The BFA program is a nationally respected academic program intended for students with professional aspirations in dance, and includes a variety of courses that, in their breadth and depth, prepare students to enter the field as young artists. At 78 credit hours required within the department, the demands of the BFA program are significant. The possibility of a minor in another subject within the standard four-year course study is diminished on this track. The BFA is most appropriate for students who wish to make a definitive commitment to dance and who have demonstrated clear aptitude for the physical and intellectual demands of the field. Acceptance into the BFA program is by application only. Applications to the BFA are accepted early in the spring semester.

 

Students graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago will be able to:

• Demonstrate accomplishment as contemporary dancers with significant physical proficiencies in two or more dance forms
• Devise choreographic processes that reflect, interrogate, and inform their personal, political, and/or artistic values
• Critically analyze dance as it occurs on stage and screen, in social settings, and in performances of everyday life
• Design, present, and evaluate concept-based dance curriculum using pedagogical practices that reflect an understanding of cultural, social, emotional, intellectual, and physical learning
• Connect their knowledge of dance with discourses in other fields of study and with entrepreneurial strategies for sustained engagement in the field

 

Performance Standards

The Dance Department expects exemplary effort and accomplishment from our BFA candidates. Failure to meet one or more of the following expectations will result in review of a candidate’s continuation within the BFA program. BFA candidates must:

Pass all required courses with grades of ‘C’ or better and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA.

• Advance through technical requirements in a timely manner.
• (BFA students will demonstrate continuing development as dancers. Typically BFA students will advance one level each year.)
• Exhibit full engagement and presence in their artistic and scholarly practices and conduct themselves in a manner beneficial to their own and others’ education.

 

Transfer Students Seeking a BFA in Dance

Transfer students seeking the BFA degree earn a minimum of 45 credits at Columbia and at least 15 of those must be toward major requirements. Any prior dance courses at a previous institution will be evaluated for equivalency with Columbia College’s Dance Department requirements.

 

Program Requirements   | 4 Year Planning Tool  | Transfer Planning Tool