Academics

Theatre and Dance is one of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts at Appalachian State University.

The Department of Theatre and Dance embraces the university's mission to:

  • provide a well-rounded liberal education and the opportunity to pursue a special field of inquiry;
  • promote the intellectual, cultural, and personal development of its students;
  • serve as a center of cultural and professional activity within its state and region.

Additionally, the mission of Theatre and Dance is to provide a liberal arts curriculum for the BA degrees in Dance Studies, and Theatre Arts (including concentrations in Performance, Design/Technology, Theatre Education, and General Theatre). The department offers Dance Studies Honors and Theatre Arts Honors programs; minors in theatre arts, dance studies, and somatic sustainability; and courses to meet General Education requirements in various themes, the fine arts, and wellness literacy. The department values the opportunity to offer coursework for integrated learning through the arts to the overall student population.

Vital to the support of this mission is a dynamic co-curricular production program that provides exemplary theatre and dance experiences to students, the university community, and the region. Coursework and the production program emphasize skills that prepare students for professional careers in the arts but are highly transferable to other pursuits.

The departmental philosophy is to support the university's liberal arts environment through a balanced and integrated emphasis on teaching, creative activity, scholarship, and service.