How do dance minor programs differ from dance major programs?

Different universities have different approaches to dance minors, which is why it’s important to do your research. But frequently, minors allow students more flexibility when it comes to course selection. “Our minor is pretty open, with the majority of the curriculum available for students to pick and choose based on their interests, and only two required courses,” says Louis Kavouras, chair of the dance department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. On the other hand, dance minors may not have as many performance opportunities as dance majors.

Luc Vanier, director of dance at the University of Utah, recommends visiting the schools you’re interested in and seeing if you can attend classes so that you can fully comprehend the type of training you’ll have as a dance major versus a dance minor. “Don’t just visit the website. Go see the program, and ask questions—especially of current students,” Vanier says.

As a dance minor, will my training be rigorous enough?

Again, this will depend on the school. But since most minor programs have a relatively light course load, dance minors might have to be more proactive than dance majors about maintaining their technique. “I took one to two movement classes each semester to fulfill the dance minor core requirements,” says Courtney Ngai, who recently graduated from Arizona State University with a minor in dance. “But prior to college, I had trained pre-professionally for 15+ hours each week.”

Ngai found she had to be more disciplined during her limited time in the studio. “If you’re aspiring to join a professional dance company, focus on the hours of training you’ll need and see if that aligns with the dance minor at the specific college you’re looking at attending,” she says. If you appreciate the flexibility of the minor but think you’ll need more studio time than it requires, you can look into additional dance classes—inside or outside of the dance department.

best colleges for dance choreography

• Adelphi University (Garden City, NY)
• Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
• Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ)
• Beloit College (Beloit, WI)
• George Mason University (Fairfax, VA)
• Goucher College (Baltimore, MD)
• Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
• Hobart and William Smith Colleges (Geneva, NY)
• Hollins University (Roanoke, VA)
• Juilliard School (New York, NY)
• Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)
• Lewis and Clark College (Portland, OR)
• Marymount Manhattan College (New York, NY)!
• Mercyhurst University (Erie, PA)
• Mills College (Oakland, CA)
• Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA)
• Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA)
• Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
• Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH)
• Pitzer College (Claremont, CA)
• Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
• Roger Williams University (Bristol, RI)
• Bennington College (Bennington, VT)
• Boston University (Boston, MA)
• Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA)
• California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, CA)
• California State University — Fullerton (Fullerton, CA)
• California State University — Long Beach (Long Beach, CA)
• Chapman University (Orange, CA)
• Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)
• Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle, WA)
• East Carolina University (Greenville, NC)
• Emory University (Atlanta, GA)
• Fordham University (New York, NY)
• San Jose State University (San Jose, CA)
• Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA)
• Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, NY)
• Scripps College (Claremont, CA)
• Smith College (Northampton, MA)
• St. Mary’s College of California (Moraga, CA)
• The Boston Conservatory (Boston, MA)
• The George Washington University (Washington, DC)
• The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)
• The University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
• Trinity College (Hartford, CT)

• University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, MA)
• University of Missouri — Kansas City (Kansas City, MO)
• University of North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston-Salem, NC)
• University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK)Yes, connect me!
• University of Oregon (Eugene, OR)
• University of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)Yes, connect me!
• University of South Florida (Tampa, FL)
• University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
• University of Washington, Seattle (Seattle, WA)
• University of the Arts (Philadelphia, PA)
• Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
• Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)Yes, connect me!
• Wayne State University (Detroit, MI)Yes, connect me!
• West Texas A&M University (Canyon, TX)
• Williams College (Williamstown, MA)
• Tulane University (New Orleans, LA)
• University of California, Irvine (Irvine, CA)
• University of California, Riverside (Riverside, CA)
• University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, CO)
• University of Hawaii at Manoa (Honolulu, HI)
• University of Idaho (Moscow, ID)
• University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)
• University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS)
• University of Maryland, College Park (College Park, MD)

What if I eventually decide I want to major in dance—will I be able to switch over from the minor?

Most colleges and universities are willing to work with students who decide they want to make a change in their major or minor. In dance departments, switching from minor to major might involve an audition. “At the University of Utah, the same requirements apply to a dance minor switching to a dance major as to an incoming freshman who wants to major in dance—although if you’ve taken classes from some of the dance faculty members, the audition might be waived,” Vanier says. Ultimately, a switch would need to be discussed with the faculty at your specific school.