Minor in Costume Design
Western Michigan University's minor in costume design will prepare students in the area of costuming for theatre and the performing arts and will provide opportunities for students to serve as part of the theatre production team. It is intended to complement a student’s major degree of study.
Students interested in this minor should have a clear understanding of how the study of costume design would serve their career goals and be prepared to write about that in an essay for acceptance into the program. Applications must have completed at least one semester at WMU before applying. Applications are accepted year-round for entrance in the following semester. The program requires the completion of 15 credit hours in theatre.
Application Process
Students wishing to be considered for acceptance into the minor in costume design must have an established major for which training in theatre is beneficial. To apply for this minor, applicants must write a short essay outlining your desire to study in this minor program and how it relates to your career goals. This should be sent via email to Kathryn Wagner. Please include at the top of the page the following information: your name; your email; your phone number; your major at WMU; your year of study at WMU. A short in-person interview will also be scheduled prior to entry in to the minor program. Applications are accepted from students throughout the Fall and Spring for entry in to the program the following semester.
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Curriculum (15 hours)
Students will complete the following course work:
THEA 1330 Intro to Theatre Design (3 credits): This course covers all design disciplines in
Theatre, providing the student with a clear understanding on how costumes relate to the
other design aspects of theatre.
THEA 1700 Script Analysis (3 credits): This course provides the student with skills in reading
and analyzing a script. This is also a Level 1 WES course.
THEA 2330 Costume Design (3 credits): This course provides students with skills in
researching and creating costume designs for a wide variety of un-realized projects.
THEA 2900 Theatre Practicum (1 to 8 credits): Three hours required. Each
practicum will be focused in the area of costumes—costume shop prep (covers basic
costume construction), assistant design (student will assist on an actual production to
learn the production process), wardrobe crew (student will work on a wardrobe crew as
either the crew head-dependent on prior experience or as a crew member on a production).
Students will select one of the following:
THEA 2311 Theatrical Rendering (3 credits): Provides students with skills in the rendering
of costume sketches.
THEA 4900 Independent Study (3 credits): in a Costume Topic of Interest or possible
small realized design for Theatre or Dance.