With a 3:1 student/teacher ratio and guest instructors including Edward Albee, Sir Peter Hall and Bill Pullman,[2] students earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting and an Actor's Equity membership.

Its mission was to provide gifted students from across the nation the opportunity to develop their talents and skills within the challenging environment of a performing arts center and to prepare them for active careers in the American theatre and in the film and television industries.

The National Theatre Conservatory's MFA training program was designed to bring all students closer to the realization of their potential while steadily developing insights, attitudes, standards and disciplines that will nourish them for the rest of their creative lives.

The Actor Training Program prepared students for full careers in the performing arts, including house management, fundraising, marketing, event planning and press relations.

These visiting artists included John Barton, Israel Hicks, Hal Holbrook, Jamie Horton,[5] Terrence McNally, Marion Ross, Patrick Stewart and Anthony Zerbe among many others.