Fine & Performing Arts Dance

Description

The dance major is designed to provide a comprehensive arts experience with an emphasis on dance. It is appropriate for students who wish to develop performance and technique skills in dance, who are interested in dance as a fine art, and who wish to prepare to choreograph and teach dance. This program teaches the cultural, theatrical, and performing aspects of dance, preparing dancers to participate in dance program concerts and department productions as well as community projects including collaborative works with professional artists. Students have opportunities to take professional master classes and to work with national and international guest choreographers.

Degree at a Glance

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ACE Requirements		30
Some ACE outcomes may be satisfied by courses taken for other requirements
Languages: Classical & Modern		0-6
Select from the list of “Approved Courses” found under “College Degree Requirements.”
Dance Major Requirements		51
Electives		33-39
Total Credit Hours		120

Admission

A performance audition is required for acceptance as a dance major. Auditions are usually held in January and February. The Glenn Korff School of Music should be contacted for audition dates and other details.

College Requirements

College Admission

Requirements for admission to the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts are consistent with general University admission requirements. These include:
 

• English (4 units)
• Mathematics (4 units)
• Social studies (3 units)
• Natural sciences (3 units)
• Foreign language (2 units)

NOTE: One unit equals one year of high school credit.

One of the following performance standards must also be met:

New Freshmen: Minimum ACT 20 (composite), minimum SAT 950 (combined), or rank in top half of high school graduating class.

Transfer and Readmit Students: Completed 12 or more semester credits from a post-secondary institution with a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA and 2.0 GPA during the last semester of record at the time of application. (Emerging media arts majors: minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA and 3.0 GPA during the last semester of record at the time of application.)

International Students: Minimum TOEFL 70 (Internet) or 523 (paper).

Individual departments may have higher standards for acceptance into the different degrees and options. Please check with the individual departments for these standards.

Auditions/Portfolio Reviews

Auditions are required for admission to the Glenn Korff School of Music for music, music education, and dance majors. Auditions are also required for admission to the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film for the acting major. A separate application and portfolio review are required for acceptance into all other programs in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.

Admission Deficiencies/Removal of Deficiencies

Students who are admitted through the Admission by Review process with core course deficiencies will have certain conditions attached to their enrollment at Nebraska. These conditions are in this catalog under “Removal of Deficiencies.”

Students with one deficiency, two deficiencies but not in the same category, or two deficiencies in a world language who receive a Deferred Admission or Admission by Review, may be considered for admission to the college. Students who are admitted through the Admission by Review process with core course deficiencies will have certain conditions attached to their enrollment at Nebraska. These conditions are explained under Admission to the University, Removal of Deficiencies in this catalog.

College Degree Requirements

College General Education Requirements

World Languages/Language Requirement

The language requirement serves to help students gain a working familiarity with a language and a culture other than their own.

All students pursuing bachelor of arts or bachelor of music degrees are required to complete the intermediate level in one world language. The language requirement is fulfilled by the completion of the 4th level of a single language (either in high school or in college). Language study at UNL is currently available in Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Latin, Russian, Spanish, and American Sign Language. Courses offered at UNL that complete the sequence include: ARAB 202, CHIN 202, CZEC 202, FREN 202 or FREN 210, GERM 202, GREK 301 & GREK 302, JAPN 202, LATN 301 & LATN 302, RUSS 202, SLPA 202, SPAN 202 or SPAN 210.

NOTE:

• A student who has completed the fourth-year level of one world language in high school is exempt from the language requirement.
• A student whose language proficiency is not reflected on a transcript may demonstrate proficiency of the intermediate level through assessment with the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. (Greek, Latin, and American Sign Language are not included in this process.) Report of the results will be made to the academic advisor for consideration of a waiver of the language requirement without credit toward the degree.
• International and domestic students whose first language is not English will be exempt from the requirement without credit toward the degree based on documentation of previous study.

Minimum Hours Required for Graduation

A minimum of 120 semester hours of credit is required for graduation from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Students in the College are required to maintain a minimum current and cumulative GPA of 2.0. Individual departments may require a higher current and cumulative GPA.

Grade Rules

C- and D Grades

The College will accept no more than 15 semester hours of grades lower than C (includes C-, D+, D, and D- grades)  from schools outside of the University of Nebraska system.

Courses with grades lower than C—either those earned at Nebraska or transferred from other schools—cannot be applied toward requirements in a major, but may be applied toward total hours and other requirements that do not have a minimum grade threshold.

Pass/No Pass

University regulations for the Pass/No Pass privilege state: The Pass/No Pass option is designed to be used by a student seeking to expand his/her intellectual horizons by taking courses in areas where he/she may have minimum preparation without adversely affecting his/her grade point average.

1. Neither the P nor the N grade contribute to a student’s GPA.
2. P is interpreted to mean C or above. Some professional education courses require a C+ or above.
3. A change to or from Pass/No Pass may be made until mid-term (1/2 of the course). This date coincides with the final date to drop a course without the instructor’s approval.
4. The Pass/No Pass or grade registration cannot conflict with the professor’s, department’s, college, or University policy governing grading option.
5. Prior to the mid-term deadline, changing to or from the Pass/No Pass requires using the MyRED system to change the grading option or filing a Drop/Add form with Husker Hub, first floor Canfield Administration Building. After the mid-term deadline, a student registered for Pass/No Pass cannot change to a grade registration unless the Pass/No Pass registration is in conflict with a professor’s, department’s, college, or University policy governing Pass/No Pass.
6. The Pass/No Pass grading option cannot be used for the removal of C- or D or F grades.

Pass/No Pass privileges in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts are extended to students according to the following additional regulations:

1. Pass/No Pass hours can count toward fulfillment of ACE requirements up to the 24-hour maximum.
2. Freshmen and sophomores may enroll for no more than 6 hours of Pass/No Pass work per semester.
3. Students may not elect to take courses on a Pass/No Pass basis to fulfill degree requirements in the major. Departments may allow up to 6 hours of Pass/No Pass to be taken in the minor offered by the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.
4. Departments may specify that certain courses can be taken only on a Pass/No Pass basis.
5. The College will permit no more than a total of 24 semester hours of Pass/No Pass grades to be applied toward degree requirements. This total includes all “pass” grades earned at Nebraska and other schools.

Individual departments vary in their policies regarding Pass/No Pass hours as applied to the major and minor. Consult the individual departmental listings for these policies. Students who wish to apply Pass/No Pass hours to their major and minor(s) must obtain approval on a form that is available in the Dean’s Office, 102 Woods Art Building.

GPA Requirements

Students are expected to maintain a minimum 2.0 grade point average each semester. Some programs within the College may have higher GPA requirements to keep in good academic standing.

Transfer Credit Rules

Ordinarily, hours earned at an accredited college are accepted by the University. The College, however, will evaluate all hours submitted on an application for transfer and reserves the right to accept or reject any of them. The maximum number of hours the University will accept on transfer from a two-year college is 60.

Normally, credit is not given for pre-university work. In some instances, however, it may be possible to receive credit through satisfactory examination.

All transfer students must complete the Residency Requirement (see “Residency Requirement”), and at least 9 hours in the major field must be completed at the University regardless of the number of hours transferred.

The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts will accept no more than 15 semester hours of D grades from schools other than UNO or UNK. All grades may be transferred from UNO or UNK. However, transfer courses within a student’s major or minor will be evaluated by that unit and held to the same minimum grade standards as courses taken at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Transfer Credit from Foreign Institutions

Credit for courses taken at foreign universities and colleges will be transferred only after validation by the appropriate department. This evaluation may include examination of the student over subject matter studied at the foreign institution.

International Baccalaureate Credit

Students who have studied art, music, or theatre within the International Baccalaureate Program will be given credit for courses at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln according to the guidelines established by each academic unit. Contact the department office for specific course information.

Course Level Requirements

Upper-Level Requirement: Thirty of the 120 semester hours of credit must be in courses numbered above 299.

Residency

Students must meet either of the following residency qualifications:
 

• At least 30 of the last 36 hours of credit must be registered for and completed while enrolled at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
• A total of 90 credits must be registered for and completed while enrolled at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Credit earned during education abroad may be used toward degree requirements if students participate in prior approved programs and register through the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Credit awarded from an institution other than Nebraska will be subject to transfer credit and residency rules.

Experiential Learning Requirement

All undergraduates in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts must complete an Experiential Learning (EL) designated course.

ACE Requirements

All students must fulfill the Achievement Centered Education (ACE) requirements. Information about the ACE program may be viewed at ace.unl.edu.

Catalog Rule

Students who first enroll at Nebraska under the 2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog must fulfill the requirements stated in this catalog or in any other catalog which is published while they are enrolled in the College, provided the catalog they follow is no more than ten years old at the time of graduation. A student must, however, meet the requirements from one catalog only rather than choosing a portion from one catalog and the remainder from another.

Exception: Students pursuing any degree in the Glenn Korff School of Music who fail to take at least one course that will fulfill their major requirements during a 12-month period must re-audition. They will then move to the catalog in effect at that time.

Students who have transferred from a community college may be eligible to fulfill the requirements as stated in the catalog for an academic year in which they were enrolled at the community college prior to attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  The decision to utilize a previous catalog should be made in consultation with academic advisors and must be requested within the first two semesters of enrollment after transferring. Students must complete all degree requirements from a single catalog year and within the time frame allowable for that catalog year.

Eligibility to use a prior catalog is dependent upon:

• Admission to the university as a transfer student
• Enrollment at a community college during the catalog year being used
• Continuous enrollment at the previous institution for one academic year or more
• Proceeding to enrollment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln within one calendar year from the last enrollment at the previous institution
• Maintaining the same major after the admission process

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of dance will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge, skills, and principles in a variety of dance and somatic practices studied.
2. Integrate dance practice and theory through cultural, social, and historical understanding.
3. Bring global and interdisciplinary approaches to dance and somatic practices and studies.
4. Analyze and apply scientific and practice-based research in movement practices.
5. Develop a pedagogical framework for embodied learning and dance instruction.
6. Explore personal artistry through performance, improvisation, and choreography.
7. Engage in cooperative, collaborative, inclusive, and student-centered processes of embodied learning.

Major Requirements

Specific Major Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
Movement
DANC 111	Ballet I	2
DANC 112	Beginning Modern Dance	2
DANC 171	Pilates	2
DANC 212	Intermediate Modern Dance	2
DANC 271	Bartenieff Fundamentals	2
Select 6 credits from the following:		6
DANC 130	Hip Hop Dance
DANC 211	Ballet II
DANC 272	Tai Chi
DANC 312	Advanced Modern Dance
DANC 361	Contact Improvisation
Credit Hours Subtotal:		16
Theory and History
DANC 159	Introduction to Dance History	3
DANC 349	Dance, Culture, and Politics	3
DANC 448	Dance Pedagogy	3
Select 3 credits from the following:		3
DANC 228	Music for Dance
DANC 338	Dance Kinesiology and Injury Prevention
DANC 469	Seminar in Dance
Credit Hours Subtotal:		12
Composition and Performance
DANC 300	Dance Composition (2 semesters)	6
DANC 360	Repertory, Improvisation and Performance (4 semesters)	4
Credit Hours Subtotal:		10
Dance Electives
Select any DANC courses		13
Credit Hours Subtotal:		13
Total Credit Hours		51

Minor Requirements

Minors are allowed, but not required, with the dance major.

Additional Major Requirements

Prerequisite Requirements/Advancement in Major

All majors should participate in a performance each semester.

Grade Rules

C- and D Grades

Students must earn grades of C or better in courses required for the major. Any course in which a student earns a grade of C- or below must be repeated in order to count toward the requirement.

Pass/No Pass

All courses taken to fulfill dance major or minor requirements must be taken for a grade (except those only offered as Pass/No Pass).

Requirements for Minor Offered by Department

An audition is not required for the dance minor.

Minor – 18 credits

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
DANC 159	Introduction to Dance History	3
Dance electives		15
Total Credit Hours		18

Grade Rules

All courses must be taken for a grade.

PLEASE NOTE
This document represents a sample 4-year plan for degree completion with this major. Actual course selection and sequence may vary and should be discussed individually with your college or department academic advisor. Advisors also can help you plan other experiences to enrich your undergraduate education such as internships, education abroad, undergraduate research, learning communities, and service learning and community-based learning.

 

Career Information

The following represents a sample of the internships, jobs and graduate school programs that current students and recent graduates have reported.