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Bachelor’s Degrees: BA/BFA, Minor & Certificate

Two dancers performing Okinawan dance in costume
Two dancers performing Balinese dance in traditional garb
Person dancing in front of a projection of dancing
Group of dancers performing hula on stage in traditional garb
Three dancers in traditional Tahitian garb
Contemporary dance performance using projection technology

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theatre & Dance

This degree has two concentrations, in Theatre or Dance. Students must complete 40 credit hours, including 7 credits of core requirements in Hawaiian performance, stage production, and a practicum.

Dance Concentration

This concentration is designed for students with a broad interest in dance and allows them maximum flexibility to satisfy requirements in their areas of greatest interest. In addition to the core requirements, students complete 28 credit hours of required dance concentration courses in hula; Asian or Oceanic dance; ballet, contemporary, hip hop, or queer dance; visual media for dance/screendance; improvisation; choreography; kinesiology, global perspectives on dance; indigenous dance studies, or dance history; as well as a senior capstone project. Students also need to complete 5 credit hours in elective courses selecting from dance lecture, studio practice, performance, and repertory classes. Students are required to perform in at least one UHM dance production per year.

Theatre Concentration

This concentration is designed for students with a broad interest in theatre and allows maximum flexibility for satisfying requirements in areas of greatest interest. In addition to the core requirements, students complete 33 credit hours of required but broad-based courses in the areas of acting; movement or voice, performance or history of Hawaii, Asia, or the Pacific; design or technical theatre; world theatre; theatre for young audiences; directing, playwriting or stage management; and additional practicum courses in performance, stagecraft, costume, production management, stage management, dramaturgy, etc.

Undergraduate Studies

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Theatre & Dance

This audition-only degree is designed for those wishing to pursue professional careers in performance and has two concentrations: in Dance, and in Acting for Theatre, Screen and New Media. Students must complete 62 credit hours, including 8 credits of core requirements in Hawaiian performance, stage production, and two practicums.

Dance Concentration

This concentration is designed for students who wish to pursue professional careers as dance performers, choreographers, scholars, administrators, and/or teachers. Admission to the program is by audition only, but incoming students may declare a BA major in Theatre and Dance with a selection of the Dance concentration on their university application and then audition for the BFA degree Dance concentration. In addition to the core requirements of the BFA in Theatre and Dance, students complete 27 credit hours in Dance concentration courses including visual media for dance/screen dance; improvisation; choreography; kinesiology, global perspectives on dance; indigenous dance studies, or dance history; performance or repertory, as well as a senior choreography project,  and, 27 credit hours in Dance technique courses including hula; Asian and Oceanic dance; ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and queer dance. Students are required to perform in at least two UHM dance productions per year and to register for a dance studio practice course every semester. Graduation requirements include the submission of a portfolio with a resume and self-assessment essay, an exit interview, and the completion of a survey.

Acting for Theatre, Screen, and New Media Concentration

This concentration is designed for students who wish to pursue professional careers as actors in theatre, television, film, and digital performance. Admission to the program is by audition only, but incoming students may declare a BA major in Theatre and Dance with a selection of the Theatre concentration on their university application and then audition for the Acting for Theatre, Screen, and New Media concentration of the BFA degree during the spring semester of their first year at UHM. In addition to the core requirements of the BFA in Theatre and Dance, students complete 36 credit hours of technique courses in acting, voice, and movement, 12 credits in theatre fundamentals, 6 credits in dance classes, and 6 additional acting elective credits. Graduation requirements include the submission of a professional website and a self-assessment essay, an exit interview, and the completion of a survey.

Minor: Concentration in Theatre or Dance

Students must complete 15 credit hours, including 9 credit hours in courses numbered 200 and above for the Dance concentration, and 300 or above for the Theatre concentration. A maximum of 9 credit hours from dance technique courses may be designated for the minor in the Dance concentration. In the Theatre concentration, students need to complete one course each in theatre history; performance, movement, voice, or directing; and technical theatre or design; plus two additional courses from these three areas. Participation in two departmental productions is also required. 

Creative Computational Media (CCM) Certificate

The undergraduate Creative Computational Media (CCM) Certificate provides students and industry professionals with training necessary to enter exciting and lucrative immersive media job markets, such as video game and eSports design and development, digital film production and special effects, new media theatre and dance performance, interactive digital media installation development, and exhibit design for museums, theme parks, or marketing/advertising.

CCM is offered in collaboration with the School of Cinematic Arts, the Department of Theatre & Dance, the Department of Electrical Engineering, and the Department of Information and Computer Sciences.

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