Program Overview

Dance Studies, M.A.

McCausland College of Arts and Sciences

Join an advanced, hybrid dance studies degree program designed for working professionals to enhance and extend your pedagogical and artistic practice.

Whether you perform, choreograph or teach, this six-semester program allows you to continue working while advancing your education. The curriculum provides a broad base of study in dance educational theory and creative practice.

Program Highlights

• Unique Program: Grow as an artist in classroom and studio environments in the only graduate degree program in dance in South Carolina.
• Convenient Courses: Join the only graduate distance-learning program in dance studies for professionals in the Southeast.
• Experience Counts: A prior dance degree is not required, and professional experience in the dance field is a qualifier for admission.
• A Notable Faculty: Study with faculty who hold professional and academic credentials in a variety of specializations.

What You’ll Study

In-person studio work will include global dance forms, functional anatomy and choreography. Online coursework will include arts policy and advocacy, neuroscience for dance, dance pedagogy and curriculum design. A thesis is required.

Building Skills

Gain the professional and personal intelligence it takes to have a successful career.

• Leadership: Inspiring and guiding others to achieve common goals and reach their full potential
• Performance: Presenting oneself creatively through a specific medium to an audience
• Advocacy: Promoting or defending a cause or issue often using awareness, education and policy change
• Cultural Awareness: Learning about and respecting diverse cultures and beliefs
• Communication: Exchanging information and ideas through speaking, writing or other means of expression
• Teaching: Foster learning by conveying knowledge, skills and concepts to students

Using your degree

Make your college experience the foundation for a successful future.

Potential Careers

• K-12 Dance Educator
• Dance Educator
• Choreographer
• Professional Dancer
• Arts Administrator

Workplace Settings

• Education
• Arts Organization
• Entertainment
• Fundraising and Development

Related Degrees

• Jazz Studies: Music, M.M. (School of Music)
• Music Performance, M.M. (School of Music)
• Violin/Viola Pedagogy: Music, M.M. (School of Music)
• Theatre Education (PK-12 Certification), M.A.T. (McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education)
• Theatre, M.A. (McCausland College of Arts and Sciences)
• Music Education, M.M.Ed. (School of Music)
• Media Arts, M.A. (McCausland College of Arts and Sciences)
• Piano Pedagogy: Music, M.M. (School of Music)
• Music Education (PK-12 Certification), M.A.T. (College of Education, School of Music)