Not only do our students learn to create clothing from any period in history using bespoke, one-of-a-kind couturier methods, but also through the academic component within each class. Students learn why and how clothing contributes to the formation of personal, community, and cultural identities. You’ll gain a strong proficiency in costume history from antiquity to the present, exploring why people clothed themselves as they did, and pay particular attention to the social and cultural influences at play, along with class and gender differentiation.
In addition to class projects and assignments you’ll hone your applied and academic skills in costuming by working on costumes for several Fountain School's stage productions. Your fourth year includes the creation of a major historical research project which is presented to the public on stage at our new Joseph Strug Concert Hall. It is within these two requirements of the program – one grounded in the magic of theatre, one steeped in the sensuality of history – that the individual elements of the program are realized and appreciated. It is here that students are able to gauge public reaction to their work, which is a valuable part of their education experience.
Students come to ¼¤ÇéÒÁÈËÂ鶹¾Ã¾Ã×ۺϒs Costume Studies from all across Canada and the USA. They quickly form a special bond and make friends for life. Because of the close-knit Costume Studies community, those moving away from home for their first year of university need never fear being lonely. Moreover, our Costume Studies alum have a far-reaching network throughout North America and share a camaraderie not experienced by those in large university programs.
The Costume Studies facilities are located in our stunning new Fountain School of Performing Arts building on campus, at 1385 Seymour Street in Halifax. It sits next to the ¼¤ÇéÒÁÈËÂ鶹¾Ã¾Ã×ÛºÏ Arts Centre building on University Avenue which is home to other Fountain School learning spaces, including our Sir James Dunn Theatre, and the more intimate David Mack. Murray Studio. It also houses the ¼¤ÇéÒÁÈËÂ鶹¾Ã¾Ã×ÛºÏ Arts Centre and the Rebecca Cohn, one of Halifax’s main performance venues. ¼¤ÇéÒÁÈËÂ鶹¾Ã¾Ã×ÛºÏ has a beautiful campus, with its grassy, leafy quad surrounded by the original stone buildings constructed for the university in the early nineteenth century.
The Honours BA in Theatre (Costume Studies) was offered for the first time in 2005, but has its foundations firmly rooted in the Costume Studies Program which was begun at ¼¤ÇéÒÁÈËÂ鶹¾Ã¾Ã×ÛºÏ in 1976. It is a mature program which, in addition to equipping students to find employment in theatres, film, television, and living history museums, among others, also enables them to pursue postgraduate education upon completion of the BA.
The Costume Studies program is unique in North America, and offers a four-year BA with Honours in Theatre (Costume Studies). The program has a strong historical focus on both theatre and museum work. It ²õ³Ù°ù±ð²õ²õ±ð²õÌýapplied skills, along with research and academic skills. The applied skills are taught using a conservatory approach, while the research and academic components are delivered through a more traditional university pathway.