The Dance, BA program is for students who see dance as their major area of study within a broader based undergraduate education. The credit requirements for the BA are less numerous than those for the BFA, allowing students to explore other subjects through elective courses or minors. The dance major provides substantial proficiency in contemporary dance idioms as well as solid foundations of related information, skills and experiences.

As a result of successfully completing program requirements, students should be able to:

• demonstrate proficiency as contemporary dancers with practical experience across culturally diverse dance forms;
• create dances and scholarship that demonstrates exposure to collaborative and/or interdisciplinary processes;
• recognize how dance practices circulate within systems of power and resistance;
• analyze their own scholarship and creative works as well as the works of their peers and professionals;
• create a portfolio that showcases their body of work and demonstrates transferable skills that can be applied to settings inside and outside of dance;
• apply their knowledge of functional body mechanics to the design and presentation of concept-based dance curriculum for a variety of populations; and
• effectively communicate their ideas kinesthetically, verbally and in writing.

Standards of Performance

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

• pass all required courses with grades of C or better;
• advance through technical requirements in a timely manner;
• exhibit 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 BA in Dance

Transfer students seeking the BA degree must 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.

For students who have earned a Bachelor’s degree previously, a Second Bachelor of Arts in Dance is available.