what it means to engage in systematic and ongoing analysis.
Demonstrates competence across the six bullets listed above
The statement clearly articulates how the student has achieved competency
The student is operating as a reflective practitioner
The student demonstrates a skill set in Arts Based Research and practice-led inquiry.
The portfolio is well referenced and there is an annotated appendix
Narrative that addresses (1) how you are meeting competency in the standards, (2) the ways the student operates as reflective practitioner, and (3) the skill level in Arts Based Research and practice-led inquiry.
Artifacts that eloquently and succinctly reveal the student has met competency
An annotated bibliography
An annotated appendix describing the items in the portfolio
Table of Contents
CV
Have you submitted the portfolio online at a secure site?
A written and oral presentation on a significant project that the student has completed with an explanation of how it will feed into the students' proposed culminating project. The presentation is given to a selected artistic/scholarly community and there needs to be feedback from leaders that discusses the project’s merits as an Arts Based Research or practice-led study. The Arts Dialogue (AD) needs to demonstrate how the project is well suited to the candidates’ authority and interests on a particular subject. This presentation can be presented at an appropriate professional meeting (e.g., conferences such as the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, International Drama in Education Research Institute, Research in Drama Education Conference, the NYU Forum series) or other professional setting. The candidate consults with the support group and mentor on where and when the Arts Dialogue takes place. Faculty recommend the AD occur in a non-NYU setting where candidates can clearly demonstrate that they are connecting to their professional and wider artistic/scholarly networks outside NYU, though guest lectures in courses for undergraduate or master's students can be appropriate as well.
The student support group provides response to the presentation at least two weeks in advance of the formal presentation. The candidate must include that written feedback with the written presentation, and indicate the extent to which it is being considered.
Program in Educational Theatre faculty need to be present and/or represented at the final public AD presentation, wherever possible. This presentation must be accompanied by an appropriate written paper that can be given to participants and read by them after the “dialogue.” Ideally, the formal presentation setting will provide opportunities for feedback, dialogue or interaction from the audience or participants. Such opportunities should be discussed in the final paper included in the portfolio. Papers must be appropriately referenced with an extensive bibliography that reveals the literature that informs the presentation.
Students must write up the Arts Dialogue and include it in their portfolio. The paper should address what the presentation was, where it took place, who attended, and how it meets the criteria below. If students feel their Arts Dialogue was inadequate in some way, they should clearly reflect on how it could be improved.
Student can discuss how the arts dialogue constitutes Arts Based Research or practice led inquiry at an appropriate professional meeting.
The support group’s feedback is included and analyzed.
Students include the paper presented and discuss how the participants’ responses informed the final submission.
The dialogue demonstrates leadership (or evolving leadership) in the field
A bibliography accompanied by a statement that reveals how the Arts Dialogue contributes to the field.
Complete a significant project that feeds into the student’s proposed culminating project
Prepare and include a written reflection paper for presentation at an appropriate professional meeting
Review paper and presentation with the student support group at least two weeks prior to the formal presentation and analyze written feedback
Present paper at an appropriate professional meeting in a dialogic format which allows input, feedback, and/or discussion from/with colleagues in the field; must be attended by a member of the Educational Theatre faculty or their representative
Write a summative reflection of the Arts Dialogue for inclusion in the portfolio addressing the above criteria that incorporates feedback and discusses next steps
After completion of the two tasks above, at least two faculty reviewers meet with the candidate and examine how the student has met candidacy and whether further work is required.
In instances where a deferred pass with conditions is given, students will be advised what specific tasks need to be completed in order to achieve candidacy. It is not uncommon for a deferred pass to be given, and in rare instances portfolios have been failed.
Student has demonstrated satisfactory performance in the portfolio, and arts dialogue
Student recognizes areas of strength in performance as well as areas that require further work
Student is able to complete other assignments if required
Student engages as reflective practitioner around Arts Based Research and/or practice-led inquiry.