Degree Program:
Master of Fine Arts
Chair, Artistic Director,
Department of Dance:
Julia Ritter
Graduate Director, M.F.A. in
Dance:
Jeff Friedman, Ph.D.
The M.F.A. in dance degree is a
terminal degree in dance serving working dance artists with a minimum of five
years' experience in the field who want to expand their range by integrating a
variety of new artistic and dance studies fields. Students engage with advanced
technical training in a variety of movement methods, including contemporary,
classical, and somatic practices, and apply those skills in staged
performances. Students also engage in a rigorous sequence of creative; dance
studies; critical pedagogy; professional practice, leadership, and advocacy; and
elective coursework that fully informs returning students toward future
engagement in the dance field as working professionals and potential faculty
in higher education.
Guided by the belief that dance
is a fundamental embodied practice for understanding the human condition in a
globalized context, the degree establishes students as creatively literate
world citizens who can develop interdisciplinary solutions to address complex
contemporary issues. The rigorous 62-credit curriculum is led by the
full-time graduate dance faculty who model excellence in interdisciplinary research. This program is still under development. Consult the website for the most current information.