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Dance Major: Part Time Professional Option

This program gives an opportunity for working professional dancers to earn their BS degree in dance through a specially designed part-time program at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. Participating students will fulfill the requirements of the current dance major curriculum over an extended period of time, with the exception of the studio dance technique and performance class requirements, which will be fulfilled through their professional dance company technique classes and performance opportunities. Credit for these studio requirements will be granted as “professional life experience,“ providing the student is a professional dancer working with a recognized professional dance company. Specific credits granted will be determined by an individual review of each applicant’s professional experience.

For a complete listing of the course requirements, please see the Dance Major.

Courses for which Life/Professional Experience Credit may be given: (52 credits)

Performance Requirements (12 credits)

  • Performance Practicum (DANC 131 or DANC 133)

Technique Requirements (37 credits)

  • DANC 104: Ballet I or DANC 204: Ballet II
  • DANC 105: Modern I or DANC 205: Modern II
  • DANC 108: Dance Improvisation I

Three elective techniques

  • DANC 106: Jazz I
  • DANC 206: Jazz II

Foundation Requirements (3 credits)

  • DANC 225: Dance Repertory

Admission Requirements

Admission to the program may be gained through one of three measures, in addition to a review of the applicant’s complete Drexel University application.

  1. Applicants who have taken 24 credits of college credit can use their college transcripts as their application assessment.
  2. Applicants may also take the SAT or ACT exam, as do traditional undergraduate applicants.
  3. SAT or ACT testing, normally required for applicants to Drexel University, may be an inaccurate predictor of academic readiness for full time professional dancers who have completed high school several years prior, or taken a GED equivalency exam. In lieu of this testing, a specially designed qualifying certificate program is a third option for assessing eligibility for the program. Students entering the part-time dance major through the certificate program will need to complete the certificate with a GPA of 3.0 for eligibility to enter the dance major.