MFA in Dance candidates will demonstrate knowledge base and skills commensurate with professional careers in dance.
Objective
Demonstrate Choreographic Skill
Students will demonstrate excellence in creating extended choreographic works, employing effective tools of composition to create well-crafted original statements in movement.
Indicator
Evaluation Of Required Choreographic Work
Required Choreographic Work is evaluated on common standards of choreographic effectiveness as shown in attached rubric. These choreographic evaluations take place within the three required MFA choreography courses in (DNC 5676,5378, and 5380). Instructors judge student work as Unsatisfactory, Satisfactory or Excellent. Extensive, qualitative, face-to-face feedback is also given.
Criterion
90% Of Students Will Be Judged Satisfactory In Proficiency
90% Students will be judged to have at least Satisfactory proficiency in choreography. 75% will be judged to have Excellent proficieny.
Indicator
Presentation & Evaluation Of Thesis Concert
As the culmination of the creative thesis, students develop and present an extended original choreographic work. The process, from proposal through performance, is mentored by members of the thesis committee. The thesis presentation will be assessed on the following points: the choreography is informed by student's research; the choreography stands on its own as a work of art; the performance reflects effective directing by the student.
Criterion
All MFA Thesis Students Meet Choreographic Production Standards
100% of MFA Thesis performers will be assessed by Thesis Committee to meet standards for choreographic effectiveness. (In addition, Students who meet the standard for acceptable choreographic production will receive a passing score for that portion of DNC 699, Thesis II.)
Finding
100% Passed Thesis II
In 2014-15, two graduate students presented the MFA thesis project. Both were successful.
Action
Continue To Mentor Graduate Students Through The Thesis Process
Faculty are committed to mentorship of graduate students. Students have always met regularly with their committee and/or chair, to review the resarch components and to show choreography in process. Those showings had been scheduled only during the students' regular rehearsal times, which did not always coordinate with the committee members' schedules. Beginning in 2014, we scheduled showings for each thesis student for periodic Wednesdays at 1:00, a time we reserve for departmental activities such as majors meetings. We were thus much more involved with the choreographic process at an earlier stage, and able to give feedback at a stage in which it could be incorporated effectively.
Objective
Breadth Of Knowledge In The Field
MFA graduates will have a solid understanding of dance technique, choreography, production, and history, and will be able to write and speak from that informed perspective.
Indicator
Comprehensive Exam
Students will be given a choice of topics to research relevant to all aspects of study that the student has experienced in the program. A passing grade on the comprehensive examination will serve as an indicator that a Dance MFA candidate has acquired a breadth of knowledge in the field of dance. Additionally, the students' ability to express themselves critically and at a standard commensurate to the profession will be demonstrated.
Criterion
Pass Rate
As demonstration that the Dance graduate program is successful in preparing students for the written comprehensive examination, at least 90% of students will pass the exam at the first sitting or upon retaking it. We observed last year that students were not as comfortable expressing themselves orally as they are with dance. Thus, we believe this exercise is beneficial to develop and extend oral expression.
Finding
Oral Presentations Were Effective
Early in 2014, we decided to give students the option of either the written comprehensive exam or an oral presentation. Of the two students completing their degree last year, one chose the written, the other did the presentation. Both performed well.
Action
Replace The Written Comprehensive Exam With Oral Presentation Of Research
The faculty determined that students have abundant opportunities within their coursework and in the written portion of the thesis to develop writing skill. The area we identified as requiring practice is in oral expression. The student who did the oral presentation to the faculty told us she found it extremely helpful when she soon thereafter interviewed for positions in dance. We may maintain the option of the written exam, but will likely move towards a model of oral demonstration of comprehensive knowledge in the field.