Dance

About the Program

Bachelor of Science Degree: 185.0 quarter credits

The dance program at Drexel University provides intensive exploration of dance in its physical, intellectual, creative and therapeutic aspects. The major is designed for students to focus on one of three tracks: Dance/Movement Therapy or Dance in Education or Physical Therapy.

The dance major at Drexel University has a unique curriculum design and focus. Rather than focusing on training performers, this program combines rigorous academic coursework with extensive stage and studio dance experiences to prepare students for three possible career paths within dance: dance /movement therapy, dance in education and physical therapy. Students participating in this major will earn a BS degree in dance with an optional minor in psychology.

Students focused on dance/movement therapy will prepare for jobs as dance/movement therapists. These are psychological counselors working in a variety of settings including hospitals, out patient clinics and residential treatment centers. Students pursuing this option will earn a BS degree in dance at the Westphal College, through the Department of Performing Arts, for the first four years of study. They will then have the option to continue on to two years of study in the College of Nursing and Health Professions to earn an MA in Creative Arts in Therapy and become a licensed dance therapist.

The second career focus, dance in education, prepares students for jobs as elementary school teachers (grades Pre-K through 4) who may also serve as school dance specialists. Students choosing this option will earn a BS degree in dance through the Department of Performing Arts and may elect to continue for a fifth year of study to earn an MS in the Science of Instruction through the School of Education. Students who successfully complete the five year BS /MS option in education will then be recommended to the State for a Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in the area of Elementary Education for Pre-K to 4 certification, general education.

The third career focus, physical therapy, prepares students to work as physical therapists in a variety of settings, including hospitals, treatment centers, schools, and private practice. Students interested in the physical therapy option will complete the four- year BS degree in dance, along with a series of recommended electives in the physical sciences. After completion of the BS degree, students will continue their education for an additional three years in the College of Nursing and Health Professions to earn a DPT and become a licensed physical therapist.

The student who enters the dance major at Drexel University is an academically achieving student who has a passion for dance, but does not see him or herself as necessarily pursuing a career exclusively in performance. He or she is looking for extensive experiences to improve as a dancer, choreographer and performer while being stimulated academically. This student wants to study dance—-both physically and cognitively—in college while being offered the possibility of gainful employment after graduation.

For more information about this major, visit the Westphal College's Dance page.

Degree Requirements 

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Center. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

Sample Plan of Study

Co-op/Career Opportunities

The dance major is designed for students to focus on one of three career options. Each option can lead to graduate study at Drexel or be completed at the end of four years. Each also includes a co-op experience that allows for extended interaction with the professional dance therapy and education communities. Students wishing to change career focus throughout the course of the undergraduate curriculum will have the option to do so.

Students focusing on dance/movement therapy participate in a six month co-op experience during the spring and summer terms of their junior year. These students may participate in co-op with a practicing dance/movement therapist, community dance artist, or mental health professional in a mental health, social service, rehabilitation, medical, special education or community arts setting.

Students focusing on physical therapy, will participate in a six month co-op in which they work in a setting with a physical therapist, such as a hospital, treatment center, school, or private practice. Co-op experiences where students are able to work with physical therapists working on dancers as clients will be encouraged. Students choosing this option may participate in either co-op cycle.

Students focusing on dance in education participate in after school dance clubs, artist in residence school programs and auditorium lecture demonstration programs as part of a community outreach dance company run by the dance program at Drexel during the fall and winter of their junior year as their co-op experience.

Visit the Drexel Steinbright Career Development Center page for more detailed information on co-op and post-graduate opportunities.  

Dual-Degree Option

BS/MS Dance and Elementary Education

About the Accelerated Degree Program

Qualified students in Dance have the option of continuing on into the graduate Science of Instruction program to obtain a BS in Dance and MS in Science of Instruction with Elementary Education certification. This program would allow highly motivated students to graduate with both degrees in a total of 5 years. Students apply for this accelerated program when they complete 90 credits of coursework and before completing 120 credits.

BS in Dance

Incoming students, 2012/2013
Bachelor of Science Degree: 185.0 quarter credits

MS in Science of Instruction

A minimum of 45.0 credits is required for students with or without prior certification (including 15.0 credits of professional electives).

Core Courses

At a minimum, 23.0 pedagogy credits will be required from the core courses for those without prior teacher certification. Students with prior certification or those seeking an add-on certification will select 11.0 credits from the core courses.

Content Categories

For students without prior teacher certification, 7 credits are required, selected from the following content categories. (A list of suggested courses is available from the department. ) Students with prior certification or those seeking add-on certification select 19 credits from the content categories.

1. Mathematics and science
2. Technological pedagogy
3. Applied pedagogy

Evaluation of transcripts by a program advisor in relation to Pennsylvania state standards determines the required content courses for initial certification and add-on certification. To satisfy state certification requirements, undergraduate courses may be taken in instances where graduate courses are not appropriate. These undergraduate courses will not satisfy graduate degree requirements. However, they will satisfy certification requirements and may satisfy requirements for salary increments in certain school districts. For those with prior certification who do not wish add-on certification, but desire to further professional competence, a distribution of courses from areas A, B, and C is selected under advisement on an individual basis.

Professional Electives

Students with or without prior certification select 15 credits of professional electives. Professional electives are selected with the advice of a program advisor to strengthen mathematics and science knowledge, to refine and update pedagogy competence, to broaden general education, to gain knowledge about the nature of information and information materials, to develop and refine skills in integrating technology into instruction, and to ensure that certification standards are satisfied. Professional electives may be taken from the core courses or from any course in the content categories. Any graduate course offered in the University may serve as a professional elective if the student has adequate preparation to take the course and it is deemed appropriate by the program advisor. The 15.0 credits of professional electives may comprise a combination of up to three Performance Learning Systems (PLS) courses and/or approved transfer credits. PLS courses must be taken at Drexel to count toward the master’s degree.

Minor in Dance

The minor in dance offers students an opportunity to explore dance in the studio through technique classes, and in the classroom through academic classes in dance. Participation in the dance ensemble class(s) is required, although performance with the ensemble is not. There is no audition for the dance minor program.

Interdepartmental Faculty