Academics
What we teach
Three pillars, one department. Our programs emphasize character, teamwork, leadership and service.
Academics
Three pillars, one department
Our programs emphasize character, teamwork, leadership and service.
Communication
Developing effective speakers and communicators through coursework in speech, rhetoric and interpersonal communication.
Speech Arts core course coordinated by Margaret Anderson, MA
Theatre
Training students in acting, directing and stagecraft through hands-on mainstage productions and studio work.
Theatre, Directing and Stage Management coordinated by Yolanda Williams, MFA
Design
Cultivating artistic vision in scenic, costume and lighting design to shape the full theatrical experience.
Technical theatre led by Allyson Sims, MA, Director of Technical Theatre
Degrees and pathways
- B.A. Art, Theatre Emphasis
- The department’s published undergraduate degree, offered through the College of Liberal Arts. See the university catalog entry.
- Course descriptions
- Full course listings are published on the department site at Course Descriptions.
- Advising
- Start with the department office at 601-979-2872, or with the coordinator for your program area.
How you are assessed: the jury process
Students present their performance and design work to faculty for formal evaluation. The process is documented on the department site, and it is how craft here is measured rather than assumed. Ask your coordinator when your jury falls and what is expected of you. Do not wait to be told.
What we expect of you
Attend
Rehearsal, build calls, chapter meetings and juries are the work. Attendance is the single strongest predictor of whether a student thrives here.
Be coachable
Take a note and apply it immediately. That skill transfers to every rehearsal room, crew call and job interview you will ever be in.
Respect the safety culture
Tools, rigging and electricity are part of technical theatre. Safety is not negotiable, and it is what makes everything else possible.
Bring people with you
Every organization here recruits by conversation. A department this size survives on who its students bring back.
Department of Speech Communication and Theatre
Rose E. McCoy Auditorium
1400 J.R. Lynch Street, Jackson, MS 39217
College of Liberal Arts · Jackson State University
Phone & Email
- Department office 601-979-2872
- Box office 601-979-5956
- Chair mark.g.henderson@jsums.edu
Content drawn from the Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Handbook. © 2026 Jackson State University.
