Degree Programs

Vision, Mission, and Values Statement

Vision

Our vision is for a world where the artist is transformative, essential and engaged.

Mission

The Department of Theatre Arts & Dance offers students a home where they can develop their potential and find their voices as artists through rigorous coursework, collaborative making and production of live performance.

Each of the Department’s four concentrations – Acting, Dance, Technical Theatre, and Theatre Studies – offers a broad base of study, drawing from diverse techniques and styles to provide a launchpad for students considering continuing fine arts graduate studies, a performing arts career, arts education, or other fields that value creative leadership, ingenuity, and collaborative problem-solving.

Core Values

Student-centered:  We believe in creating experiences that serve our students’ needs in the classroom and beyond with skill-based learning, a supported Production Season, and opportunities to engage with guest artists and professionals in the field.

Rigor:  We believe that robust training in performance and theatrical artistry can inspire us to the highest standards of professionalism and personal achievement.

Full Engagement:  We believe in making work that has value beyond the dance and theatre world and that directly engages our campus and local community.

Theatre Arts & Dance Program Learning Outcomes 

Dance, Bachelor of Arts Degree (B.A.)

Program Learning outcomes:

  • PLO1 Understand and practice concepts of dance technique, embodied research, creative expression and cultural awareness.
  • PLO2 Develop and practice equitable and collaborative learning and leadership skills.
  • PLO3 Analyze and write critically on dance history, pedagogy, creative process and live performance.
  • PLO4 Demonstrate agency in creative voice as a dancer, performer, artist and world citizen.
  • PLO5 Integrate and apply complex concepts of dance theory and embodied knowledge in performance, creative process and teaching methods. 

Bachelor of Theatre Arts with concentrations in Acting, Technical Theatre or Theatre Studies

Program Learning Outcomes: 

  • PLO1 The student is expected to demonstrate the ability to be collaborative, creative, resourceful, and persistent in problem solving.
  • PLO2 The student should be able to analyze and synthesize the diverse elements of theatre and dance practice that contribute to creating a unified whole.
  • PLO3 The student is expected to view and respond to theatre and dance from analytical, critical, cultural, production and historical perspectives.
  • PLO4 The student should be able to communicate effectively with an audience through mediums of acting, dance, choreography, design, and other contributing functions such as stage management, and dramaturgy.

Relating Values with the Art of Theatre and Dance

Core Department Learning Outcomes:

  • The student will be able to work productively and cooperatively in collective and group efforts both in and out of theatre and dance environments.
  • The student will be cognizant of the power of theatre and dance to transform and communicate.
  • The student will demonstrate broad understanding of the contributions to world culture of non-Eurocentric and diverse American theatre and dance traditions as well as those derived from European origins.
  • The student will be prepared to take artistic risks and embrace innovation.
  • The student will be prepared to move to the next phase of life and career, whether in theatre, dance, or another field, with confidence in their analytic, critical, and communication skills.
  • The student will be prepared to become an active, effective, and responsible member of society.