Performance Studies - BA
The BA in Performance Studies offers an interdisciplinary, liberal arts approach to the the study of performance. Our BA provides a foundation in critical reflection, analysis, and creative practice from which students can launch a variety of careers. In their core Performance Studies courses, BA Students are immersed in performance theory, learn the craft of creating live performance, and cultivate essential research and writing skills to be successful citizens, scholars, and artists in the 21st century.
Four Pillars of the BA in Performance Studies
Performance as Research
In Performance Studies, we embrace the fact that live, embodied performance provides a unique way to know and understand the world. We value and champion such repertoires of knowledge alongside the many other ways of knowing represented in institutions of higher education. Students in our BA program use performance as method for conducting research. In every Performance Studies class, students perform: they stage plays and concerts, conduct ethnographic research, make films and podcasts, or present their scholarship to varied audiences. They do this to embrace the fact that a musician, an actor, a dancer, or performer of any stripe knows the world differently by virtue of their performance practice. We train our BA students to translate that knowledge into a format which can be shared widely and effectively.
Intercultural Performance Practices
We live in a globalized world and prepare our students to be global leaders. We privilege performance as a location of intercultural encounter. We bring artists from around the world to campus to work with our students, and we equip our students with the tools they need to be responsible global citizens.
Performance and Technology
We emphasize the intersection of performance and technology. We equip students both to take advantage of technological advances in their creative and professional lives, and to recognize the risks and rewards technology can provide to our communities. Students study the latest developments in digital music-making, virtual reality filmmaking, acoustic surveillance, and so on. Our Performance and Technology pillar prepares students for life in the 21st century.
Performing Communities
We value the use of performance to create and circulate knowledge for and within our communities. Students in our BA program can take classes that study arts administration and work with non-profit organizations, that investigate performance in public institutions as varied as the City Council and the United Nations, and that focus on performance practices in museums, journalism, and so on. We foster the development of informed and responsible citizens who use performance to serve their communities and the wider world.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| PERF 101 | Introduction to Performance Studies | 3 |
| American history | 3 | |
| Creative arts | 3 | |
| Foreign language 1 | 4 | |
| General elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| ENGL 104 | Composition and Rhetoric | 3 |
| Foreign language 1 | 4 | |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Social and behavioral sciences | 3 | |
| Performance studies elective 3 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| PERF 301 | Performance in World Cultures | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Public Speaking | ||
| Communication for Technical Professions | ||
| Argumentation and Debate | ||
| Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition | ||
| Writing about Literature | ||
| Technical and Business Writing | ||
| Foreign language 1 | 3 | |
| Government/Political science | 3 | |
| General elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| Foreign language 1 | 3 | |
| Government/Political science | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Performance studies elective 3 | 3 | |
| General elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| American history | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Literature directed elective | 3 | |
| Performance studies seminar 4 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| PERF 303 | Creating Performance | 3 |
| Language, philosophy and culture | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Performance studies seminar 4 | 3 | |
| General elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Language, philosophy and culture or creative arts | 3 | |
| Social and behavioral sciences | 3 | |
| Performance studies elective 3 | 3 | |
| Performance studies seminar 4 | 3 | |
| General elective 2 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| PERF 481 | Capstone Seminar: Performance as Research | 3 |
| Literature directed elective | 3 | |
| Performance studies elective 3 | 3 | |
| General elective 2 | 3 | |
| General elective 2 | 1 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 13 | |
| Total Semester Credit Hours | 120 | |
Graduation requirements include 3 hours of International and Cultural Diversity courses and 3 hours of Cultural Discourse courses. A course satisfying a Core category, a college/department requirement, or a free elective can be used to satisfy this requirement. The required 6 hours may be met by courses satisfying other areas of a degree program. See your academic advisor for further information.
General Degree Requirements:
Minimum 2.0 GPA overall and a minimum 2.0 GPA in major coursework.
A grade of C or higher is required in all coursework within the major.
18 hours of major coursework completed at Texas A&M.
Complete 36 hours of upper division (300-400 level) hours in residence, 12 hours of which must be completed in major coursework.
Complete two PERF courses formally designated as writing or communication intensive. At least one course must be completed with the writing intensive designation.