Drama therapy is the intentional use of theatre techniques to facilitate personal growth and promote health, thus treating individuals with a range of mental health, cognitive and developmental disorders. New York University was the first university in the country to develop an academic program leading to a Master of Arts degree in Drama Therapy. Graduates of the program will have met the academic requirements for New York State licensure as a creative arts therapist (LCAT). Once graduates are licensed, they will be entitled to practice drama therapy throughout New York State.

The program attracts theatre professionals and educators, therapists, and those working in the fields of medicine, healthcare, and special education. Students come from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds to study and apprentice with leading professionals in the creative arts therapies. Classes are small and instruction individualized. The Drama Therapy Program has been approved by the National Association for Drama Therapy and the New York State Department of Education. (See also Music Therapy in this department and Art Therapy in the Department of Art and Art Professions.) For more information regarding licensure, please visit http://www.nadt.org/

The New York metropolitan area offers rich opportunities for clinical internships in hospitals and shelters, drug rehabilitation centers, prisons, and special facilities for the homeless, elderly, developmentally disabled, and the terminally ill, among others.

Admission requirements

All students should have a solid practical background in the art form of drama/theatre, including experience in improvisational drama and theatre performance. Candidates should also demonstrate a strong academic background in psychology or a related social science, including course work in developmental and/or abnormal psychology. In certain cases, alternative experience relevant to drama therapy will be considered. A personal interview and audition are required. Interview dates are scheduled by the program director each year. Students are admitted only in the fall semester of each year.

M.A. Drama Therapy, Dr. Robert Landy, Program Director

For general inquiries, please contact the Drama Therapy office at: 212 998 5402 or nyudramatherapy@yahoo.com