Program Overview

Program Overview

The Dance PhD program at Temple University is a comprehensive and rigorous course of study designed to prepare students for a career in dance research and academia.

Program Requirements

General Program Requirements

The program requires 46 credits beyond the master's degree. The required courses include:

• Core Courses:
  • DANC 8867: Educational Inquiry in Dance (3 credits)
  • DANC 9801: Research Methods in Dance (3 credits)
  • DANC 9873: Seminar in Dance Writing (5 credits)
  • DANC 9991: Directed Research-Dance (1 credit)
• Electives:
  • Select courses totaling 28 credits from the following:
    • DANC 9800: Special Topics in Dance
    • DANC 9831: Moving Across Genres
    • DANC 9841: Experience, Engagement and Multi-Sensory Inquiry
    • DANC 9851: Black Performance
    • DANC 9852: Dancing the Popular
    • DANC 9862: Bodies, Texts, History
    • DANC 9889: Dance Field Experience
    • Any Dance course numbered
    • Any Temple graduate course outside the Department of Dance (with advisor approval)
• Research Courses:
  • DANC 9994: Preliminary Examination Preparation (1 credit)
  • DANC 9998: Pre-Dissertation Research (1 credit)
  • DANC 9999: Doctoral Dissertation (4 credits)

Culminating Events

Preliminary Examination

The preliminary examination is a critical discussion of how three reading areas relate to the dissertation topic. The exam is reviewed and approved by a committee composed of three Dance doctoral faculty.

Dissertation Proposal

The dissertation proposal is a formal oral defense of the proposed research, reviewed and approved by the Doctoral Advisory Committee.

Dissertation

The dissertation is a substantial piece of original and independent research making a significant contribution to new knowledge in dance and possibly related fields. The dissertation is typically completed in Year 4 or 5, although candidates may submit beyond Year 5 in consultation with their primary advisor. The original Doctoral Advisory Committee may be expanded with additional doctoral faculty from Temple University or other universities, or with doctoral-level experts who work outside a university setting. At least one member of the Dissertation Examining Committee must be an "outside examiner," defined as one who has not read the dissertation in progress.