Many universities and colleges offer dance as a Minor, allowing dancers to continue their training and earn credit for dance classes while still acquiring new skills in a different field as their major.
What is an academic minor? Many people aren’t really sure what a minor is, or why they are valuable. A minor is a secondary focus that you declare during your undergraduate education. It is not your primary focus of study, but earning a minor requires between 1/3 and 1/2 the amount of academic credits that a major would. Minors are beneficial because they allow you to study more than just one thing: it can be related to your major or not related. (For example: An education major might minor in English if they want to be an english teacher. On the other hand, a business major might minor in Dance if they want to simply continue their dance training while in school.)
*Many of these schools also offer dance as a major. These schools have been selected because they also have esteemed programs in other majors that are not dance related. This can be helpful to know for dancers who want to branch out into more than just dance.
- Boston University
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Website: http://www.bu.edu/academics/cfa/programs/minor-in-dance/
- California State Polytechnic University
Location: San Luis Obispo, California
Website: http://catalog.calpoly.edu/collegesandprograms/collegeofliberalarts/theatredance/danceminor/
- California State University
Location: all locations
Website: http://ecatalog.calstatela.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=4&poid=629
- Chapman University
Location: Orange, California
Website: http://www.chapman.edu/copa/dance/academic-programs/
- Columbia College
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Website: http://catalog.colum.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=3&poid=219&returnto=829
- The George Washington University
Location: Washington, D.C.
Website: http://bulletin.gwu.edu/arts-sciences/theatre-dance/minor-dance/
- Hofstra University
Location: Hempstead, New York
Website: http://bulletin.hofstra.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=49&poid=4523&returnto=2460
- Ithaca College
Location: Ithaca, New York
- James Madison University
Location: Harrisonburg, Virginia
Website: http://www.jmu.edu/catalog/13/programs/theatredance.html
- Marymount Manhattan College
Location: New York City, New York
Website: https://www.mmm.edu/departments/dance/dance-minor.php
- Plymouth State University
Location: Plymouth, New Hampshire
Website: https://www.plymouth.edu/department/mtd/admission-and-auditions/dance-audition-requirements/
- Skidmore College
Location: Saratoga Springs, New York
Website: http://catalog.skidmore.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=13&poid=2561&returnto=847
- University of Arizona
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Website: http://dance.arizona.edu/students/future_students/
- University of Miami
Location: Coral Gables, Florida
Website: http://www.miami.edu/frost/index.php/frost/programs/dance_program
- University of New Hampshire
Location: Durham, New Hampshire
Website: http://cola.unh.edu/theatre-dance/program/dance-minor
- University of San Francisco
Location: San Francisco, California
Website: http://www.usfca.edu/catalog/artsci/danc/minor/
- Wake Forest University
Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Website: http://college.wfu.edu/theatre/programs-of-study/dance-program