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Program
Requirements
Dance,
MFA
Campus
Location:
Main Campus
Although all of the department courses are offered on the main campus, students may take six to nine out-of-department credits on another campus.
Full-time/Part-time
Status
Students are able to complete the degree program through classes offered before and after 4:30 p.m.
General
Program Requirements:
Number of Didactic credits
required beyond the Baccalaureate:
60
Required Courses:
Rhythm: Analysis, Performance and Composition (3 s.h.);
Graduate Composition (2 s.h.); Choreographic Projects, every semester until Concert (minimum 6 s.h.); Creative Process and the Dance Symbol (3 s.h.); Sound and Movement Partnerships (3 s.h.); MFA Seminar (minimum of 2 s.h.); The Dancer and the Dance Medium (1 s.h.); Movement Theater Workshop (3 s.h.); Dance Technique (minimum 7 s.h.); Performance Environments I; Dance Production (2 s.h.);
Performance Environments II; Producing Dance (2 s.h.); Graduate level courses in dance history, criticism, research, education, philosophy, video dance, dance technology, lighting, and movement analysis (minimum 9 s.h); graduate level courses from outside the dance department (6 s.h.); and master's concert (6 s.h).
Students must earn credits in the following areas: 19 credits in choreographic skills and resources, 13 credits in dance performance, 7 credits in dance production, 6 credits in dance academic electives, 6 credits in courses outside of the department, and 3 credits for the master's concert.
Internship:
False
Language Examination:
False
Culminating
Events:
Culminating Exam
Comprehensive Exam Description - The comprehensive examination is designed to evaluate the student’s general knowledge in four major areas: dance history, dance in a cultural context, dance education, and dance science, areas in which are not covered by required courses. An acceptable level would be equivalent to that acquired from taking a single course in each area covered by the exam.Comprehensive Exam Subject - The comprehensive examination consists of two parts. The short answer section gives students the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge in diverse areas. The essay section allows students to use any appropriate references and resources. These questions require critical thinking, analysis, and specificity.Comprehensive Exam Complete - The comprehensive examination is taken before the third semester of study, and must be successfully completed before Master’s Concert approval.Comprehensive Exam Write - Graduate Faculty appropriate to degree (MFA) write the questions.Comprehensive Exam Grade - Evaluation of the examination is followed by advising, where needed, as to specific deficient areas, and recommendations of courses within the graduate dance curriculum that address areas of concern.Comprehensive Exam Schedule - The short answer section is taken under supervision, without access to reference materials The essay section is completed over a period of days, and students may use any appropriate references as resources.Other Culminating Events
Event Description - The Master's Concert - The concert consists of one major choreographic work designed to demonstrate the candidate's highest achievement of artistry and craft. Sometimes work on the concert is an extension of a choreographic project completed in a Choreographic Projects class. If that is the case, the piece is expected to gain a significantly new dimension to qualify as a Master's Concert piece. A work already completed in a Choreographic Projects class may be part of a Master's Concert but will not serve as the major concert piece. Occasionally, students choose to put their greatest emphasis on performance, rather than choreography, in which case they will be expected to perform in works by several choreographers.Event Philosophy - The culminating event of the MFA degree is the Master's Concert. A six credit experience, this is the primary focus of the final semester. Only a small minority of students present a full program of their own work; in most cases the faculty recommends a single "master work," a piece of choreography that represents the culmination of personal aesthetic, pathways of exploration, and areas of acquired skill.Event Process - The Master's Concert is evaluated and graded by a Concert Committee of three or four faculty members. The student submits a paper evaluating both the work process and final product, discussing strengths and weaknesses and projections for future work. This paper is distributed to the Concert Committee and a final review meeting is held with the candidate and the Concert Committee for feedback and discussion. The concert is viewed in relation to the original evaluative criteria as stated in the concert proposal, and in relation to the student's own evaluation paper. Individual committee members give specific criticism of every aspect of the concert, with particular emphasis on those areas upon which the student has focused. The final grade is the average of the grades submitted by each member of the Concert Committee.
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