Dance Major vs. General Education Advising
Undergraduate of Dance majors must currently seek advising from two campus advisors: their advisor in the Department for course requirements in their degree plan and an Undergraduate Advisor at the University Center for Undergraduate Advising (UCUA) for requirements in the General Education (GE) program. In addition to following the information below on meeting with your Dance Major Advisor, please be sure to meet with an Undergraduate Advisor at UCUA each semester to plan your GE courses. If you have a hold on your account for registration, see an advisor in UCUA to have it released (unless you are informed otherwise by your Dance Major Advisor).
Please visit this link for information on General Education:
http://www.csulb.edu/depts/enrollment/registration/ge_courses/overview.html
Please visit this link for information on the University Center for Undergraduate Advising (UCUA):
http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/grad_undergrad/aac
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Dance Major Advising Appointment
To meet with a Dance Major Advisor about classes or registration, please follow the instructions below.
1. Download and print a program planner for your degree:
BA in Dance (Minors also print this form)
BA in Dance, Option in Dance Science
BFA in Dance
2. Fill in your information at the top of the planner and bring to your meeting with your Dance Major Advisor (Lorin Johnson for BA and BFA, Karen Clippinger for BA, Option in Dance Science). You will need to retain a copy of this planner and update it each semester until you graduate.
3. To make an appointment with your Dance Major Advisor:
BA and BFA majors can schedule a meeting with Lorin Johnson by signing up for a ten minute appointment on the clipboard outside Professor Johnson’s office, F-204 (2nd floor of faculty offices). Please do not email to make an appointment until you have checked the available days/times on the clipboard.
BA, Option in Dance Science dance majors can schedule a meeting with Karen Clippinger by signing up for an appointment on the sheet posted outside Professor Clippinger’s office, F-207 (2nd floor of faculty offices). Please do not email her to make an appointment unless you are not available during the times posted.
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Department of Dance Undergraduate Advisors
Lorin Johnson, Advisor to BA and BFA students, Freshman-Senior (including all transfers and graduating seniors)
Karen Clippinger, Advisor to BA in Dance, Option in Dance Science students, Sophomore-Seniors
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Roadmaps for Dance Degrees
Degree roadmaps in Dance are available below to help you schedule both your dance major and general education requirements during your freshman-senior academic years. Please follow the instructions below.
1. Download and print a Graduation Plan roadmap form
BA in Dance:
freshman-sophomore
junior-senior
transfer student
BFA in Dance:
freshman-sophomore
junior-senior
BA in Dance, Option in Dance Science:
freshman-sophomore
junior-senior
Dance Science prerequisites
4. Use the Graduation Plan roadmap to help plan how you will balance your dance major requirements with GE courses over the course of your academic career at CSULB. The first page of the roadmap is blank for you to input your courses and to keep track of your units each semester. The second page shows the same form with examples of courses to take. Though your roadmap may vary from the examples shown, please note that this roadmap illustrates both the most appropriate dance major courses for particular semesters as well as an appropriate balance of dance major classes vs. general education classes. Please bring this roadmap to your advising appointments in Dance and at UCUA.
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Understanding our Dance Degrees
The best way to understand differences in the undergraduate degrees in dance offered at CSULB is to speak to faculty advisors. Students should decide which degree path to pursue in Dance by the end of their freshman year or beginning of their sophomore year. In general, the BA in Dance degree offers students the most flexibility in exploring courses that are of interest to them. For example, some BA students may be interested in course work that will prepare them to become educators, researchers, historians, dance writers, arts administrators, etc. (this is only a partial list). For students who are interested in exploring a wide range of the field of dance through their studies, the BA in Dance is the best choice for a degree path. Students interested in teaching careers, fitness, kinesiology, and other science-based fields in dance should consider the BA in Dance, Option in Dance Science degree. Dance major classes within these specialized areas are supplemented with courses from the Biological Sciences and Kinesiology Departments in human physiology, human anatomy, biomechanics, exercise physiology and motor control. The BFA in Dance degree is geared toward students who are preparing for professional careers as performers and/or choreographers. Coursework requires more rigorous technique and performance requirements and offers few elective choices outside the major requirements. Students in the BFA are auditioned separately by faculty to assess their level of technical proficiency and artistry. Please visit (link coming soon) for a complete list of requirements for the audition to enter the BFA program.
All three undergraduate degree paths are almost identical within a student’s first year of study and all entering undergraduates in Dance begin as a BA in Dance. The links below can help students to see how course requirements change over a four year period, depending on the degree path chosen. Please speak to faculty advisors to gain more information on the different degrees.
(Note: these are not intended to be used as degree roadmaps or program planners, but simply show available required courses within a degree.)
Freshman dance majors
Sophomore dance majors
Junior dance majors
Senior dance majors
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Degree Changes for 2012
Beginning in fall 2012, all dance degrees will change to accommodate new university policies in regard to curriculum and unit totals for undergraduate degrees.
BA in Dance degree
BA in Dance, option Dance Science degree
BFA in Dance degree
Dance Minor degree
What if I began my dance degree earlier than 2012?
All students who began their dance degrees earlier than 2012 have a choice to either stay on the degree plan of the year they began or to switch to the new dance degree requirements for 2012. Students can switch to the new requirements as early as September, 2012. Generally, the 2012 requirements for all undergraduate degrees in dance presents a more streamlined pathway to graduation, with less units required and a greater definition between the various degrees.
Who should switch to the new 2012 degree requirements?
If you began as a dance major in the Fall 2010 semester or more recently, it would be to your benefit to switch to the 2012 requirements. If you began as a dance major in the Fall 2009 semester or earlier, it would probably not be to your benefit to switch to the 2012 requirements (please speak to your Dance Major Advisor to look over your specific program planner).
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Class Schedule Changes
This fall, DANC 435i (Dance in Film) will not be offered. Students needing to fulfill that requirement should take DANC 490 (Body Politics) this fall, which will serve as a substitution. Please note that DANC 490 will not fulfill the GE Capstone requirement that DANC 435i currently fulfills, so if students need that GE satisfied this fall for graduation they will need to take another upper division GE (with an “i” designation) to fulfill that GE category.
Please see Lorin with questions.
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Commonly Asked Questions
(please send an email to Lorin Johnson with any questions you do not see answered here)
Question: I want to become a dance major. Who do I see?
Answer: Visit the Dance Department office or call 562-985-2024 to request audition information (you can also send an email to: dance@csulb.edu).
You must be accepted through an audition to become a dance major.
Question: I am a new dance major. Which classes should I sign up for in my first semester?
Answer: Download and print the BA Dance Roadmap for freshman-sophomore. On the second page is a sample schedule showing each semester’s classes for the first two years as a dance major. As a new dance major you will also be asked to attend a meeting for new dance majors during the first week of classes of your first semester.
Question: How many units can I sign up for?
Answer: You can register for up to 16 units during your initial registration, then up to 18 units one week before classes begin. Students can also petition to take as many as 21 units, though registering for more than 18 units is not recommended (please ask in the Dance Office for a petition form. The Chair of the Dance Department will need to sign your form). However, sometimes dance majors need to petition to add additional units for their crew and performance units (1 unit each). Please note that freshman in their first semester can usually only sign up for 16 units.
Question: Which GE classes should I take?
Answer: You should speak to an advisor in the University Center for Undergraduate Advising to set your schedule of GE classes. However, in general dance majors should try to take two GE classes a semester along with their dance major requirements. Freshman and Sophomore students should make their Foundation GE classes the priority, as well as any remedial classes in Math or English that are required.
Question: Does the Dance Department have any classes that double as General Education classes?
Answer: Yes, two for the BA and BFA: 373i (Non-Verbal Communication) and 435i (Dance in Film) The BA, Option in Dance Science does not use these courses, as it uses Human Physiology (BIOL 207) and Introductory Psychology (PSY 100) to double as major and GE requirements.
Question: Which ballet and modern technique classes should I sign up for as a new dance major?
Answer: All new freshman should sign for Ballet I (Dance 154) and Modern I (Dance 152). All new transfers should sign up for Ballet II (Dance 254) and Modern II (Dance 252). Each semester all students in technique classes are evaluated at the start and end of the semester by a technique screening committee. The screening committee will make the final decision on which level is best for each student, and if students are asked to take a different class level they can change their registration during the first week of classes.
Question: A GE class that I need is in conflict with a dance major technique class. Is it OK that I take only modern dance or ballet technique for one semester?
Answer: The majority of dance majors in their first two years take both ballet and modern dance technique each semester in order to progress along with their peers through the technique sequence. However, occasionally there is a scheduling conflict with a GE class that does not allow you to take both. See if the GE class is offered at another day/time first, but if there are no other options and the GE is a priority for you, then taking only one technique class for a semester is acceptable.
Question: I have a hold on my account and cannot register for classes. Who should I see about this?
Answer: Usually only an advisor in the University Center for Undergraduate Advising can release holds. Your Dance Major Advisor (currently Lorin Johnson) can be contacted to lift two types of holds: 1.) A hold for second semester freshman advising (freshman spring semester); 2.) New major advising for new freshman or transfer students. Check the hold on your MYCSULB account to see who you should see about your hold—an advisor in UCUA or your Dance Major advisor.
Question: Do all dance majors need to see their Dance Major Advisor each semester?
Answer: Currently we only have mandatory advising for the following dance majors: new freshman and transfers, 2nd semester freshman and transfers, and graduating seniors (the semester prior to graduation). However, we encourage all dance majors to actively seek advising and to have their program planner reviewed each semester.
Question:I am a new dance major and am interested in the BFA degree in Dance. How do I become a BFA?
Answer: All dance majors begin in the Dance Department as BA students, and then may choose to apply to the BFA or the BA in Dance, Option in Dance Science in their second semester as a freshman or their first semester as a sophomore. Dance majors interested in the BFA degree should speak to BFA Advisor, Lorin Johnson, about degree requirements, and then speak to Keith Johnson, Director of the BFA, to fill out an application to audition. Dance majors interested in the BA in Dance, Option in Dance Science should speak to Karen Clippinger.
Question: I am a new dance major and want to perform. How do I audition?
Answer: In order to be eligible to audition you must first sign up for a production crew. Please see Andrew Milhan, Technical Director, to sign up. Your name will be put on a list for a crew (possibly during the next semester). Once you have made this commitment, you are free to attend the auditions for the faculty concerts (usually on the Friday of the first week of classes of a new semester) or the auditions for the MFA concerts (see production board for announcements).
Question: I am a transfer student and took classes at another college prior to coming to CSULB that I would like to transfer. How do I do this?
Answer: Transfer students should make an appointment with their Dance Major Advisor as soon as possible at the start of their first semester. If you have dance classes you would like to try to articulate (transfer to CSULB), please bring a copy of your transcript to your advisor. It is possible that syllabi and course materials from certain courses may be requested, such as dance history classes, anatomy classes, etc. Please note that GE classes will be articulated during SOAR by an advisor at UCUA, and that your Dance Major Advisor will only articulate dance classes for the major. Please also note that the Dance Department does not articulate ballet or modern dance technique classes, though Jazz technique can be articulated (and some world dance classes for elective requirements). Commonly articulated classes are: Improvisation (2 units); Composition/Choreography (3 units); Music for Dance (2 units); and Jazz technique (2 units). Classes in dance history and/or dance pedagogy are also occasionally articulated, but transfer students will need to supply a syllabus and course materials for their advisor to look over.
Question: I am a dance major and will be graduating within the next year. What should I do?
Answer: Dance majors should make an appointment with their Dance Major Advisor to review their academic program early in the semester before they plan to graduate. For example, students graduating at the end of a spring semester (May) would meet with their advisor the previous fall semester (before mid-October). Students graduating at the end of a fall semester (December) would meet with their advisor the previous spring semester (before March 1). Students must also submit a Request to Graduate form to Brotman Hall according to a specific timeline. Please visit this link to view detailed information on graduation: http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/catalog/2009-2010/bacc_grad_info/bacc_graduation.html
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