Take a look at our entire Visual & Performing Arts Program and all of its offerings.
BA in Visual and Performing Arts Program Overview
At The University of Texas at Dallas, aspiring artists find a vibrant academic home with our interdisciplinary arts program. Our program boasts more than 150 courses in art history, communication studies, dance, film studies, interdisciplinary arts, music, photo-video-digital, theatre, and visual art. You’ll explore courses spanning historical context, studio practice, performance ensemble, communication, and ideas and interpretation of the arts.
The program’s flexibility encourages exploration across disciplines, allowing students to develop a deeper understanding of the arts and the impact of their creative work across genres. Students can tailor their degree to their passions by choosing among the following nine concentrations:
- Art History
- Communication Studies
- Dance
- Film
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Music
- Photo-Video-Digital
- Theatre
- Visual Arts
As a culminating experience, seniors will showcase their artistic and academic achievements through a capstone project that highlights their artistic and academic growth. This project serves as a launching point, preparing students for their future professional endeavors in their chosen field.
Career Paths with a Degree in Visual and Performing Arts
By embracing a degree in Visual and Performing Arts, you can cultivate a unique combination of creativity, communication, and critical thinking skills, applicable to a variety of occupations. Graduates with this degree often pursue careers in teaching, arts organizations, and museum settings, or as commercial and independent artists. They can explore entry-level positions in design, broadcasting, government, fashion, education, publishing, journalism, public relations, business, performance, arts administration, and entertainment. Some graduates continue their education in graduate programs, studying business, law, administration, government, religious studies, medicine, or the arts.
Given the diverse career paths available, it is essential for students to identify an area of interest and proactively develop the necessary skills, experience, and credentials to succeed in their chosen field.
Visual and Performing Arts Careers
Actor, artist, archivist, arts administrator, arts writer/critic, choreographer, dancer, editor, museum curator, museum preparator, musician, performer, researcher, teacher, theatre director, theatre stage manager, and other positions of research and professional practice
Learn more about what you can do with a degree in visual and performing arts →
Undergraduate Visual and Performing Arts Program Options
The major in Visual and Performing Arts requires students to select a concentration.
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Art History Concentration
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Communication Studies Concentration
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Dance Concentration
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Film Studies Concentration
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Interdisciplinary Arts Concentration
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Music Concentration
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Photo-Video-Digital Concentration
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Theatre Concentration
BA in Visual and Performing Arts – Visual Arts Concentration
Fast Track
The Fast Track program is designed to permit exceptional undergraduate students in Arts, Humanities, and Technology majors to begin work on the master’s degree before graduation.
Qualified seniors may take up to 12 semester credit hours of approved graduate courses in the Bass School during their senior year and apply these semester credit hours to their undergraduate degree plans as either major and related courses or electives. The Fast Track courses also will be used to satisfy up to 12 graduate semester credit hours towards the master’s degree.
Fact Sheet
Minors
Related Minors
Minor in Communication Studies
To minor in the Arts, Humanities, and Technology, students must take a minimum of 18 semester credit hours for the minor, 9 of which must be upper-division semester credit hours. Students who take a minor will be expected to meet the normal prerequisites in courses making up the minor, and should maintain a minimum GPA of 2.000 on a 4.00 scale (C average). Core courses offered by the school may count as lower-division semester credit hours toward the minor. Students may choose to minor in any of the following fields of study:
- African American and African Diaspora Studies
- Art History
- Arts Management and Leadership
- Asian Studies
- Audio Production
- Communication Studies
- Creative Writing
- Dance
- Ethnic Studies
- Film Studies
- History
- Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights
- Latin American Studies
- Literature
- Medicine, Arts, Science, and Humanities (MASH)
- Music
- Performing Arts
- Philosophy
- Religious Studies
- Spanish
- Theatre
- Visual Arts
Undergraduate Visual and Performing Arts Courses
The Visual and Performing Arts major requires students to take core curriculum courses from a large variety of academic areas including writing, interdisciplinary studies, professional development, historical context, theory, and practice. Beyond core curriculum, students have a vast selection of courses from the arts to choose from.
Many courses in Visual and Performing Arts are open to all students in the University.
Student Organizations
Get real-world experience and leadership opportunities by performing with our musical ensembles, dance and theatre groups and more.
Explore theatre opportunities →
Explore Arts, Humanities, and Technology Student Organizations →
Visual and Performing Arts News
Gifts Honor Beloved Former Guitar Studies Director, Professor
Enric Madriguera MS’84, PhD’93, who passed away in April 2024 at age 74, was the director of guitar studies at…
Film Scholars From Across the Globe Converge at UTD’s Inaugural Global Cinema Symposium
The Bass School’s Film Studies program hosted in-person keynote addresses, panels and workshops with internationally recognized scholars in world cinema…
Liz Trosper Joins Nasher Sculpture Center In Training Local Educators On Mixed Media Techniques
Liz Trosper, new media painter and assistant professor of instruction at UT Dallas, joined the Nasher Sculpture Center in leading…