Costume Studies

The Costume Studies Programme is the only one of its kind in North America. It offers a four-year Honours BA in Theatre (Costume Studies), or, to those who have had two years of prior university, a Diploma in Costume Studies over two years of full-time study.

Founded in 1976, the Programme has a strong historical focus, and stresses both applied skills, and research and academic skills. In addition to creating costumes for DalTheatre productions as designed by a professional theatre designer, students also take textile history, costume technology, designer’s language, history of costume, aesthetics of historical and contemporary costume, textile fabrications, costume as sculpture, and tailoring. This year for the first time students also take one class at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) as part of the requirements for the Programme. In addition, each year students create a male and/or female costume from either the eighteenth or nineteenth-century, as historically accurately as possible, as part of a major research project.

Our graduates from all across Canada and the USA find employment in theatres, film, television, and living history museums, and run their own businesses. Dalhousie is thrilled to be offering the BA this year for the first time. In addition to receiving an excellent background in Costume Studies, students will also benefit from a broad liberal arts education. This, in turn, will enable them to pursue postgraduate education upon completion of the BA.

• 2008 - 2009 Course Calendar
• Faculty