The Drama and Theatre for the Young graduate program was founded at Eastern Michigan University in the early 1960s. The first performance was 1964, Many Moons, directed by program founder Virginia Glasgow Koste. The program focuses drama and theatre in terms of developmental purposes, community engagement, theatre for young participants, and theatre for intergenerational audiences. Students in the program work with local schools, and are involved with traveling productions, as well as main stage performances. Many students end up directing their own productions, or even writing their own scripts as part of their theses or final projects.