Program Recognition
•Three-year MFA in Acting program ranked consistently among the top-25 MFA performance programs in the U.S., U.K., and Australia
•Member of the University Resident Theatre Association (URTA)
•Students eligible to join Actors' Equity Association upon graduation
Performance & Productions
•Seven productions per season (four CBT mainstage, three Lab Theatre); MFA actors may be cast in any production
•Three performance venues: Clarence Brown mainstage (574-seat proscenium/thrust), Jenny Boyd Theatre (~300-seat flexible/arena, opened 2025), and Lab Theatre (125-seat black box)
•Guest directors include Broadway professionals such as Josh Rhodes (Spamalot), Rusty Mowery (Kinky Boots), and Hunter Foster (Goodspeed, Utah Shakespeare Festival)
Notable Alumni
•Tramell Tillman ('14, Severance, Hunters), Conrad Ricamora ('12, Fire Island, How to Get Away With Murder, Broadway's The King and I and Here Lies Love), and Obie Award-winning director Eric Ting •Faculty and alumni have credits on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at major regional theatres including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Goodman, The Public, and Lincoln Center Theatre
Professional Development
•Uniquely integrated with Clarence Brown Theatre (CBT), a LORT D Equity professional theatre
•Students train during the day and rehearse/perform alongside faculty and national-caliber guest artists at night
•Unified organizational structure: Department Head and Artistic Director are the same person
Location
•Located in Knoxville, TN — a growing city of 850,000+ in the greater metro area, minutes from Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Value
•All MFA Acting students receive full tuition waivers plus Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) stipends (~$21,000/year)
•Health insurance included at no additional cost
•Approximate total funding value ~$54,000/year (~$162,000 over three years)
•Additional competitive fellowships available through the Graduate School ($5,000–$15,000)
