The Department offers two sets of majors and minors: one in Theater and one in Dance. Both programs provide students with a foundation in Performance Studies and the opportunity to define a focus area in their upper-division elective courses before pursuing advanced study opportunities.
Students in Dance & Performance Studies will engage with dance on physical, intellectual, and aesthetic levels, growing not only as performers but also as artists, thinkers, makers, viewers, and participants in the artistic event. The practical focus of the major is on the performance and choreography of contemporary dance and dance theater. Equally important is the study of theater and dance theory, history, culture, and literature.
The practical focus of the Theater & Performance Studies program is to create theater of all kinds using all its art forms. Whether new to theater or seasoned with years of training and skill, all students receive an education that engages them fully. Your focus may be on acting, technical theater and design, performance studies, or some combination of these.
This three-course summer certificate program invites you to develop or deepen your U.S. cultural literacy and intercultural communication skills as you study acting, theater, or public speaking, participate in field studies or a theater appreciation class, and learn how performance intersects with media and society.