Undergraduate Programs & Certificates

At UW–Madison, you will learn to create dance as art and embrace its capacity for social action and community building. Our degree programs are designed to develop dance artists who live and work in a global, technology-driven community and are adept at the physical and intellectual layers of the art form. Contemporary dance is foundational to our programs and is enhanced by the study of somatic practices, ballet, and cultural dance.

You will leave with a degree that prepares you to work in the field of dance and to pursue advanced graduate study in dance or in fields such as dance movement therapy, physical therapy, and arts administration. Our students have moved on to perform in professional companies, teach in universities and private studios, choreograph for stage and film, among many other creative endeavors.

Our department also offers five certificates: a Dance certificate, a Dance/Movement Therapy certificate, a Pilates certificate, a Dance Studies Certificate, and a Dance Education certificate for students who have a strong interest in dance but would like to pursue another degree program, or for students who are augmenting their degree program.

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance students are required to take 100-minute daily technique classes during the academic year, every semester throughout their 4 years. Students who declare a BFA Dance degree in their 2nd year are also required to fulfill the total number of technique credits required.