{"id":2665,"date":"2020-08-17T18:28:02","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T18:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dance.ucr.edu\/?page_id=2665"},"modified":"2025-10-16T10:48:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:48:26","slug":"phd-program","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dance.ucr.edu\/phd-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Ph.D. Program"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row header_feature=”yes” margin_bottom=”0″ padding_top=”80″][vc_column width=”2\/3″]

Ph.D. IN CRITICAL DANCE STUDIES<\/span><\/h3>[vc_column_text animation=”fadeInUp”]The Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies (formerly the Ph.D. in Dance History and Theory) at UC Riverside supports the pursuit of innovative research in the field of cultural, political, and historical studies of dance. Inaugurated in 1993, the program is widely recognized as the preeminent site for intellectual inquiry into dance, corporeality, movement, choreography, and performance.\r\n\r\nUC Riverside’s Department of Dance features an outstanding faculty of nationally and internationally recognized scholars and artists. The Ph.D. program\u2019s explicit focus on dance studies and large concentration of Critical Dance Studies faculty distinguish it from doctoral programs in performance studies, theater studies, and cultural studies. At the same time, the program is committed to interdisciplinary models of dance scholarship that draw on a variety of methodological and theoretical approaches. Our Critical Dance Studies Ph.D. program is equally distinct for the close relationship it maintains with the students and faculty in the M.F.A. program in Experimental Choreography, inaugurated in 2001.\r\n\r\nIn their scholarship, Critical Dance Studies faculty engage with critical race theory, feminist studies, gender and sexuality studies, political economy, and performance studies. They employ methods including embodied research, choreographic analysis, oral history, dance ethnography, critical theory, and archival studies. Faculty research continually expands the field of Dance Studies while also contributing to fields such as American Studies, African American Studies, Latin American Studies, Hip Hop Studies, Indigenous and Decolonial Studies, as well as South Asian and South Asian Diaspora Studies.\r\n\r\nOur Ph.D. students pursue an equally extraordinary diversity of research agendas. Some recent projects have critically analyzed Contemporary Dance at the U.S.-Mexican Borderland; Jewish-ness, Dance, and Humor; Raqs Sharqi in Cairo; Amateur Ballroom Dance in Mormon and Same Sex Communities; White Christian Dance in the U.S.; Ongoing Indigenous Dance Practices; Black Concert Dance in Montr\u00e9al; Bharata Natyam in Sri Lanka; Concert Dance and\/as Autobiography; Black Concert Dance and Masculinities; Second Lines in New Orleans; Female Lion Dancers in Chinatowns; Histories of Dance, Food, and Audience Engagement; Dance, War, and Repetition; Modern Dance and Yoga Histories; Tango and Neoliberalism; and Ballet and State Power in Ukraine.\r\n\r\nGraduates have gone on to secure full-time academic positions nationally and internationally at schools such as UCLA, Florida State University, University of Florida, Davidson College, Colorado College, Bowdoin College, University of Minnesota, University of Illinois, University of Nebraska, Rutgers University, University of Washington, California State University Long Beach, Elon University, University of Kansas, York University (Canada), Middlesex University (UK), University of Surrey (UK), University of Malaya (Malaysia), University of Malta (Malta), and Taipei National University of the Arts (Taiwan).[\/vc_column_text]

Course Work<\/span><\/h3>[vc_column_text animation=”fadeInUp” css=”.vc_custom_1692634463397{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]The core curriculum, normally to be completed in the first two years of residency, includes the following:\r\n\r\nDance 239: Introduction to Graduate Study of Dance\r\nDance 254: Political Approaches to Dance Studies\r\nDance 255: Historical Approaches to Dance Studies\r\nDance 257: Rhetorical Approaches to Dance Studies\r\nDance 258: Cultural Approaches to Dance Studies\r\n\r\nStudents must also take “Dance 301: Seminar in Dance Studies Pedagogy and Professional Development” plus six additional graduate-level courses: two from other disciplines related to the student’s research interest, and four from Dance. A maximum of one Dance M.F.A. core course may be included as one of the four additional graduate-level dance courses required.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space]

Language Requirement<\/span><\/h3>[vc_column_text animation=”fadeInUp”]All students must show competence in at least one language other than English. Further requirements in specific forms of dance or music notation or ancient or contemporary languages may be determined for each student in consultation with relevant faculty and the graduate advisor of the program.[\/vc_column_text]

Written Qualifying Examination<\/span><\/h3>[vc_column_text animation=”fadeInUp”]Students must prepare one field for examination with each of four members of the committee in whose courses the student has completed degree requirements. The committee is composed of two Dance faculty members, one of whom is chair, and two other members who may be Dance faculty or “outside members” (not a UCR Dance faculty member or cooperating faculty member). The written qualifying examination may be completed as a “take-home” format (seven-day, open-book) or a “sit-in” format (two-hour exam periods for each field, conducted on site in the department, and completed in one five-day work week).[\/vc_column_text]

Qualifying Essay<\/span><\/h3>[vc_column_text animation=”fadeInUp”]One quarter after successfully completing the written examination, students complete a rough draft of the qualifying essay, under the direction of the same group of faculty members who monitored the written examination. Students finalize the qualifying essay and sit for the oral examination before the end of the following quarter. The qualifying essay is generally 25 pages in length and demonstrates the student’s ability to articulate a viable dissertation research project. It must consist of written work but may include other forms of video or film productions with the approval of the relevant committee and the graduate advisor.[\/vc_column_text]

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination<\/span><\/h3>[vc_column_text animation=”fadeInUp”]A dissertation committee is composed of three members: a chair from Dance, a Dance faculty member, and either a Dance faculty member, or an outside faculty member. The committee directs and approves the research and writing of the dissertation. The dissertation must consist of written work but may include other forms of video or film productions with the approval of the relevant committee and the graduate advisor. It must present original scholarly work and be approved by the dissertation committee before the student takes the final oral examination. Students must have satisfactory performance on a final oral examination, conducted by the dissertation committee and open to all members of the faculty. The examination emphasizes the dissertation and related topics.[\/vc_column_text]

Normative Time to Degree<\/span><\/h3>[vc_column_text animation=”fadeInUp”]Normative time toward the completion of the Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies degree is 18 quarters.[\/vc_column_text]

Admission<\/span><\/h3>[vc_column_text animation=”fadeInUp”]Applicants to the PhD program in Critical Dance Studies must meet the general requirements for admission to the<\/span> Graduate Division<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Please note: as of Fall 2020, GRE scores are no longer required for admission.\u00a0 It is recommended that applicants take the GRE if their GPA is below a 3.0.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe UCR application for admission to our PhD program requires that applicants provide the following:\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nI. Graduate Statement of Purpose<\/span>\r\n\r\nExplain your decision to apply, your\u00a0academic or professional preparation<\/span>, your motivation, and how UCR\u2019s faculty and resources support your goals.\u00a0Please include the following:\r\n
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