Dance Major Requirements

For Courses of Study 2006-07

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Dance Major Requirements

A revised dance major has been approved for implementation in Fall 2006. Students accepted into the major through Spring semester 2006 may choose to meet either the old requirements or the new. Students accepted beginning in Fall semester 2006 must satisfy the new requirements below. Copies of the previous requirements may be obtained from the director of undergraduate studies in dance through Spring 2008.

Prerequisites: 2 credits in category I below and one course in category II below.
Prerequisites count towards the 40 credits fulfilling the major.

The major: 40 credits (towards which the prerequisites for the major count) are required of all students majoring in dance as follows:
I. 6 credits: six 1-credit movement courses chosen from Dance Technique (Dance 122, 231, 232, 303, 304, 306, 308, 309), Explorations (Dance 233, 234), Improvisation (Dance 201), Indian Dance (307, 317), and other courses approved by the dance faculty. The 6 credits must include at least 2 from Dance Technique courses, and at least 2 from Explorations and Improvisation courses. Any two of these courses taken to satisfy the university's Physical Education requirement may be counted towards the major, thus decreasing the number of academic credits possibly to as low as 38. Movement courses taken for 0 academic credits do not count towards the major.
II. 14 credits: Dance composition (Dance 210, 310) and history/theory (Dance 313, 418).
III. 2 credits: 1 credit of performance (Dance 155) and 1 credit of production (Dance 151, 153, 251, or 253).
IV. 18 credits: selected from Dance and related fields, including: at most 2 additional 1-credit movement courses; at most 4 additional credits in Dance 151, 153, 155, 251, 253, and 316; and at most two courses outside of Dance, which may include courses on sound, music, light, non-western movement forms, design, performance and visual studies, and must be approved by the dance faculty.

In all courses used for the dance major, a grade of C (not C-) must be achieved. Courses in which this minimum is not achieved must be repeated if the student is to receive credit in the major.

A partial list of courses from outside Dance which may be used to satisfy part IV of the major requirements includes Music 103, 104, 105, 107, and 108; and Thetr 250.

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Guidelines for Honors in Dance

Students who have maintained a GPA of 3.5 in classes for the dance major and an average of 3.0 in all courses may elect to work for honors in dance during their senior year. They must consult with their adviser in the spring of their junior year about the honors program in dance.

HONORS OVERVIEW

It is encouraged that an honors paper should be based on interdisciplinary work, in which case students must take a seminar in another department and relate the subject to dance research. The seminar may be taken before the senior year.

The paper should be 60 pages in length.

Honors work is above and beyond the senior project.

HONORS COMMITTEE AND TIMELINE

The student chooses and honors advisor, plus a second committee member, form among the dance faculty. If a student chooses to do interdisciplinary work, a third faculty member from the relevant department must also be invited.

An honors proposal is due the second semester of the junior year. Related course work must be identified at that time and agreed upon with the honors advisor.

The specific proposal, bibliography, and schedule of drafts must be approved at the beginning of the first semester senior year.